On HOLES:
Louis Sachar achieved a masterpiece with Holes. With Stanley’s story Sachar hooks us with the horrible injustice of it all, because who among us haven’t been the victim of injustice? The the author reels us in with some crusty characters, prickly on the outside, oozing with hurt on the inside.
The plot takes us down a twisting path a 105 years long, a trail of bigotry and greed, lipstick and lizards, crimes and curses. Somehow mild-mannered Stanley crawls out from the bottom of a hole and emerges the hero, and we all vicariously become heroes too.
Sachar wrote Holes for a young adult audience, but it’s universal themes capture all of us. Along this entertaining journey Sachar sheds light on tough issues: sexual harassment, racial prejudice, abuse of power, the vulnerability of youth. Sachar draws us in with amusement, and gets us to ponder some weighty topics.
The actors you’ll see on the stage get all that. We had fun, but we also did some thinking. Everyone in this cast relates to the characters and events in this story and our lives are richer for contemplating their plight. Look for yourself in this play. Enjoy!
On the thrill of live performance:
“The thrill of live performance.” That phrase from one of our senior biographies struck me with fresh power. Nothing beats the thrill of the live performance. You can read the book Holes, and that’s great! Your own imagination draws the faces, the setting, the voices and the smells. It’s a personal experience. Watching the movie is great too! Holes is one of the best family movies out there.
Neither of those experiences tops the thrill of live performance where anything can happen, where the audience and the actors share the same space. Audience response - laughter, gasps, or breathless silence - color how the story unfolds on the stage. Certainly the plot takes place the same each time, but a lively audience makes the highs brighter, the lows darker, the picture more vivid.
Be that audience. Be the audience that coaxes the actors to give you the best performance of the run. You play an important role in the show you’re about to see. Have fun!
