A living, breathing story. This is the epitome of acting. In eighth grade and up, students are given the option of participating in Journeyman Actors Guild, which this year, is performing Little Women. Thirteen students have collaborated to make this story come to life. Over the past five months, they have been coming to practices twice a week, which, though they can be grueling, have built the cast into a family. Hadley Simpson, a ninth grader who has been acting at CDA for three years, says that this is one of the best parts of Actors Guild. She loves how true friendships are created when the actors trust one another for lines and support when becoming a character.
Acting can be vulnerable when doing things like hugging or holding hands that you would not do in real life. Trust between the actors is required for these things to be made believable. The cast of Little Women has done an excellent job of this, especially since the play is about a family. Friendships and acting have grown through this process.
The director of this little family is Mr. Brad Payne. He has been acting and directing in plays for over 40 years. He is new to Coram Deo this year but has been all in on directing Little Women. Mr. Payne helps the actors strive for excellence while keeping the mood light when illustrating the great lengths that they must go to in order to be dramatic. He loves storytelling and has told the cast repeatedly that the goal is to take the audience out of their own lives and into the story so thoroughly that it becomes their reality. The audience should cry and laugh and love along with the actors because they embody their characters so well.
Becoming a character can be very freeing as you forget the worries of real life and focus only on the struggles and joys of your character. Ava Reed—a freshman starring in Little Women as Jo March—loves this part of Actors Guild. She said, “During the school day, your brain gets pounded to oatmeal, then you get to Actors Guild and [insert satisfied shriek and flung-out arms].” It is very satisfying to become a character who gets all of their problems solved in the course of a two-hour play.
The cast and crew, including myself, have worked hard to pack the heartwarming tale of four sisters growing up during the Civil War into those two hours, so we hope you will come to see us at the CAT Theater.
You can buy your tickets here to experience the story of Little Women.
