By Casey Jarmes | The News-Review
NORTH ENGLISH – On March 20 and 21, English Valleys students performed “Game of Tiaras,” a parody mash-up of “Game of Thrones” and Disney Princess movies, featuring rival princesses backstabbing each other to take their father’s throne.
“It seemed like a lot of fun,” said director Carrie Burdick, when asked why she chose this play. “It has a large cast that different people could play different things, and it seemed like it was funny.”
Burdick has been directing plays at English Valleys for 16 years.
“She does a great job keeping us in line,” said actor Kaylee Frazier. “Sometimes she has to raise her voice, but hey, I mean, you’ve got a whole bunch of kids, and she does a really great job of just keeping us on task for the most part.”
Frazier played Ellie, a take on the Disney Princess Elsa, reimagined as a bloodthirsty sadist. “I really just like being like the angry sister, because that’s kind of how I am at home,” she said. “I’m the oldest. So I feel like I can relate to my character a lot, because she’s based on Elsa, so she gets to kind of have some little out there moments where shes’s like ‘Everyone shut up!’ And I just feel I can portray myself sometimes in my character.
“I just thought it sounded really fun and I always just love being part of the plays, because it’s such a great environment to be a part of,” Frazier said, when asked why she tried out.
“It’s been going great,” Olivia Debevec said two weeks before showtime. “I think we’re very productive at each practice. We have had trouble memorizing our lines, but I think that’s no big deal. I think blocking’s going well. Overall, it’s really good…I’m nervous, but I think it’s gonna go great and I’m actually excited.”
Debevec played a coniving version of Cinderella, who battled against the other princesses to take her father’s throne. She stated that she had originally tried out for the role of Belle, because of her sarcastic lines.
“I love theater, I love music, like stuff along those lines. And I went for a bigger role this year, even though I’m only a sophomore, just because I wanted to try something new…I just love acting, I think that’s the main thing. I love making new connections with people I don’t usually talk to,” said Debevec.
“Since it’s a younger cast, kind of just staying focused and kind of learning the strategy to learn your lines has been a little bit difficult for some people, and it just makes it a little bit harder on the stage, just to keep things flowing well, if some people are struggling a bit more with their lines, but overall, it actually has not been too bad this year. It’s been great,” said Frazier.
Prior to the show, Frazier stated she was nervous but that, if you’re not nervous, you’re doing something wrong.
The play’s large cast also starred Phoenix Sorden and Ellie Patterson as narrators, McKenna Rugg as Snow White, Kaylynne Hoylman as Belle, Sophia Grimm as Blood Packet Girl, Tyler Wiseman as the King, Chyar McGaffee as the French Prince, Peyten Conrad as the Little Mermaid, Isaac Frazier as Smeagol, and Jack Osborn as Prince Charming. The play also featured Drake Offerman, Ambryn Holyman, Bella Schott, Lydia Smith, Whittney Walker, Adam Forbes, Clara Karr, Joana Martinez, Pantera Spies, Miley Clubb and Brianna Karr playing various minor characters. The crew contained crew chief Brody Williams; Jack Johnson, Ben Sieren, and Landon Van Dee on sound. Davis Burdick on lights; Connor Harris on curtains; and a building crew consisting of Ben Sieren, Landon Van Dee, Chance McGaffee and Miles Krebs.
“I’m kind of more like a comedic, depressed type of dad, who just wants to run away from the kingdom and let his daughters take care of everything…I thought it’d be a good fit for my senior year,” said Tyler Wiseman. “Kind of fitting that I’m the king…It’s just me, as a person, just playing myself. It’s just not really a personality change. I can just kind of be myself on stage.”
“I think I fit it, it’s basically me…I like talking to everyone, because my part is basically like, I have to talk to everyone on the cast,” said Jack Osborn, who played Prince Charming.
“It’s been pretty good, pretty funny. Lot of stuff’s been happening, good cast…Blocking scenes, I guess that’s kind of the hardest part of the performance, but other than that, it’s pretty fun,” said Wiseman.
“My mom always wanted me to do the play, and I did it my freshman year, and I just liked it ever since…We have a lot of young people this year compared to years prior. Our cast is very young, so it’s been hard to get people going and get them in the tune of how we play,” said Osborn, a Junior.
When asked if he was nervous about the play, Osborn stated “I was, as of last week, but coming into this week, I think we have a lot of it done, and we’re doing really well for how much time we’ve had…We started our actual reading the scripts in January. We didn’t get on stage til pretty late because of concerts and basketball games and stuff. But I think it’s been good.”
Burdick stated that her favorite part of the play was the sudden plot twist in the middle Act One, where Snow White, the main character up to that point, is framed for murder and then beheaded. Frazier also listed this scene as her favorite, saying “There’s so many people on stage and it’s just really fun with everyone. It’s a little bit of chaos, and I like the chaos. Just like, the blood guy coming in, skipping around and cutting her head off, it’s just so much fun.”
“I really like the end where a lot of people die. It’s pretty funny, even though everyone dies,” said Osborn.
“I like when I have to ride on Smeagol’s back, that’s always a fun scene,” said Wiseman, referencing the running gag of his character riding Isaac Frazier’s character like a horse.
