The school has always put immense effort and preparation into their plays and musicals, and ‘The Hobbit’ is no different. ‘The Hobbit’, originally a book by J.R. Tolkien, is the gripping story of a hobbit named Bilbo setting out on an adventure with dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf, looking to reclaim the mountain and treasures that were stolen from them by the great dragon Smaug. Along the way, there are many obstacles, including giant spiders, goblins, and a mysterious creature named Gollum. Everything from the set to the soundtrack is carefully crafted and thought out. This attention to detail is precisely what makes the performance come to life.
Mr. Wallace, the play director, sheds light on the process behind the choice of this play and its adaptation: “I had always been passionate about J.R Tolkien’s work because he’s part of the reason I fell in love with reading, and I had always wanted to see it before it was even a movie.” he says, “It was a lot of work, though, because the adaptation needed to be changed for middle school. So, it’s a lot of work, but I think what’s inspiring about it is it’s about creativity, going on a quest, challenging yourself, having fun, and exploring your imagination.”
However, there were some challenges, specifically with directing and organising schedules, he explains, “Students are involved in so many different activities, so it’s really challenging sometimes to navigate their schedules.”, but students aren’t the only challenge, “It’s challenging to get all of the schedules of the stage managers, tech, actors, set design, backdrop design, and property collection, along with the director, together behind the scenes when students aren’t there. We spend a lot of hours together, and the students don’t always see that, but that takes a lot of time, and you have to get along, to navigate, you have to compromise.”
As the play was adapted and edited, Mr. Wallace had to make some unique and unconventional choices. “Many of them (The students) could tell you several of them. Making the choice to expand the ensemble’s role was really important to me because I wanted the ensemble to be more on stage and more involved as much as possible, because the principal cast has a lot of burden on their shoulders to carry the performance.”
The play also features a lot of technology behind the scenes in creating the backdrop animations and some of the effects, which also created some challenges, “And then, of course, the digitization of effects, such as the dragon, and the set, and the props, all had to be, we had to come up with a concept on how we were going to communicate, why we make the trolls digital.” He explains, “I, in the end, had to say no, I didn’t want the trolls to be digital. I wanted them to be three-dimensional, but the dragon worked because if we had a good voice and Bilbo (The main character) moving around, then that worked better,” he says, “So these creative choices take time to practice and experiment with. “
The play had to be adapted from the original stage version to a middle school-appropriate one, which required a few important changes. “The original adaptation, when it was first brought on stage, it was 24 years ago. It was written 50 years ago. 24 years ago, when it was on stage, it was very poorly reviewed. And that’s because it didn’t have as much humour in it. And what I really enjoyed working with middle school students, and I think the reason it works better with middle school is because they can be comical and still bring a serious performance.”
Another successful and crucial aspect of the play is the set. The original set has changed so many times over the 24 years it has been on stage, and one of the key factors in the atmosphere and performance is such. Mr. Wallace gives insight into his inspiration behind the school’s set, “I actually looked at a production on youtube of ‘The Hobbit’, a different version, by a female writer, and I really liked the idea of anchoring the action around one leveled platform where everything moves around it because it’s easier for the blocking to be memorised by students, but it also allows for versatility.”
But while crafting the set, the team faced quite a few challenges and obstacles. “We had multiple events that interrupted our rehearsal, and that was probably the most challenging thing. We had to take it down and put it up again, and by we, I mean Mr. Capes. We had the LeMont music festival, we had various things, and so that can take a toll on the set, because the set’s not supposed to be a building. It’s actually temporary.” Mr. Wallace describes, “And the other piece is that the set had to be visually textured, and I was so impressed by the chicken wire approach that Minnie (The set designer) took and allowed the light to bounce off it in a way that we could grow and grow and make it bigger.”. But the last challenge was the most important one, “The other piece was safety. We still have to do more safety checks to make sure students don’t fall off. It’s a really important piece. We want to have fun, but anything can happen. You have to keep them (The students) safe.”
Moreover, the students are an enormous part of making the production come to life. With around thirty to forty students involved, there is a question as to whether everyone is prepared for the final performance. Information has been provided by a student who is performing in The Hobbit. Year 9
Student Avery Hadfield plays one of the lead characters, Gandalf. She expressed that after many rehearsals, she feels well prepared. The rehearsals have shown to be a large influence when preparing. Hadfield stated, “It is much easier to practice in a space that can help me get into character.” During rehearsal days, she practices lines and scenes that she needs to review. “Using my time during rehearsals is really important to me, so I practice a lot”.
‘The Hobbit’ is an ambitious production with many different creatures and scenes that may be difficult to represent on stage. But the combination of all these aspects, which were so carefully and precisely considered and created, along with the constant effort and collaboration put into the performances by the cast, guided by Mr. Wallace’s inspirational attitude, expertise, and dedication, has created a truly unforgettable experience.
