Children's Theatre
Vonnesta Project opens this weekend in Winnetka
The actors are totally in their element.
With the exception of a little magic, these North Shore children will be playing North Shore children, and the story was devised by one of their teachers.
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(Joel Lerner/Staff Photographer)
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(Joel Lerner/Staff Photographer)
The Winnetka Children's Theatre will present "The Vonnesta Project" this weekend at the Winnetka Community House.
Performances are at 1 p.m., Feb. 21; 7 p.m., Feb. 22; 1:30 p.m., Feb. 23; and 1:30 p.m., Feb. 24. Tickets are $10.
David Wartik wrote the book, and Toby Nicholson adapted it for a performance.
Wartik, a fourth-grade teacher at Hubbard Woods Elementary School, set the scene in Vonnesta, an anagram for Evanston. Nicholson is a drama teacher at New Trier High School.
"This fifth-grade boy (Jeremy) and his best friend find a secret door in the bedroom, and they don't know where it leads," he said. "They get cryptic notes from the man who built the house 125 years before."
The kids work out the clues to find out what's behind the magic door.
He wrote the book in 1998, and it was published in 2006. That's where Nicholson came in.
Nicholson suggested to Wartik, a fellow Children's Theatre board member, that the book be translated for a performance.
"It does very well because there are various locations: Jeremy's room, the class room, a library," Nicholson said.
The two spent the next year adapting the book, a process that involved giving life to background characters.
"They sort of became one-cell beings," Nicholson said. "I gave them each an interest. One guy is really into sports; one guy is really interested in video taping things."
In December, they hosted auditions for the 15 spots and started rehearsals.
"I think we're going to make it," Nicholson, who is directing the play, said a week before performances. "It's a very good group of kids."
Fifth-grader Liam Millet plays the part of Jeremy. Playing the lead was a fun challenge, he said.
The 11-year-old said he drew on past performances, including parts in "The Music Man" and "Oliver Twist," and he recently landed a role in "Guys and Dolls."
"I feel like I might want to do more acting when I get older," Millet said.
Meg Horne, also in fifth grade, will play the role of Vanesa, a character she described as a "practicalist."
Horne has also acted in the Winnetka Children's Theatre production of "Peter Pan."
As far as nerves, the 11-year-old said she feels good so far about performing before an audience.
"I probably will be (nervous) when it gets closer," she said.
Wartik, who recently finished the sequel, "Vonnesta Project 2: Camp Fingerlake," said he looks forward to watching his first book acted out.
"I think it's great; it's fun to watch them do it," he said. "It's just neat to see somebody else speaking your words."