by Jayla Fields

Bellbrook High school’s theatre students are working hard to put together Peter and the Starcatcher, a play about Peter Pan’s origins based on a book series. They will perform it at the end of November.

Peter and the Starcatcher is a Tony-decorated play that tells the story of how an orphan becomes Peter Pan. This play was based on Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s novels. The novel was transformed for the stage by directors Alex Timbers and Roger Rees. The play was written by Rick Elice, with music by Wayne Barker. 

Bellbrook junior Sophia Falzarano plays Grempkin, King Prawn, and is a percussionist in the play. Falzarano explains her experience in the play, “It’s very fun. You meet a lot of new people and it only gets hectic really towards tech week and show week.” Most people think performing onstage is terrifying. Falzerano said, “I’m definitely very socially awkward but when you’re given someone else to be, it’s not that bad since you know that you won’t have to be yourself on the stage.”

Being part of a production can be stressful since it requires bringing lots of layers together from actors memorizing lines to stage crew building sets. Sophomore Audrey Cable, a member of the cast and crew, said, “I’ve never done theatre before. I’d say memorizing the lines [is] probably [the most difficult].” There are many different reasons a person decides to work in a play. Cable replied, “I didn’t really have anything to do until the spring so I wanted to do something and be productive.” The cast and crew members are working hard to bring the play to life.