There is an insatiable appetite for Little Shop of Horrors. It is one of the most successful and longest-running musicals in theatre history, and it is tailor made for high school productions.
Kelly Road secondary school is taking their turn at the hilarious horror.
Drama teacher Dave Murguly has directed the play before at a previous P.G. school, but this is the first time he's had a theatrical auditorium at his disposal and the first time he's had senior students to work with. He is also the son of two Prince George fixtures in B.C. community theatre circles, director Sue and set-builder George Murguly. He was born and raised among scripts and props.
"With this production, I didn't want to do high school theatre. I wanted to do community theatre, done by high schoolers," Murguly said. "I wanted that next level of detail and preparedness. I never had the capacity to do it at that level before, but now I do."
Murguly involved the students at every turn. They cast themselves in the parts by just suggesting one another and dialoguing about which youths should be which characters. Ones with less appetite for the stage took on the critical behind-the-scenes positions. And they conscripted their families and friends to join the effort.
"So get this," said Murguly walking through a tangle of set-pieces in various stages of construction - phone booths and carnivorous plants and what-have-you - to where a vintage dentist chair sat gleaming in the wings. For those who know the play, a maniacal dentist is one of the hinge characters. "This is an actual dentist chair from I don't know how many years ago - old. I had a student teacher in my class, he saw my list of the props and things we needed, he saw the chair and said 'I know someone who has one of those.' I thought that was going to be the hardest item of all, and we got it right away, before we even asked for it. That's the kind of support we see for kids and for theatre in Prince George. It took me and four other guys to move it, it weighs like 300 pounds, but that's part of the support, too."
They do it for the kids. Drama is one of the school subjects that has the most interface with the general public. The big end-of-term math project does not require an audience, but drama students have to put themselves on display. This production, like almost all high school musicals, has some shaky singing but some stellar singing, some cardboard acting but some evocative acting. The win for the ensemble is in the teamwork.
"I've been doing drama since Grade 8 but this is the first time doing any directing. Mr. Murguly had me shadowing him for awhile and then he sort of slid some of it across to me," said Brittney Johnson, Grade 11, clad all in black as is the customary attire for those involved off-stage. She was tapped for leadership roles due to her burgeoning knowledge of the stage arts, but little desire for musical stardom.
"I'm not a singing person. I was ecstatic when I found out I didn't have to sing in front of people," she said. And she wasn't the only one who was included heavily for behind their behind-the-scenes skills. "Juri (Sudo-Rustad) made the posters, made the tickets, and did at least half the work on the plant. She is incredibly talented. Alena (Welschner) also did a lot of work behind the scenes."
"I wanted to make things artsy. I wanted things popping out all over the place, so it was more interesting," said Sudo-Rustad. "I know how to design things. I like to draw. I've taken art classes. So I did all that."
But she also has some time on stage, so Little Shop of Horrors isn't just a silent artistic experience for her. "I've never done any acting before. I want to do voice-over work and maybe get into acting when I'm older, but I haven't done any drama since Grade 8 electives. And I wanted more confidence in front of people so I signed up for this. I think it's helping me. I want to take this class again next year, I know that already. This class is a lot of work but it is a lot of fun."
Some of the parts in this play were double-cast, to spread the performance experience out among the talented teenagers. The female lead of Audrey, for example, will alternate between Alicia Hayne and Haylee Erickson. But the dentist is solely played by Dylan McLeod and Mr. Mushnik is handled by Aidan Holoien.
On the flipside of that is Bailey Jamison who voices the giant killer plant and takes on about a half-dozen roles altogether.
"I get to yell out the voice of an evil plant trying to eat the world. Do you know how much fun that is? I love to yell," said Jamison, who has some past on-stage experience to draw on. "I love projecting my voice, shaping my voice, I love writing, I love history, I do live-action role playing games on the internet where you get to live the lives of characters, so to get to bring all that into a class and play... that's a major thing."
The lead male role of Seymour went solely to Justin Carstairs, who had some prior drama experience but this is a heavy load for any actor.
"I'm confident about it. Bailey said I should think about being Seymour, so I went for it, and I'm excited," Carstairs said. "I'm prepared and I'm passionate about this play. Everyone is working so hard, so I have to match that. I was overwhelmed at first, of course, but I watched the movie a bunch, I watched a lot of YouTube, and I'm always reading the script over and over again. I want to do more acting in the future - as soon as possible. This has been an excellent experience for me."
He even twisted his dad's arm to bring a bunch of tools over to the school on the weekend and pitch in on the set construction. "He's a nice guy; he was happy to help," said the aspiring teen actor.
Kelly Road secondary school presents Little Shop of Horrors tonight and tomorrow at 7 p.m. then Saturday at 1 p.m. at the school auditorium. Doors open a half-hour prior to showtime. Tickets are $12 adult, $6 students and $30 for a family.
