It's time to journey down the rabbit-hole with Alice and the White Rabbit. The Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter, March Hare, Red Queen, and the rest of this incredible cast of characters will confound poor Alice and entertain us all.

Stages Theater Company in Hopkins, MN is one of our favorite children's theater companies (we love them - we've shared their excellent work here on our site many times!).  Today is the WORLD PREMIERE of Alice in Wonderland, and we are so very excited to share this with our Wandering Educators.

The script is dapted from the book by Lewis Carroll by Jim Hibbeler. We were lucky enough to sit down and talk with the Director, Leah Adcock-Starr, about this new production, the set, actors, and more. Here's what she had to say...

WE: Please tell us about your new production of Alice in Wonderland...

LAS: Stages Theatre Company's production of Alice in Wonderland invites the audience to not only watch Alice's adventures down the rabbit hole but
to become a part of them!  The entire theatre space has been transformed into Wonderland in order to allow the audience to truly enter the world
of the play.  The characters of Wonderland move through the audience, talk to the audience, and sit next to them through out the story!  This
is a physical, rambunctious, and imaginative production where the audience gets to participate in the wonder of Wonderland just as much as Alice does!

WE:  Can you share the story with us, of this production of Alice in Wonderland?

LAS: Jim Hibbler's fabulous adaptation remains true to Lewis Carroll's original work Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  We begin the play with Alice and her sister sitting under a tree reading and growing quite sleepy on a golden afternoon.  Suddenly a White Rabbit with a waistcoat and watch trots past and slips down a rabbit hole, Alice, always looking for an adventure, follows him and enters into Wonderland.  While traveling through Wonderland, Alice encounters many a quirky and whimsical, if not slightly mad, host of characters who perplex, entertain and beguile her! 

WE:  How is the set unique?

LAS: The set for Alice in Wonderland (designed by Erica Zaffarano) fills the entire theatre space and invites the audience into the world of Wonderland.  The audience is seated on every side of the space on platforms that resemble those that the actors all move on, and during the play the actors move through the space, and interact with the audience.  So many productions use the proscenium arrangement, with actors up on a stage facing one direction and the audience all seated in one spot looking in the same direction.  This show is quite different.

The central playing space is in the middle of the audience so the actors play to every side of the room...this gives the entire play a very physical and playful energy!  The set is whimsical and creative and is truly the perfect world for these characters and for our audience to enter into Wonderland.

WE:  Who is involved in this production?

LAS: Stages Theatre auditioned over one hundred young actors in the Twin Cities for this production.  We have a cast of 23 actors between the ages of 10 and 18.   Our artistic team is made of some of the most wonderfully imaginative professional designers, carpenters, painters, stage managers and artists in the Twin Cities.

WE:  How can readers find out more?

LAS: Go to www.stagestheatre.org for more information about reserving tickets and find Stages on Twitter at : www.twitter.com/stagestheatreco and
Facebook at: www.facebook.com

WE:  Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

LAS: Tickets are going fast!  Call Stages now to reserve a ticket to Wonderland!

WE: Thanks so much, Leah! Wish we were there to see it.

For more information, please see:
http://www.stagestheatre.org/

Feature Photo:
(left to right to top) Kendall Kent (Alice), Loren O'Brien (Mad Hatter) and Micah Dickson (White Rabbit). Photo credit: Bruce Challgren