RSA students present Dreams of Kings and Carpenters

By Laureen F. Guenther Times Contributor

Dreams of Kings and Carpenters, by Ron Reed with music by Allen Des Noyers, will be performed by Rosebud School of the Arts students directed by Heather Pattengale, Nov. 28 to Dec. 21.
This play retells the Nativity story, Pattengale said, through a collage of songs, scenes, monologues and poems.
The cast includes Rosebud School of the Arts’ second-year students Emilee Nelson, Allison Gordon, Shelly-Ann Morgan and Dexter Degau, as well as upper-years students Matthew Schaaf, Amy Pohl, Joel Braun and Shayleigh Sihlis, offering perspectives from key characters like Mary and Joseph, and various minor and fictional characters.
“It’s fun to have all these people speak into it, and you get little glimpses of how their lives are affected, if this truly is the Messiah,” Pattengale said.
“It also maybe sheds light on some of the darker sides of the story that we don’t always take a look at,” she added. “What is it like when Herod had all the children slaughtered? And what is it like when the person you’re engaged to be married to is pregnant, and you know it’s not your child?
“We delve into some of these conflicts, and the lives of people who are lost or broken or hurting or searching for God. Or if they’re not overtly searching for God, they’re searching for meaning. They’re searching for healing.”
The title, she said, expresses the idea that God is present and is speaking to everyone – from King Herod to the Magi, to Mary and Joseph, to the shepherds, to the Roman soldiers.
“Our set designer has these wonderful bolts of fabric that represent beams of light coming down out of the sky and touching down on the ground,” Pattengale said. “It’s this idea that God is reaching down His fingers to His people, and He’s showing up in people’s dreams, giving them visions, giving them promises.”
Pattengale often acts in Rosebud Theatre productions. This is her first time directing a production with a multi-member cast.
She said being a director includes even more of what she loves about acting.
“When you’re acting, you get to break down a character, understand why they’re doing what they’re doing, how they relate to other characters,” she said. “When you’re a director, you get to do that for all the characters.”
She also loves seeing creativity grow exponentially as the team works together, producing a result that’s better than anyone could create alone.
And she enjoys watching these performers grow.
“(Working in theatre) is a chance to practice working together creatively as a team,” she said. “It’s a chance to be generous to your scene partners and set things up so that they shine. It’s a chance to tap into being brave.
“I encourage people to come out and support these young people who are … doing that in a very brave way and offering something that I think is quite beautiful.”
Dreams of Kings and Carpenters runs Thursdays to Saturdays, Nov. 28 to Dec. 21, at Rosebud’s BMO Studio Stage. For more information and tickets, call 1-800-267-7553 or go to rosebudschoolofthearts.com.