Starting Friday night, Mains Street Productions is staging Charlotte’s Web at Westfield Playhouse, 1836 State Road 32 West, Westfield. The play is adapted from the book by E.B. White by Joseph Robinette and will be directed by Brandi Davis.
Charlotte’s Web is the story of Wilbur the pig and his friendship with Fern Arable, the little girl who adopts him, and his barnyard friends including Charlotte the spider.
As an Encore Rising Star Youth Production, the cast is composed of young actors.
“We have 29 kids who are acting plus one on the tech crew,” Davis told The Reporter. “My youngest is four and my oldest is 16.”
Davis said she enjoys working with young actors for their enthusiasm.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Davis said. “All of them are very enthusiastic. Kids are just more excited about doing shows, working together and building characters than you will see sometimes in adult productions. It’s a different level of energy.”
This play is drawing on young actors from across Hamilton and surrounding counties.
“I’ve got at least four kids from Madison County,” Davis said. “We have kids from Carmel, Sheridan, Lawrence, a bunch from Westfield, Fishers, Indianapolis and Noblesville.”
Davis calls this a family-friendly feel-good show and she stressed that the parents of the young actors are an essential part of bringing this production to the stage.
“The parents are so important,” Davis told The Reporter. “They have to get their kids to and from rehearsals, they help find costume pieces, and they have to juggle their own schedules at home and still get their kids here every night.”
She has also asked some parents to help behind the scenes during the show.
“Our dressing room is in the basement of the theater,” Davis explained. “In order to access the stage, you have to go out the front door and around to the back of the building. I have parents who will be in the basement and outside making sure the kids can move safely from one location to the other while under observation the entire time.”
That will not be the case when Westfield Playhouse moves to its new location, possibly as soon as 2019. Keep reading The Reporter for details on the new Westfield Playhouse.
Photos provided by Brandi Davis