A new 'Nutcracker': Penn-Trafford drama guild prepares performance

The classic holiday ballet “The Nutcracker” conjures to mind images of precise dancing steps and tulle tutus.

At the Penn-Trafford High School Drama Guild, a troupe of high school students are working to prepare a different version: a theatrical edition titled “The Nutcracker: The Play,” which will run at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, and 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec.3.

The performance, starring sophomore Sarafina Premozic as Clara and junior Paul Mills as the Nutcracker, adds dialogue and humor to the Nutcracker story, and uses music by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Student directors Ella Welsch and Zach Grabowski look forward to sharing the modern take on the tale with the audience.

“It’s a mystical, magical show,” said Welsch, a senior at Penn-Trafford High School. “I think that you’re going to walk in thinking it’s ‘The Nutcracker,’ but when you hear the music and the curtains open, your socks are going to come off, you’re going to be really surprised by what you’re going to see.”

“We just want to use the dialogue in order to enhance the story and capture the feeling of it and how the ballet is put on,” said Grabowski, also a senior. “Certain characters will say certain lines in a certain way to allude to stuff that happens later in the play, referencing not only the ballet but also the original story.”

Student actress and Penn-Trafford senior Phelan Newman, who plays the roles of The Mother and The Sugar Plum Fairy, hopes the play appeals to all ages.

“The dialogue adds a whole new effect to the story that you don’t get to see in the original ballet,” Newman said. “We would love to have kids come out, but I think this is something the parents can also enjoy.”

Preparing to perform

Welsch and Grabowski work with the tech crew and actors respectively as student assistants to director Tom Bekavac. This year is the first time the guild has had two student directors instead of one.

“As an actor, I know how to take whatever (Bekavac) would say as the director and kind of help the actors produce what would be the best project,” Grabowski said. “There’s a lot of different people that help create the play, so it does look like a lot of work on the surface, but once you delve into it and you know what you need to do, it’s not a difficult task to handle.”

“I get this sense of pride in just the movement of it. It’s something I get to see from all the aspects,” Welsch said. “I get to see these kids working hard in crew and I get to see their hard work put together, and I get to see the actors and how all their hard work gets put together.”

The guild has been working on the show since September, practicing Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The costumes, props, makeup and scenery present an engaging challenge for students, Bekavac said in a statement.

“The dialogue, bringing these classic characters to life in a fresh way, is a challenge,” he said. “It’s thrilling to watch the growth and development of the cast and crew. They’re working together toward this common goal — to make this classic story new for our audiences.”

The visual elements of the show drew the students’ interest and enthusiasm, Penn-Trafford faculty member and Drama Guild sponsor Jen Haberberger added.

“Once they started seeing the costumes and the hair and makeup coming together, they really got excited,” she said. “The sets are awesome, everything is coming together now, and everyone is excited about it.”

The play’s dancing choreography, arranged by Penn-Trafford senior Mia Confer, gives the students a head start on practicing the type of footwork that will be needed for the guild’s musical show in the spring, Haberberger said.

“These kids are getting the experience of all the facets of theater,” she said.

Tickets for all performances are $7 and available at the door.