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The Portage High School Drama Club performed some classic Americana with their production of “Twain by The Tail.” Performing November 21, 22 and 23, the actors portrayed characters from stories and sketches out of Mark Twain’s famous work.
From Tom Sawyer to Huckleberry Finn, “Twain by The Tail,” touched on all the classic characters in literature. The actors and crew at Portage High worked for many weeks to get their set and characters just right for the performances.
The story of the show was focused on different sketches and small scenes that added to the Mark Twain theme. “I wanted to do something very Americana I also had my mind set on doing a sketch style show. We do really big productions, so I wanted to step away from a really huge production. Many of the students have had to read Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer in class, so we are taking this opportunity to bring some of those characters to life on stage,” Director Kevin Lee Giese said.
Having so many different sketches provided the actors and crew the challenge of making everything flow smoothly. Playing iconic roles was a learning experience for the students and helped the classic literature become a visual experience.
“Mark Twain is a very sort of sarcastic character, extremely intelligent, and one of the most historical writer of all time. This role is completely out of the box from what I am. Mark Twain is just so interesting, and playing an older guy in his 70’s is something I have never gotten the chance to do before,” Actor Matthew Kiley said.
The different set pieces included trees, the inside of a castle, and even Huck and Fin floating down the river in a raft. All of the costume and makeup added to the era and showed off all the hard work of the students.
“This production is a little bit different than what we normally do. It is a bunch of smaller skits put together to make one product. There’s not really a set cast for the full show, so everyone gets a chance to show what they can do. Our crew has been working really hard and they’ve been really diligent all week. We've been working hard to make everything just right. I think we are going to do a really good job tonight,” Actress and Lifer, Lydia Gerike said.
With so many talented students, the Portage Drama Club will continue to express their creativity with more shows to come during the year. This January will feature a student run production, where the students will do everything from casting to directing.
The stories of Mark Twain were brought to life with Portage High School Drama Club’s “Twain by The Tail.” The production showcased the talented and hardworking students of Portage High, and reminded the audience of the classic tales by Mark Twain.