As the spooky season is coming to an end and PPCHS clubs had their fair share of spreading the Halloween fun, the Theatre 1 and 2 classes were fortunate to be a part of the monster eeriness. With the hard work from these classes, they were able to create a silly, engaging show for Pines Charter middle schoolers on November 1: Timmy Timmy’s!
Timmy Timmy’s is an original piece from PPCHS’s own Director Hannon. The show incorporates a girl named Tammy, who gets left home alone on Halloween night. Her parents go to work, so she is stuck giving out candy to trick-or-treaters. A few moments later, monsters of all kinds come to her door just to make a new friend. As the night progresses, the monsters show Tammy the true meaning of friendship and they show her that not all monsters are bad.
With a few new faces in this year’s theatre department, Charter is here to acknowledge the talent that students brought to Timmy Timmy’s:
Kayra Arik – The Witch
The witch is a very loving and comforting person to Tammy and all the monsters. As Kayra is a freshman in her first high school production, she felt all the nerves playing the role. “At first I was worried as to how it would be. But then once I saw everyone read the script, saw the play, it started to become really nice and fun,” she explains. Arik, with her classy black dress, was able to put her own spin on the character by wearing pointe shoes and diving deep into the witch’s “characterization, becoming like a bigger person and making it more imaginative”, especially for slow-paced scenes.
Arianna Morillo – Vampirella
Although Morillo broke her foot mid-rehearsal during this production, she didn’t let the obstacle stop her from having fun. Also a freshman, she was able to embrace her sassy character with a different accent. With much relief, Morillo mentions, “We found a way to work around [the injury] and, if anything, we made me having a cast [a] whole part of my character, and like a joke in the show.” In Timmy Timmy’s, Vampirella is antisocial. For instance, Morillo explains, “in the end, they’re all doing a group hug and it’s all like friendship, where she’s just at the side like giving them a pat on the back.”
Ayana Russell – Tammy
With this being her second year in theatre, Ayana was fortunate to be the lead actor for Timmy Timmy’s. “[Timmy Timmy’s] was a new perspective as well,” she reveals. “This also gave me a first hand experience of acting now, since lots of work went into it.” From pigtails to overalls, Ayana loved to emphasize the small details so the audience could enjoy the show more. As some students may have caught on, Tammy loved to guide the monsters in the ways of human life, which differs greatly from monster life. Russell noticed her character holds most of the leadership within the group, so she made sure her character took it slow with each monster when there was a new trick-or-treater at the door.
Director Hannon – Producer of Timmy Timmy’s
From the countless times that this production has been performed, Hannon loved seeing the variety of interpretations her students brought to their characters. When revisiting the show after writing Timmy Timmy’s in high school, Hannon realized, “in the beginning I was very uptight about it, but then once I saw everyone in their costumes, and I started hearing the lines again, I go, ‘Oh, this is what high school theater is.’” Moments of fun arguments and commercial breaks throughout the show reawakened the purpose of Timmy Timmy’s for her. When Hannon noticed her students forgetting about the crucial enjoyable moments during preparation, she emphasized to them “you have to take your own journey, find your own speed, find your own tempo, stop when you need to.” As this show was just the foundation for the future, Hannon believes that “[the theatre] department is changing, and hopefully for the better.”
