This year's production combined the unique and varied talents of over 60 students, staff, and community members. The entire cast and crew would like to say a very special thank you to the following people:
- Uncle Serg Barbering for making the lost boys look sharp.
- GJHS Theatre parents and guardians for their wonderful support, dedication and delicious dinners.
- GJHS Administration and staff for their continued support of all the arts.
- Mr. Castaneda for donating his time to help with music for this show.
- Mr. Hirsh for allowing us to use his room for rehearsals, and for his support.
- The entire custodial staff for their help and patience.
- Mr. Lavadie for his continued support of the Performing Arts.
- Ms. M and the Central High School Drama Department for being an supporting force in the Grand Junction High School Thespian community. Break a leg!
- GJHS Booster Club, for their support and funding of the drama department. You can thank them for our two new spotlights!
- Mr. Brown for offering homework help to all performing arts students
- Kathy Rigg for her help with all the financial aspects of putting on a production
- The entire talented GJHS teaching staff for working with these students everyday.
DIRECTORS NOTES:
"To have faith is to have wings"
What was your dream as a child? Did you dream of being a superhero? Or of being invisible? Did you go to far off places in your mind? As children we could be anything or imagine anything— and it didn’t feel like pretending. We were flying; we were magic; we were whatever we dreamed of being in that moment.
That experience is what Peter and the Starcatcher is here to celebrate. This play takes its roots in J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan—the ultimate exploration of what it means to be younger in all its beauty, fun, and wildness. The book that this play is based on, Peter and the Starcatchers, is the origin story of Peter Pan. How did Peter come to be? Where did Tinkerbell (yellow bird) come from? What is Neverland and why is it magical? It’s an incredible adventure tale that elucidates the Peter stories in the most fun way possible. In the original production, they were given an empty room, they had their imaginations and some bits of rope, and they decided to take the playing of childhood as far as they could go. What happens when you take the ultimate story about childhood and imagination, add even more adventure, and then use only your full imagination to bring it to life? The best kind of theatre possible!
Students built and created everything you see before you. They retrieved old lumber out of the trash, turned tarps into flags, and had a giant mud fight to stain clothes. We found copious amounts of cardboard from the recycling bin, obtained some old rope...then turned ourselves loose to imagine the same way that we did as children. Come with us. Let yourself go back to when that rocket ship you built out of cardboard in your backyard was all you needed to get to the moon. Because, as this play reminds us, with enough imagination and belief, there is little difference between wishing you could fly and actually doing it.
I personally want to thank all of the students for allowing me to be their director. High School students are some of the most creative, empathetic, and resourceful people on the planet, and it is an honor to be able to teach them something as awesome as theatre.
Thank You,
Audrey Neumiller
