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Hardin Valley to present ‘Pride and Prejudice’
Kim Johnson - Thu, Nov, 13, 2008
Hardin Valley Academy’s Hardin Valley Players will present an adaptation of Jane Austin’s, “Pride and Prejudice,” Nov. 20-23, in HVA’s auditorium.
HVA drama teacher Robert Warren said although the preparation for the production has been a learning experience, the students are excited to present the new school’s first theatrical performance.
“The stage is somewhat circular, It really is a stage more for music than it is for theater, so we have had a lot of fun talking about how to stand and where to stand and how to walk around and make ourselves as visible to the audience as possible,” he said.
Robert’s adaptation of the classic love story is a mixture of some stage play versions and the recent movie staring Keira Knightly as the headstrong Elizabeth Bennett.
He said he chose “Pride and Prejudice” for a variety of reasons.
“The size of the class and the size of the production is always one of my considerations. We have 24 people in this class and all 24 have lines.
“I also think it has nice universal themes in it and it has always been quite appealing. Since [the movie] has been done again it is familiar again to the modern audience so it’s a great way to keep a classic story alive,” he added.
The role of Elizabeth has been double-cast between former Farragut High School student Sarah Templeton and junior Kayleigh Seagraves.
While Kayleigh has prepared for the role by watching the movie “about 20 more times than the 20 times I had already seen it,” Sarah took a different route.
“I read the original ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and I read a lot of interpretations of the character. I took some from the movie as well, but I just gathered a variety of sources and pulled it all together.”
Kayleigh said she has always been fascinated with theater.
“[When] I was [younger] — ever since I saw my first play — I have been fascinated with acting,” she added.
Sarah, who was heavily involved with the theater program at FHS, said, “Theater is like the air I breathe.”
Sarah will play Elizabeth Thursday and Sunday, while Kayleigh can be seen in the role Friday and Saturday.
Robert’s son, Andrew Warren, plays the part of Mr. Darcy.
“I have wanted to play this character for a long time. I really love the story as a play. I loved it as a movie before but watching it as a play is something completely different” Andrew said.
Andrew said he believes the key to understanding the character of Darcy is in his body language.
“I think a lot of Darcy’s character comes through in the way he stands and moves and such, so I have been trying to capture, through how he moves, how he also feels. That has been my focus,” he said.
Robert wanted to make sure the students had their own interpretation of the characters before beginning rehearsal of the play, so he had them write a paper about their characters.
“I had to get together how [Darcy] thinks internally and how he then moves and how he acts and his relationships to the other characters in the story,” Andrew said.
The students will be using British accents in the production.
Andrew said perfecting the accent was not difficult for him.
“We listened to a bunch of tapes and C-Ds but learning an accent for lines is pretty simple; it is like memorizing a tone,” he added.
“Pride and Prejudice” was published by Austin in 1813 and tells the story of the free-spirited and independent Bennett in a time when parents were eager to marry their young daughters to men of wealth and prestige.
Bennett, whose mother means her to marry the soon-to-be-wealthy Mr. Collins, finds herself desperate to avoid his attentions.
Instead she falls in love with the surly Mr. Darcy, whom she sees as condescending and professes to hate.
The two carry on a love-hate relationship, with Darcy trying in his own high-handed way to impress Bennett, for the majority of the novel until she discovers Darcy’s secret generosity toward her family.
Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students. Performances begin each night at 7:30 p.m. and an additional matinee showing will be at 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 23.
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