Page 159 - Clearwater Christian College Yearbook (sample)

At the end of April, the student body and community

were invited into a gym converted into C.S. Lewis's world

ofNarnia.Thesetwaslaidoutinan unusual format;they

performed "in the round," on a platform rising in the center

of the gym, surrounded on every side by the audience.The

actors had to resist their traditional knowledge of stage

training, in which actors never turn their back to the audi-

ence."ltwas hard. A lot of us had conditioned ourselves to

motion toward the audience on stage, but 'in the round'

was more like moving normally,"said Jenna Eyers.

The cast found their largest challenge in seeking

to portray the play's underlying theme: the "deep mag­

ic," of Christ's redemptive act. Many were impressed

with their responsibility to convey the contrast between

the evil Witch Queen's army and those who chose to

follow the good lion Aslan. "It was great having the op­

portunity to communicate to the audience the severe

difference between good and evil, making sure they un­

derstood the grotesqueness of evil while watching pure

good ultimately conquer it,"said Joanna Wiedeman.

To save the life of a rebellious boy, Edmund, Aslan

allows himself to be murdered by the witch. However,

he returns to life, demonstrating Christ’s triumph over

death and sin."Aslan's greatest act is saving Edmund,

not saving all of Narnia,"said wood nymph Tabitha

Driver. // loved the scene where the table cracks and Aslan comes The opera workshop class culminated a

back to life. For many of the performances I got goose bumps semester of hard work in a mini-production

whenever Aslan said, 'It is more magic.'" which featured scenes from five famous operas,

including Guonod’s Romeo et Juliette, Bizet's
Evil general Fenris Ulf chal­

lenges Peter to a duel as King Carmen, and Mozart's Don Giovanni. In addition

Aslan s army looks on. The
to the musical pieces, which they rehearsed for
sword fight scene was my

favorite,' recounts Caleb Free- months, the students also learned how to move

burg, who played Fenris. He
in relation to each other on the opera stage, a
said, Although it was done

perfectly in rehearsals, we only choreography technique called "blocking." "As

did it once perfectly during
a group we worked a lot at developing our act­

the actual show week. But,

hey, who doesn't like making ing skills, working off of each other and learning

sparks on stage?'
how to better integrate our vocal training into

the stag," Mac Gotcher said,describing the class's

overall benefits.

Supplement