KEEPING YOU SAFE & ON THE ROAD
Page 2 - FEBRUARY 9 , 2017 - mARtEnsvillE mEssEngER
Ciara O ’ Reilly , Martensville Messenger ..... continued from Page 1
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KEEPING YOU SAFE & ON THE ROAD
brewing love between Poe and thirteen year-old cousin , Virginia ( Greta Strueby ). Following the poem the Raven , came the fall of the House of Usher .
The sheer melancholy story of the House of Usher was enough to send chills down spines , but the acting from that of Steven Baldwin played a fair part in those chills as well . His character , Roderick Usher , was , as mentioned by Henry ( Dylan Berk ), perhaps the most depressing man to ever have been met . Speaking only of the weight of brood brought on by the house and no other , Roderick slowly drove himself mad with depression , but remained hopeful that his childhood friend , Henry , would alter his train of thought . Alas , he did not . The story unravelled in a gut-wrenching turn of events , as Roderick ’ s sick twin sister Madeline ( Sam Warman ) was pronounced deceased by her brother , when in fact she was not . Alive in her tomb , Roderick heard her screams for several days and made no efforts to free her . In finally breaking free from her tomb , the scene ended with flickering red lights for bloodshed , as sister killed brother , and friend fled to never return . The House of Usher had fallen .
As this story took place before the audience , the scenes promptly changed throughout as we altered back and forth between fact and fiction . At this point in the production Poe is happily married to Virginia and his career as a writer is finally kicking off . Things are finally looking up for Edgar Allan Poe , but of course , this cannot last . The next story to be told is titled the Tell Tale Heart .
Back at his desk , Poe begins to write his next story but is interrupted by the coughing of his wife . Virginia was later diagnosed with a fatal illness , and died in a scene that tugged at heart-strings as he kissed her forehead for one last time . We then entered the world of the Tell Tale Heart , as a quill could be seen scrawling rapidly towards the back of the stage . More humorous , but equally morbid , this story entailed an old man ( Cole Zacharias ) along with care-taker Cornelius ( Matthew Letkeman ). The two could perhaps have been an ordinary duo , had it have not been for the pale blue eye belonging to the old man that haunted Cornelius so . In fact , the eye bothered Cornelius to such an extent that he vowed to rid himself of that eye forever , and decided to murder the old man . Several nights passed and each night Cornelius could not bring himself to do the deed , as while the old man slept the eye that vexed Cornelius was shut . On the eighth night , the old man awoke , startled . He had heard Cornelius creeping in the shadows . Upright for an hour , the old man ’ s heart beat harder and harder until emerging from the shadows , Cornelius sprang and murdered the old man . Later that evening police officers ( Noah Fehr and Collier Deschner ) appeared to investigate . A light-hearted and oblivious duo , the two were unaware of the body of the
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Robinson Leads MHS Theatre Arts to New Heights
Robinson has been known for his altitude in all things shady and brooding , what with the past high school performances including Dracula , Dr . Jekyll and Mr . Hyde and the Crucible . Robinson went down a similar road this year , with a few twists and turns added along the way .
The Theatre Arts class of MHS did well in capturing the vision of Robinson , as together they created all that is strange and tumultuous in Robinsons ’ very first written play . From makeup to music and costumes to cast , everything went hand in hand in introducing the audience to the life and times of POE .
The production opened with the stepping stone in the life of Poe , his childhood abandonment . Elizabeth Poe ( Jasmine Pawliw ) entered the scene teary-eyed as she deserted the infant Poe and exited the scene with her beckoning friends in the hopes of fame and big city lights . This was , perhaps , the most humble and dejected way to start a life , and this certainly wasn ’ t the end of misfortunes for Edgar Allan Poe ( Myles Eagle ). The death of foster mother Frances Allan ( Julianne Braun ), whom Poe had become close to through the years , later followed . The play went on to highlight the wretched events of his life , as adoptive father John Allan ( Keaton Fournier ) accused Poe of being a waste of life , and as lover Elmira ( Jayda Spracklin ) broke off their engagement as she had found another . Already at an all-time low , Poe declared that he shall create a life of his own , on his own , and with that , Poe began to write .
Scenes changed swiftly in regard to the back and forth notions of Poe ’ s writings and real-life happenings . When Poe ( Eagle ) perched behind a wooden desk just in front of a beautiful Victorian clock backdrop and picked up his quill , the scene transformed into the words that were forming through the warped mind of Poe . Narrators would then enter the scene and lights would change using either an icy blue , green , piercing white , or rather dim luminosities to exemplify the changes from life to paper . The first of the works that were introduced to the anticipating audience was a poem , titled rightfully so , the Raven . The Raven itself ( played by Brett Larocque ) was hooded in a costume of all black . After doing some research , “ the Raven ” ultimately symbolized the protagonist ’ s memories of a deceased woman named Lenore . The cast did well in capturing the morose affairs as the narrators ( Brennan Blevins and Cassidy Funk ) read the poem with rigid shoulders and sullen voices . Every so often the poem , and the following story writings , would be interrupted with the real-life happenings of Poe . In the midst of creating the Raven , the interruption was the old man hidden beneath their feet . Cornelius failed to keep his cool , as he rambled nervously and quite insanely to the officers about chickens and his handsome man of an Aunt . The beating heart ( though cold and lifeless ) of the old man bothered Cornelius so , and eventually he turned himself in- ripping up the floor boards and revealing the corpse of the old man .
Ending the production , Poe looked out across the audience and spoke of his utter loneliness . The narrators then replied stating that he was not really alone - perhaps referring to the entities of madness budding in his mind . The cast then gathered behind Poe across the stage , the lights dimmed and the play came to an end . The performance was spectacular , and well deserving of the standing ovations received from all three performances . Myles Eagle blew everyone away taking on the main role of Poe and definitely did not disappoint . In fact , each and every cast member was so well suited to their characters one would think they had been acting for years . The morbid affairs came together as an act of artistic and creative genius . Cogs are turning as Robinson gives no hints as to what is in store for next year ’ s show as he merely states that he ‘ has some ideas ’.
At the final performance , stage technician Dustin Nelson had a few words to say to the Theatre Arts clan as their production came to an end . Nelson acknowledged the works of everyone involved . “ I ' d like to take this time to recognize the art and the integrity of our director Mr . Robinson who wrote his very first play . I ’ d also like to thank Brittany ( sister of Robinson ) for her skills with hair and makeup , and Jared Robinson who created the musical score for our play .” Jared Robinson of Nebulus Entertainment played an approximation of thirty instruments during the making of the musical score . “ I ' d also like to thank the cast for all of their hard work and practice on and off the stage , we are like one big happy family . I love you all ,” said the emotional Nelson , and a “ we love you too , Dustin ,” was the chanted reply .
“ The final performance of a run is always emotional . So much work goes into the production for so many people and for so long , that the cast and crew become like a close-knit family . It ' s hard to feel that come to an end . But it is so rewarding ,” said Robinson .
BELOW : The cast of ‘ The Strange and Tumultuous Life of Edgar Allan Poe ’, with Writer / Director Micah Robinson ( kneeling on left ) and Jared Robinson ( kneeling on right ) who composed the original score for the play . The talented cast of Martensville High School students stunned the audience each night with their acting abilities . ( Photo submitted by Micah Robinson )
“ The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague . Who shall say where one ends , and where the other begins ?” - Edgar Allan Poe