On April 26 and 27, Clague Drama Club’s sophomore return will feature the award-winning Broadway musical and adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel “Matilda.”
“I chose some stories I thought the students would like to put on in a play with characters they might enjoy portraying and music they might enjoy singing,” Clague choir teacher and Drama Club advisor Dianna Hochella said.
It entails approximately 60 students, nine committees and 20 rehearsals — although Hochella remarks it requires “more rehearsals than what we have” — to produce “Matilda.” And it begins from the very first rehearsal through a grueling procedure of the musical selection. The compelling candidates? “Addams Family,” “Willy Wonka,” “Shrek” and “Matilda.”
In the end, the tie was between “Shrek” and “Matilda” — Drama Club was bisected in exactly half for the choice of play.
“Something that was hard was probably the process of choosing the musical,” Drama Club member and seventh grader Pracilla Pralav said. “It kept tying, so we had to do it multiple times.”
“Once we had chosen ‘Matilda,’ we first needed to figure out who’s doing what,” Pralav said. “After we figured that out, the singers needed to work on their songs, and the crews had to figure [out] what they had to finish and work on.”
Every Monday, the whole group discusses the progress accomplished and the progress yet to be made. The 60 students are organized into nine committees — props, costumes, sets, fundraising, publicity, hair and makeup, tech crew, stage directors and stage managers — each with a designated to-do list.
“It’s always a challenge to make something out of nothing, to start with a clean slate,” Hochella said. “It’s a creative problem, and within those problems there is lots of problem-solving — how will it fit? Where will it go?”
Drama Club participants have to adopt a bit of wit, similar to Matilda, the musical’s main character played by Simone Klass. She is erudite, precocious and clever, yet her parents Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood perceive the precise opposite.
“Growing up in a dysfunctional family that neglects her, [Matilda] develops a bit of magical powers to defeat the mean people in her life,” Hochella said.
The other characters in the musical can extend to Matilda’s older brother Michael, who is “lazy” and “dimwitted.” But as a beacon of light, Crunchem Hall Primary School teacher Miss Honey discovers the brilliance in Matilda that others disregard. At Crunchem, Matilda’s classmates are sorted into “big kids” and “little kids.”
“Little kids are in her classroom and big kids take the biggest bullying from Trunchbull,” Hochella said. “She [Trunchbull] likes to run the school with intimidation and punishment and thinks that’s what’s best for children.”
During “Matilda’s” hour and 15 minutes runtime, the Clague community is invited to witness the Drama Club’s labor, particularly the craftsmanship dedicated to the intricate sets.
“[Some] sets are purchased/rented and some will be made by students,” Hochella said. “Some of these sets have to have magic involved — right now we’re really working on making the magic happen, and that’s really tricky.”
Magic is a significant component in Drama Club; it is wielded to enchant the props and the thespians who commit to its rehearsals.
“This is my first year doing any type of Drama Club, and I am so impressed,” Drama Club member and sixth grader Rory Steiger said. “I remember during auditions being so scared I was practically shaking, but after I was done, everyone was clapping and cheering.”
“Matilda” will be presented on April 26 at 7 p.m. and April 27 at 2 p.m. in Huron High School’s Ingram Theater on 2727 Fuller Rd, Ann Arbor, MI. Tickets for admission are $15 for adults and $10 for students beginning on April 14 — tickets can be purchased here. However, parents are offered a pre-sale to reserve their viewing of “Matilda.”
“All the students are working so hard to design and build the sets, design the makeup, working on all their blocking, and memorizing their lines,” Hochella said. “And when it all comes together in the end, it’s the greatest teamwork.”
