Kimball Area Theatre performed its spring play, The Outsiders, on April 6 and 7 at the high school. Directed by Kenzie Traurig, the cast of 18 students and 10 stage crew members successfully wowed nearly 300 folks in the audience over the weekend.
The stage adaption dealt with real people, seen through the eyes of young Ponyboy, a Greaser on the wrong side of life, caught up in territorial battles between the have-it-made rich kids, “the Socs,” and his tough, underprivileged “greaser” family and friends. This play was about young people who are not yet hopeless about latent decency in the midst of struggle.
“Our goal of doing a spring play was to give students more of an opportunity to be a part of theatre activities that could also showcase their talents to the community,” said Traurig. “We have a lot of talented students and the spring play gave more of an opportunity for them to work on their skills, for both acting and stage crew. We also have a really supportive community when it comes to theatre and it was another opportunity for them to come and support our Kimball students.”
This is the first year that Kimball Area Theatre has performed a spring play, instead of doing a One Act competition through the MSHSL. The spring play also offered a dinner theatre option before the opening night show.
“Scheduling will always be the biggest challenge for our program because spring is a busy time for all activities and our students are involved in a lot of different things,” added Traurig. “The biggest challenge was preparing for the dinner theatre since we haven’t offered this during my tenure. I’m very grateful for the parents and community members who came out to support our program, the turnout was amazing.”
This was also the first production where Traurig was able to have a student assistant director, Maddy Groinus. Amber Wang served as the Director of Technology and Rachel Kuebelbeck volunteered her time assisting with the play.
“From start to finish, the cast and crew worked really hard to put on a great show,” stated Traurig. “Watching the hard work and growth from the students will always be the most rewarding part of directing.”
Cast and crew members included:
Ponyboy Curtis – Jamison Zoller (8th grade)
Johnny Cade – Roslyn Stang (9th grade)
Dallas Winston – Taylor Libbesmeier (11th grade)
Two-Bit Mathews – Caroline Meyer (12th grade)
Darry Curtis – Zach Kourima (12th grade)
Sodapop Curtis – Brooklyn Ochsendorf (11th grade)
Cherry Valence – Brookelyn Kuechle (12th grade)
Marcia – Kennedy Theis (9th grade)
Sandy – Ella Myers (10th grade)
Randy Anderson – Aurora Voigt (8th grade)
Bob – Paul Potier (12th grade – Foreign Exchange Student)
Paul – Charlie Moore (12th grade)
Mrs. Syme – Kati Zimmerman (11th)
Doctor – Oliver Zwack (7th grade)
Nurses – Maddie Lindberg (7th grade) and Brooke Hinkemeyer (7th grade)
Mrs. O’Briant – Samantha Nistler (7th grade)
Mrs. Cade – Pyper Burg (8th grade)
Ensemble – Dean Durga (7th grade) and Teddy Adolph (6th grade)
Sound – Ben Foos (12th grade) and Lucas Zimmerman (9th grade)
Lights – Rhone Durga (9th grade)
Prop Master – Todd Sipe (11th grade)
Stage Crew – Elizabeth Donnay, Ellie Donnay, Mason Lesnau, Alyssa Anderson, Austin Decknatel and Bryant Truenow.
“My hope for the Kimball Area Theatre program is to continue to give students the opportunity to work on their talents, whether they are acting on stage, building set off stage, or creating light and sounds for the shows,” commented Traurig.
Kimball Area Theatre will now shift gears and start preparing for its upcoming summer community theatre production, Seussical the Musical. Maine Prairie Theatre Company is partnering with Kimball Area Community Education for the summer production.
Auditions are scheduled for May 20 and 21, with callbacks on May 22 at the high school. Community members in grades 4 through adults are welcome to audition and participate in the community theatre program.
Practices are held Monday-Thursday evenings from 6-8 pm during June, July and early August. Performances are slated for August 9, 10 and 11 during the week of Kimball Days. Contact the Kimball Area Community Ed office with questions at 320-398-7700 X 1112.
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