by Zach Lozevski
I sat down with Mr. Penwell, the play director for Greenfield, to ask him some questions regarding his new upcoming Peter Pan play. They are to begin auditions this February 7th, and a follow-up article will be written after the show.
Peter Pan is a very interesting choice for a play because it has loads of technicalities and challenges that Mr. Penwell has to adapt to. Peter Pan flies multiple times, and Mr. Penwell said while he won’t be using a wire to make anyone fly, he will be pulling this off in another creative way.
Most of the same crew from the previous plays will be pitching in to help, such as Ms. Howard and the Arts Center in downtown Wilson. Mr. Penwell said that he may not build the entire set for a particular scene, but he will give a keen illusion of an environment it would be in. In his words, “If we’re not like building a full bedroom set, but we want to tell you we’re in the bedroom, or we want to tell you you’re in this magical neverland and use it minimalistly almost but there is not so much on stage to suggest theses things.”
Peter Pan is very accommodating to a large cast, as it has multiple characters, so no one will have to be left out of a role in the play. When asked what kind of actors he wants for the play, he responded, “The students realize the story is just a lot of kids pretending right in this magical story, so ones who can sell that and be energetic and bring the audience in their imagination.” While there will still be many elements of comedy and humor in this play, Mr. Penwell has decided to make it more story-driven than the last ones.
Mr. Penwell is very optimistic about this production being a success and pulling the audience in. He is happy to direct another performance after this in the same year.
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