Director John Shorb and his Cedar Park Christian High School cast and crew are thrilled to produce and perform their rendition of Don Nigro’s comedy “Robin Hood.”
Taking a more comical position, this play provides laughs for both students and adults, as well as showing the depth of seriousness in certain situations for all age types.
As the drama department has grown enormously over the years, this year’s cast is the largest Shorb has ever directed for a main-stage performance. First-time leads Josh Nelson and Samantha Lundberg are among 30 students cast for the show, which will kick off at 7 p.m. April 29 in the Cedar Park sanctuary, 16300 112th Ave. N.E., Bothell.
Even though it can be tough to handle, Shorb likes the challenge: “More people equals more fun. With such a large cast it can be chaotic at times, but the end result is so worth it.”
He’s also had knowledge and guidance from Cedar Park and Whitworth College graduate Kaliene Roth.
While working together over the past four months, the cast and crew have built on-set and off-set friendships.
Assistant stage manager Jenna-Jo Duffy states her opinion on how the cast has come together on a personal level: “As the season has progressed, we have built our trust so the chemistry just grows better and better. It is not like we just pretend to be friends during practice. Throughout the school day we see each other and we have a connection because of the play that we never had before. Our chemistry encourages us to do different things on stage so we reach our best potential because we trust each other.”
Nelson, who plays Robin Hood, also adds his view: “There is something enormously invigorating in being a part of something bigger than yourself — to learn to work with an assortment of different personalities in order to accomplish a grand common goal; that is, to be successful in telling a story well.”
Including the many set positions, such as stage manager, assistant director and assistant stage manager, there have also been numerous volunteers who have sacrificed their time and talent to make this production successful. Each and every person involved with “Robin Hood” has been committed to his or her specific character or job title, but everyone has willingly dedicated their time to late nights, tedious work and repetitive rehearsals — sometimes departing from their workstation after midnight.
As a final note, stage manager Megan Barber added: “Coming to see ‘Robin Hood’ is a great decision because you will not only see a phenomenal show that will have you laughing from top to bottom, but will also see a group of young people having fun, growing and learning together.”
• Other dates are:
7 p.m. April 30; 2 p.m. May 1; 7 p.m. May 1; 7 p.m. May 6; 7 p.m. May 7; 2 p.m. May 8; 7 p.m. May 8.
For ticket information, visit Cedar Park’s site.