Drama Department debuts new version of Peter Pan
“Peter Pan,” a Walt Disney Productions classic, was rewritten to become an original Homestead High School drama production by Ms. Amelia Figg-Franzoi, Director of the Drama Department. To complete a part of her Masters of Fine Arts thesis at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Ms. Figg-Franzoi started writing “Peter Pan and the Girl Who Grew Up” in the November of 2015 and did not finish it until a week before the play opened.
Ms. Figg-Franzoi designed and created half of the costumes; designed and wrote the 200 light cues; found and cut the music; designed the set; wrote the show; choreographed; directed; and guided the actors through their own creations.
“That’s a lot, right?” Ms. Figg-Franzoi said. “Technically, it’s not more than I usually do, which is why I kept asking myself if this was enough. That was my biggest stressor: not feeling adequate enough for a master’s thesis performance.”
“My favorite part of the play is the differences in the dynamics of the relationships on and off the stage. Some people who are really good friends offstage have to completely reverse their dynamic in order to suit the characters being portrayed, some of whom may be enemies onstage,” Lilly Higgins, junior, said.
Ms. Figg-Franzoi said, “The most rewarding aspect of this process was getting 28 actors on that stage to be confident and amazing. They rose to the challenge of creating this play and didn’t bat an eye when I asked them to work out or go for a run. They nodded when I asked them to choreograph something on their own or to rehearse a scene we had yet to block.”
Andrew Lococo, senior actor who played Smee, said, “This play delves into a fresh and creative plot with developed characters, allowing for a different yet timeless story.”
“I still don’t think it’s done; I plan on making edits from what I learned with audience reactions. There are talks of mounting my play in the 2017-2018 theater season at a couple of different professional companies within the Midwest, so we shall see what comes to fruition,” Ms. Figg-Franzoi stated.
