NORTHFIELD — As the auditorium slowly filled with light and the burgundy curtain drew back to the familiar music of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” the Pioneer Valley Regional School students took their places on stage Friday.
For the next hour and a half, each student personified his or her character, filling the stage with both energy and enthusiasm.
Since the last week of September, the students have been rehearsing in preparation for their annual fall play, which will be performed for the public Thursday at 6 p.m., and Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. in the school’s auditorium. Tickets for the play will be $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors.
According to Director Kimberly Rose, this is Pioneer’s first time performing “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” based on the novel by C.S. Lewis. Rose has directed plays at Pioneer since 2013, many of which were smaller, one-act shows.
“We have a great deal of talented kids that we really wanted to showcase,” Rose said, which led her to pick a play with a larger cast, like “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
“The kids have really taken to the story,” she added. “It’s such a story of overcoming difficult situations.”
“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” follows the story of siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie who, during the World War II bombings of London, are sent to a country house where they’ll be safe. While exploring, Lucy finds a wardrobe that transports her to the magical world of Narnia. Bringing her siblings with her, they join the magical lion Aslan in a fight against an evil witch.
More than 25 students signed up to participate in the play.
“In the past, it’s been a lot of upperclassmen and not a lot of middle schoolers,” said Pioneer senior Grace Rathbun, who plays one of the production’s two beavers. “This year, we had a huge spike in participation because it’s such a familiar play.”
Many of the older students have participated in Pioneer’s plays before, though many of the younger students are participating for the first time. Rose said the experience has provided a teaching moment, where students of different ages learn how to work together and where older students share their knowledge of theater with younger ones.
“The bridge between the older kids and the younger kids is really nice,” Rathbun noted. Eighth-grader Autumn Harris, a member of the stage crew, cited the level of community between the different grades as one of her favorite things about theater.
Theater has been a big commitment for the young actors and actresses, who have rehearsed two hours after school every day since the last week of September, amounting to around 100 hours of time by Thursday’s show.
“It’s a lot of hard work and a lot of hours have gone in,” Rose said.
But, in the words of the students, theater has also provided them with a lot of fun.
“You meet some new people, but at the end, you become a family,” said Pioneer senior Colby Johnson, who plays the second beaver.
“The stress and the craziness translates into bonding,” Rathbun said.
Given a lot of change both in the faculty at the school and in the nation’s political realm that left behind deep divisions, Rose believes the play has helped to bring students, faculty and parents together on an even larger level.
“It’s definitely a good outlet,” she said. “It’s promoted unity. After the election, they banded together even more.”