This February, the drama department showcased the musical Alice by Heart, a contemporary twist on the story of Alice in Wonderland. The principal element of this take on the classic is its historical context, as it is told from the perspective of two children in a British bomb shelter during World War II.
In the musical, the main characters, Alice and Alfred, go about exploring Wonderland from the bomb shelter while acting as Alice and the White Rabbit respectively. Others staying in the shelter similarly adopt the roles of Wonderland’s characters, ranging from the Cheshire Cat to the Caterpillar. Alfred suffers from a terminal case of tuberculosis, and Alice attempts to delay the end of the story as his condition worsens. The musical draws a parallel between the Rabbit’s habit of always running out of time and Alfred’s shortening lifespan.
“It’s very different [from] any show that we’ve done here,” said Adam Sheaffer, drama teacher and director. “I thought that it would be a really unique challenge for our students.”
Throughout the production, the cast and crew had a lot of flexibility with their artistic vision as the production was incredibly new. Each day, actors spent hours rehearsing and staging the show in order to make it most effective.
“There were not a lot [of sources] to go off of, so we were all very curious on how it would turn out,” said Meera Antigua, junior and dance captain. “There was a lot of [room for] interpretation with all the songs since they can be taken in so many different ways.”
Another artistic challenge with the production was how it dealt with concepts like grief and coping through escape. According to lead Hope Conigliaro, sophomore who played Alice, these elements presented a challenge for the cast.
“[Alice] has a lot of really intense and dark scenes, and that was a lot [for me],” Conigliaro said. “There were [many] hard emotions to manage, [and] I found myself in a lot of scenes that involved crying on stage…I think it’s important to be able to explore that range.”
Despite pushing the actors, many felt that exploring the new subjects made the entire experience more profound.
“I think that theater, especially if you’re playing characters who learn a lot in the show, can help you have a different perspective on things,” Conigliaro said. “Alice by Heart is a show about grief and learning to live with what happens to you in life, [and] I think everyone in the show learned a lot about experiencing life to its fullest and never taking anything for granted.”
In terms of artistic elements, Alice by Heart differs from past productions due to its folk-pop music and contemporary dancing. Shorewood Drama chose to focus on a more modern style of dancing in comparison to the stylistically hip-hop/jazzy choreography that was seen in previous performances like Legally Blonde.
Antigua played a big part in polishing the dancing throughout the production.
“I led a few rehearsals and choreographed a few numbers [like] the waltz that I was in,” Antigua said. “[An actor choreographing] has never been done before [at Shorewood]… It was a new opportunity so it was really special to me.”
The student-led choreography was independent from rehearsals and often asked Antigua to work in tight timeframes, helping develop her leadership skills.
“It was so much fun,” Antigua said. “I dragged [my friend] to a waltz class.”
The show had multiple visual effects that kept its audience engaged, from special effects to aerial silks. Because of this, the show was heavily reliant on the tech crew.
“I liked that this show got a little weird and allowed me to do things that are a little weirder than normal and a little darker than normal…especially with lighting,” said Brad Brist, tech director. “I got to experiment more with this, which I had a lot of fun with, and I thought in the end it was a very pretty show.”
Alice by Heart had a lot of deeper underlying themes that allowed for a lot of unique creative direction. Brist had the opportunity to experiment with various features of set design in order to convey the themes of the music and story.
“Unreservedly, it’s one of the best shows I’ve directed here and I thought it was so beautiful and challenging,” Sheaffer said.
Others expressed excitement for the spring musical and the different types of challenges that will come with production.
“Just that feeling of being able to make something really exciting on stage, being able to tell the story you’ve been working on [with others] for months, is an incredibly rewarding feeling,” Conigliaro said.