By Kamryn Sannicks/Gator Galaxy Staff
Senior Matt Hansen laughs with senior Alex Higgins, left, and junior Lindsey Elazouzi, center, while working on the set for this year’s One Act “Across the Plains.”
Lincoln North Star theatre is back at it again! This time it’s their One Act “Across the Plains: The Journey of the Palace Wagon Family.”
“Across the Plains” is based on the true Donner Party, involving the Donner, Reed, and Breen families, who traveled across the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They got stuck in the snow and they were tested to see how far they were willing to go to survive.
The Donner Party was a California-bound wagon train with 81 American pioneers traveling through the Sierra Nevada mountains in May 1846. They were trying to find a faster way to get across Utah. They hoped to arrive in the Sacramento Valley by September. They were caught in a snowstorm in early November. Three rescue groups were required to get the remaining members to California due to weather conditions. They arrived in March 1847. Thirty-six of the 81 people died due to starvation, exposure, disease, and/or trauma. Some of them resorted to cannibalism in order to stay alive. They played a minor part in westward migration, but are known for the reports of cannibalism.
The play is based on actual letters, diaries, magazine and newspaper articles. It follows young Virginia Reed throughout her trip from Illinois to California. The cast will be using folk songs and dramatic action to recreate the setting.
This will be the most emotional play put on by the thespians. There are many little details in this One Act that will bring the show together and make it whole. Three platforms will be used as wagons, then changed into a store front and, again, changed one more time into a shelter. All done as a part of the play. Ten girls were cast to act as the grass of the prairie. They will be used as part of the background to show the movement of the pioneers through their journey in a poetic and graceful way.
Zach Miller (10) said, “This is the show everyone comes together and works the most on.”
Last year, they were district runner-up to Gretna High School. “With a show like this I think we’ll make it to State,” said Ryane Needles (10). “The ‘wow factor’ is what will get us there.”
All the hard work and little details will pay off when the One Act hits the stage. The thespians will show us how much will these people had to survive through their lowest point in life.
The play is 30 minutes long. They will perform Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. for the public. On Dec. 7 they perform at Bellevue East for Districts. They must place first at Districts in order to qualify for State.
