Boys form core for ?Three Musketeers

GHSThreeMusketeers3

GHSThreeMusketeers3

When 19 boys signed up to participate in the annual fall production at Goessel High School, director Derrick Birdsell?s first reaction was, ?What can we do that will get all of these guys involved??

Discussions with assistant director Debi Hughbanks jokingly began with the title, ?The Three Musketeers.? The discussions in the spring and summer always ended with the same comment, ?We still have time.?

When time ran out this fall and the final decision had to be made, ?The Three Musketeers? was announced as the fall production. Tryouts were in early August, the cast was announced and play practices began on the third day of school.

?I was really excited when I heard the production was going to be ?The Three Musketeers,?? said senior Peter Voth. ?I knew it was going to have a lot of sword fighting, action and adventure in it.?

Now with practices in full swing, the cast is learning stage combat techniques that will keep each musketeer and cardinal?s guard safe while appearing to be fighting a duel to the death.

?The combat training and the anticipation of working with real swords on stage has been a big motivator for the whole cast,? Birdsell said.

Dannette Baker, adjunct faculty member at Wichita State University, is instructing the cast in stage combat.

?To go fast, one has to start slow,? is the way Baker started the first lesson. Initially, the musketeers and guardsmen used wooden dowel rods, broom handles and yard sticks for swords.

As the students grow more confident in their abilities to protect each other as they fight on stage, they will get faster with their moves and finally graduate from wooden sticks to fencing foils.

The cast consists of Voth as Alexandre Dumas, Braden Unruh as D?Artagnan, Alex Schmidt as Porthos, Mark Schmidt as Aramis and Nate Bray as Athos.

The Cardinal Richelieu will be played by Josh Booth. Constance Bonacieux will be played by D?Ambra Kruger, and Milady De Winter will be played by Samantha Jarvis.

Keenan Stultz and Jo Hoffman will play King Louis XIII and Queen Anne of Austria. Jake Bray will be Lord Buckingham and Shane Goerzen will play Rochefort. Arik Schmidt will play Monsieur Bonacieux.

The Goessel High School production of Charles Morey?s adaptation of Alexandre Dumas?s ?The Three Musketeers? will be Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11 and 12. Curtain goes up at 7 p.m. Dinner will be served from 5:30 to 6:50 p.m. both nights. Dinner is by donation.

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