By Sophia Ferrara & Sasha Khan
Last month, on the nights of Friday, April 16th and Saturday, April 17th, the curtains opened on the Timber Creek Theatre Department’s stunning production of the musical, Children of Eden, which is based on the Book of Genesis, and tells the story of Adam and Eve in Act 1 and Noah’s Ark in Act 2. The show was directed by Ryan Skiles, the musical theatre and theatre teacher, and featured a wide variety of characters played by all different grade levels, including some students from Stone Lakes Elementary, which Skiles commented on, simply saying, “I’m not used to fifth grade energy,” (although he eventually came around!). As a viewer of the show, it was definitely different, considering it was done outside, but true talent radiated throughout, and not just in terms of the performers.
One of the most important people in this entire process was Ryan Skiles, the director of this production, and countless other musicals performed by the the Timber Creek Thespians. Mr. Skiles claimed that this year, as with any other year, the first and most important place to start was by choosing a show. He knew that this year he had to choose something that could be done with minimal costumes and a minimal set, as well as a music-heavy show that was easily achieved with minimal blocking. He also made the choice to contain the casting to his 7th period class as opposed to opening auditions up to other students throughout the school (as to stay within COVID limits and restrictions). All of this combined is what helped him to choose Children of Eden. Mr. Skiles said that this year the cast and their parents were all a huge help in the show, and that it really couldn’t have been done without their contributions. He said a lot of money had to be raised, and parents helped with that this year more than ever. There were a lot of logistical aspects that had to be pre-planned and worked out, but in the end, from the point of view of an audience member, it can be said with certainty that the show seemingly went off without a hitch. However, according to Mr. Skiles there were also definitely some complications behind the scenes, as with any show, that intensified due to this year being what it has been. Obviously due to extenuating circumstances, there were a lot of things that got changed in the process. In fact, Mr. Skiles says, “I would say 50% is preplanned and another 25% is ditched. So 25% of what I planned actually makes it into the show.” A lot of what he’d planned, such as finger lights at the beginning of the show, and projections that showed kids online, had to be scrapped due to the conditions outside (for example, finger lights could not be used since rehearsals started in months where it got darker earlier, meaning lights could not be adjusted when it took more time to get dark). Not only that, a lot of the movements had to be changed when looking at the stage space. Skiles admitted, to some of his favorite pieces from the show being songs entitled “A Piece of Eight”, and “The Flood.” However, one of his most impactful opinions was about the show itself, such as its message, plot and characters. Mr. Skiles explained that the show, while following a Biblical story, was truly about family, forgiveness and relationship dynamics. He even gave the example of the last song in the show, “In the Beginning,” saying that, “the lyrics of the song for us were so powerful to us, especially right now, and it’s so timely for us right now as a country. The message was what we really wanted to bring home and that was ‘We need to get back on track.’”
Another important person worth mentioning is sophomore Perrin Knowlton, a first time stage manager. Since the age of five, Knowlton has been on the acting side of performing arts, and while she enjoyed it, she claims that, “after being given the opportunity to stage manage I definitely think I will be more of a technician now.” She described the experience as “a lot of work and very stressful, but a good kind of stressful,” especially because she wasn’t able to get the training normally provided for all first-time managers. Some of the responsibilities she took up as stage manager were taking attendance and contacting those who did not give a heads up they would be out, getting the stage set up for the top of rehearsal, making sure all props were where they needed to be, making sure we stick to the set schedule for the day, and so much more. She described the difficulties of managing a show outside and all the unpredictability there, but she said the cast made it a lot easier because they took up so much responsibility. Knowlton even made a lot of close friends throughout the process, especially with the assistant stage managers. She admitted that she worked a lot harder as a stage manager than as an actress and she was busiest during the last week of the show. As for Knowlton’s opinions on the actual show, she explained that it had a wide variety of important messages that everyone could relate to, and she referenced the same song Skiles did, saying it “touched my heart when hearing the cast sing it!” She remembered that her favorite scene was at the end, when a bird prop would be brought out to fly through the crowd, and said that if she could play one part in the show, she would enjoy being part of the ensemble.
Ty Lowrey, who played the character of Cain in the show as well as a storyteller, had some interesting opinions on the entire process as well! As with any production, this one started with the audition process, which was quite extensive. According to Lowrey, one section (out of many) for this large audition was sending in “nine songs of different variations within two weeks”. Aside from that, actors had to create a songbook with cuts and prepare two contrasting monologues as well. From there, since everyone in the 7th period class was going to be part of the show, the class evaluated one another’s auditions and gave feedback. Following this was callbacks. Everyone was called back for at least one role, and those that were called back for two sang the parts of both roles during the callback process. After callbacks came the cast list. Everyone who played a lead in the show (including Lowrey) got two roles each, and he claims that when he played the main character of Cain, there was a lot more solitude and exploration of the character. When he played the role of a storyteller, he found it felt much more like being one part of a whole. When it came to the logistical aspect of the show (the actual rehearsals, performance, etc.), Lowrey elaborated on the fact that this year it would be different and everyone knew it wasn’t going to be perfect. He claimed that throughout the rehearsals everyone’s motto was “choose joy” and to remember that “something is better than nothing.” Not only that, he explained that even small things like having 5th graders be a part of the show was fun for everyone even though it was definitely a more challenging aspect. Lowrey’s opinion of the show’s messages as a whole is that they are hugely applicable to everything in life and that they are “repeating messages”. All in all, Lowrey said that if he could describe the entire process of rehearsals, performing, and doing everything with the added adjustments of COVID in one word it would be, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”Watching Children of Eden both nights was an incredible experience. So many talented individuals were involved in helping this show come together , and what’s truly inspirational is the fact that they didn’t let the pandemic stop them from spreading an amazing message and putting on a spectacular production, despite all the struggles they faced. At times, those struggles may have even worked out for the best. Like Ryan Skiles said, “As an artist, you’re going to throw away a lot of your work in order to make it better, and you need to be okay with that. There’s going to be thousands of choices, and you need to pick the best one.” Although these words of wisdom were directed toward artists, they can be used regarding lots of challenges of varying difficulty. There will be times that you’ll have to change, adjust, or scrap completely, but in the end, the cast of Children of Eden worked around the struggles and proved that throwing away ideas can sometimes bring along better ones that you wouldn’t have even thought of. Not only that, an insider’s view of the process showed us that not everything ends up perfect, and although it is imperative to pick the best choice, that may not always be the perfect one, and that is okay. All that’s important is that you give it your all, be prepared for challenges, and as this show’s cast remembered throughout the process, to choose joy. Instead of panicking and losing their hope and motivation, the cast and crew adapted their show to make it work with the situation they were in at the time, something we can all learn from and use in our daily lives.
