Leather-coat clad rebels and poodle-skirted bobbie sockers will feel right at home as Duchess Park secondary takes on their biggest production to date - Grease. The show starts today and runs until March 12 in the Duchess Park Theatre.
Drama teacher Paul Coupe gathered the troupes, working on set designs, music and acting chops to put a team together filled with talent and drive to make the show a success.
"This is like a Broadway production - what was I thinking?" Coupe laughed. "But a number of the students really wanted to do it and every year we get bigger and bigger with what we do and here we are."
The sheer magnitude of the production has inspired Coupe to reach out to faculty as well as community members to help pull it all together.
"The shop teacher put together Greased Lightning for us," said Coupe, of the Model A truck sitting on stage.
The art teachers are helping, with one teacher being in charge of costumes. Coupe's daughter, Beckie, is a choreographer with Excalibur Theatre Arts Company and has volunteered her time. The music teacher has put together a first-ever live band to accompany the actors, singers and dancers. Office staff and librarian are helping with tickets.
Community sponsors have donated material for sets, costumes, props, and printing tickets.
"I like to see people come together, helping us to be bigger than ourselves," said Coupe.
Robin Norman, well known vocal teacher and choir master, has volunteered to work with the singers.
"And that's part of the community stepping in and helping and that was phenomenal," said Coupe.
In Grease two teens enjoy a brief summer romance in the late 1950s. Peer pressure puts Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson at odds when they are surprised to find each other at Rydell High.
"Kenickie is definitely the enforcer of the gang, definitely in your face and outspoken," Taylor Hawkes, Grade 12 student, who plays Kenickie, and has been in drama since Grade 8. "There's more to him than what shows. It's a challenge to play the character because I like to think of myself as a nice guy and turning into this character is interesting."
The students agree working with Coupe is truly a pleasure and a learning experience. Watching the sets come together and seeing the actors develop their characters under Coupe's guidance is something the students said they really appreciate.
"Being mean and yelling at Sandy is so hard because in real life we are really good friends," said Elayne Taylor, Grade 11, who plays Rizzo, studies with Judy Russell, and really enjoys the big ensemble scenes in the play.
Zachary Sandahl, Grade 12, plays Danny and has been studying with Judy Russell since he was three years old.
"Danny is definitely a challenge to play because he's very forward with women and he just gets what he wants with them, and me, personally, have never really got what I want, so me, being more of a gentleman towards women, it's weird and it puts me out of my element," said Sandahl, who really enjoys the interactions between Danny and his friends.
Sandy Olsson is played by Susie MacRae, who tends to identify with the more innocent aspects of the character she plays. MacRae finds herself a bit out of her element when Sandy takes on a more vampy attitude.
"She starts out really innocent and seems much younger than some of the other people around her like Rizzo, who has been transformed by the world around her and Sandy hasn't had those same experiences," said MacRae, a Grade 11 student.
Tickets are all $10 and available at the Duchess Park main office and at Books and Company.
