Rosebud Theatre student set to shine
By Melissa Piche Times Contributor
Rosebud School of The Arts student Koayla Cormack, who will be graduating from Rosebud this year, is pleased to present her “Final Project” May 23-25 in Rosebud.
The project is a theatrical adaptation of Charles Dickens and David Copperfield.
Cormack has been a fan of Dickens’ work for a few years now, and David Copperfield was the first book of his that she read. This sparked her interest in adapting the play to tell a different story.
Her adaptation goes a little like this; it’s about 12-year-old David who tells the audience of his life of abuse at the hands of his stepfather and the death of his mother. When she dies, David feels the only thing he can do is run away to his only living relative, his aunt Betsey. Will Aunt Betsey find out about the abuse and neglect from David’s stepfather? Will she finally accept the fact that David isn’t a girl like she always wanted?
“When I was a teenager I read Oliver Twist, but I didn’t quite get into it as much then yet,” said Cormack.
The 24-year-old student said the play took about a year to write; she spent many hours perfecting the words and making this play the success she hopes it to be. The play is mostly a one-person play with Cormack playing the lead role of David Copperfield and three other fellow cast members playing smaller roles of Aunt Betsey, her friend and the stepfather.
“When I was little, I liked writing a lot,” she Cormack. “I’ve always liked acting around the house.”
She reminisces of her childhood and the foreshadowing that it has on where her life would take her.
This play is part of Cormack’s final assignment. Students are allowed to choose the topic and format.
“You can kinda do whatever you want as long as it’s not too difficult that they think you won’t be able to pull it off,” she said. “The reason I came to Rosebud and stuck with it for the full four years is that I’m interested in some point in time starting my own production company.”
Cormack will be performing her play just outside of the Opera House on the green space daily at 4:30 p.m. from May 23-25.
People are encouraged to catch the main show, Chariots of Fire at the Opera House either before or after Cormack’s play. The small hamlet is sure to be abuzz this time of year with their spring season in full swing.
Her show is free to anyone who wants to enjoy an afternoon of theatre. For more information on the latest goings on at Rosebud School of the Arts, you can visit their website (www.rosebudtheatre.com).