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'Peter Pan' — The big show |
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Written by Dan England
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Thursday, 28 February 2008 |
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Photos by Bret Hartman —
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Peter Pan cast members, from left, Ryan Lyman, 16, playing John, Kyle Moran, 9, playing Michael, and Molly Brynteson, 16, playing Wendy, run through a flying routine Wednesday at Greeley West High School.
Kyle Moran sat in Greeley West’s auditorium and pondered his own death.
Or at least a pretty bad bruise.
“I’m kinda nervous because they’re holding us up, and I wonder what would happen if they dropped us,” said Moran, a third-grader at Frontier Academy. “Where would I go? The orchestra pit? The dollhouse? I think, probably, I would go on the ground.”
 Moran’s not just being morbid. He’s expressing the nerves, even the fears, of the cast of West’s production of “Peter Pan,” just minutes before they start to fly for the first time. Of course, the other cast members aren’t expressing those fears so explicitly — they don’t see themselves as a crumpled mass on top of the dollhouse, for instance — but even Peter Pan, in this case Hayley Hall, a sophomore, has butterflies.
But Moran also nailed how the cast felt, fears aside, about flying in the production.
He gave two thumbs up.
Flying, of course, is only part of West’s “Peter Pan,” but it’s a big enough part that Peggy Freemole, West’s drama teacher (among other things) and director, brought in a flying company to run it for her and spent a good chunk of her production budget on it (she won’t say how much). And the company, ZFX Flying Effects out of Louisville, demands four hours of practice before the production starts. That’s a good chunk of time a week before opening night, when there’s percussion and figuring out how the giant set pieces will work and blocking and polishing and singing and, well, you get the idea.
ZFX did the flying effects for Nickelodeon’s “Go Diego Go” and “Dora the Explorer” tours and the national tour of “Wicked.” The company’s also done several “Peter Pan” productions. The officials were in town for several days to help West get off the ground.
All that helped soothe the nerves of Hall and other cast members.
Mostly.
“It hasn’t even hit me yet,” Hall said. “I’m kind of nervous just thinking about it.”
Of course, Hall, as Peter Pan, has some serious flying to do, not just a trip out the nursery. She’ll have to land in several specific spots, all while reciting her lines and singing songs. She can do it, however. Flying was even part of the audition.
“They told us to jump off chairs and pretend we were flying,” Hall said. “I’ve never had to do that before for an audition.”
Freemole never considered doing “Peter Pan” without the flying. She hired ZFX after consulting with other drama teachers.
“It’s all they do,” she said. “This has been great for the kids because they’re learning so much more about live theater. Like what’s it’s like to travel on the road for your job and rigging and everything. They’re ready to go.”
“Peter Pan” was an undertaking even without the flying. The set is huge, with a 25-foot pirate ship just one part of the set, all built by students (supervised by a dad). In fact, the lumber was the biggest expense of the play, not the flying. There’s a some serious percussion, taught by West’s drum line coach, and there’s a live orchestra.
Freemole said ticket sales will help defray the costs — both the financial and the physical.
“We have a huge audience base,” Freemole said. “We sell out shows every year. That keeps us going.”
Molly Brynteson, a sophomore who plays Wendy, tried out for the show because she wants to do theater as a career. But the flying, she admits, intrigued her. She couldn’t wait to change Tuesday and get into her harness for the first time.
“I’m so excited,” Brynteson said. “All I’ve wanted to do all day is get here.”
Of course, all those nerves and the anticipation has a price.
“I hope I’m not having too much fun,” said Ryan Lyman, a sophomore playing John, “and I forget my lines.”
TO GO
• “Peter Pan” runs at 7:30 p.m. March 7, 8 and 13, 14 and 15 and 2 p.m. March 8 and 15 at Greeley West High School, 2401 35th Ave.
• Tickets are $8 and available at the door or by calling 348.5404.
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