Rosebud students perform a feast for the imagination

Laureen F. Guenther
Times Contributor

 

Rosebud School of the Arts’ students bring Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time to the BMO Studio Stage, April 14 to 30.
“It’s a feast for the imagination,” said director Jeany Van Meltebeke, also an instructor at the school. “You get this sense of, ‘Oh, they’re going to take me by the hand and tell me a story that is loaded with imagination.’
“Whether you’ve read the book or not, come to this exciting adventure told in such an imaginative way by Rosebud students.”
The story starts with teenaged Meg Murry.
“Everything’s going wrong in her life,” said Van Meltebeke. “She doesn’t fit in at school. Even though both of her scientist parents are brilliant, she doesn’t seem to do well in academics, other than math.”
We also meet her younger brother Charles Wallace, and their teenaged friend Calvin.
It is a dark and stormy night and Meg’s father has gone missing.
“These three kids – Charles Wallace, his older sister, Meg, and Calvin – are whisked away through space and time to try and recover Mr. Murry,” Van Meltebeke said. “They encounter blackness, a thing, an evil, which is shadowing the entire universe in places, and so they recognize there’s a battle going on that’s bigger than even earth and our solar system. (The story) touches on the battle between light and dark, the battle between good and evil, and it has epic proportions.”
“Here we have a female hero who isn’t being praised for how athletic she is or how beautiful she is,” she said. “She really is an interesting hero … a girl who doesn’t feel pretty but longs for a sense of purpose and ends up finding a purpose which she’s had all along.”
“She’s smart in math, but she feels dumb in every other way and she’s not super-skilled,” she said. “It is her love for her brother that is the most powerful thing she has, and that’s not a skill that she learned; it’s simply her nature and her openness to love.”
Rosebud School of the Arts’ second-year students, who played the lead roles in last fall’s Little Women, are acting the key roles in A Wrinkle in Time. They’re also producing costumes, set and props.
“They’re really bright, open women,” said Van Meltebeke. “I’m very pleased to be working with them.”
Maggie Mackenzie is playing Meg Murry, Natalie Kloster plays Charles Wallace, and Cassie Garbutt is Mrs. Who. Caitlyn O’Connor plays various roles including Mrs. Murry, and Stephanie Lanting plays Fortenbras the Dog and Aunt Beast. Bethany Wickens’ several roles include the teacher, the Happy Medium and the Beast.
Children, teenagers and adults will all enjoy the show, Van Meltebeke said.
“I don’t want anyone to feel isolated like, ‘Oh, it’s a family-friendly show so there’s nothing of consequence.’ There’s great consequence,” she said. “Everybody can identify … my hope would be that it would appeal to everyone.”
Wrinkle in Time plays nine performances, on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 4:30 p.m., from April 14 to 30. A school performance may be available on April 22, if requested. Van Meltebeke invites patrons to come for a matinee of Outside Mullingar in the Opera House on a Thursday or Saturday, and then enjoy A Wrinkle in Time on the BMO Studio Stage. Tickets may be purchased at 1-800-267-7553 or rosebudschoolofthearts.com.