Behind the Scenes: 'Little Women' at MVHS

Take 40 Mount Vernon teens, add songs, music, dance, mix together with a timeless tale, toil over avidly for several weeks and zap!  You have the perfect recipe for Little Women, an American classic being performed at Mount Vernon High School May 5-7. 

So what is it about this play set in mid-19th century New England that appeals to MVHS’s trendy teenage thespians?  Shouldn’t they be hanging out at the mall, playing video games, or watching TV?  Instead, they are staying behind after school and giving up free time on weekends so members of their community can travel back in time to Civil War America.  A time, when according to 16 year-old Bryan Azucena, “Everything was so much more formal.  There were no flashing lights, or getting everything you wanted with the snap of your fingers.  It was a more interesting time."

Azucena, who plays Laurie Laurence, is just one of the cast members for whom working on a show set in the 1860s has proved to be more than an acting experience.   This coming-of-age story about family, love, loss, and struggle has shown Stacie-Lynn Wood, how not to take everything for granted. 

“Some of the best things in life are right in front of you," says the 14-year-old, who plays a Troll, which is just one of the storybook characters the play’s protagonist, Jo  March brings to life. 

“Jo has a wild, dramatic imagination,” explains 16-year-old Emily Whitworth, who plays the avid writer, “She writes stories, which she calls 'operatic tragedies', and the audience gets not just to hear the stories, but to see them in all their glory."

Stage manager and co-choreographer Sarah-Marie Wood found that one of the best aspects to working on Little Women was the opportunity to explore the play from an historical context.  

“I had to do a lot of research on patterns, colors, and costumes.  For instance, 1860 in Europe was different to 1860 in the USA, and 1862 and 1865 were different again,” says the 18-year-old senior who plans on majoring in history.  

Wood also finds the show of particular importance for the life’s lessons it embodies. “It makes you look at life in a different way.  You can’t see a girl die of Scarlet Fever and not be affected.”

Playing the role of Beth March is 17-year-old Jenna Kraynak.  “It was hard enough having to play a 13-year-old," says Kraynak, “But the mind set to do a death scene is a feeling I can’t explain.  It was a step up as an actress."

As well as rehearsing at school, Kraynak also took the time outside of school to research her character. 

“What they did with their hair then was different depending on whether they were indoors, or outside.  And they held themselves differently in those days too,” says Kraynak.

Changing from a contemporary American teen to the persona of a German professor was something Logan Beveridge also had to work on. 

“I had to speak in an accent," explains 16-year-old Beveridge, who plays Dr. Bhaer, “But I felt the character knew English well, so he wasn’t stereotypical.  Physically I had to perfect a better stance.”

Although set in the Civil War period, the cast feels the play still holds a message for today’s families.  “It really translates well”, says Kraynak.  “A lot of people living in this area know someone who is at war.  The play depicts how important family is and how war affects family life.”

In keeping with the family oriented theme of the show, tickets are being discounted for the 3 p.m. Mother’s Day performance.  For $5 a ticket or $30 for the entire family, you can step back in time and enjoy what the cast hopes will be a “magical experience."

As Kraynak points out, “Little Women is a story that teaches you to appreciate what you have and to make beauty where and when you can – it’s a lesson you can learn for just two hours, or take with you forever”. 

Little Women runs May 5, 6 & 7 at 7pm and May 8 at 3pm at Mount Vernon High School, 8515 Old Mount Vernon Road, Alexandria, VA 22309.  For more information email bzymum3@aol.com or call 703-619-3259.

Other local school productions taking place the same weekend include:

Bye, Bye Birdie – Springbank Auditorium, West Potomac High School, 6500 Quander Rd, Alexandria, VA 22307.  Performances take place May 5, 6 & 7 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10. For more information call 703-718-2500.

Into the Woods – The Loft Theatre, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA.  Performances take place May 5, 6, and 7 at 7:30pm.  Tickets are available at the door for $5. For more information call 703-960-3431.

Circus Olympics - Carl Sandburg Middle School, 8428 Fort Hunt Rd., Alexandria, VA.  Performances take place April 29 & 30 at 7pm.  For information see http://www.fcps.edu/SandburgMS/Theater.html.