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Date: 11/1/2022
HOLYOKE – The Holyoke High School Theater Company invites candy lovers and the public to their presentation of “Charlie and The Chocolate Factory” from Nov. 16 to 18.
Join Charlie Bucket and his adventurous tour of Willy Wonka’s world-famous chocolate factory. Get a chance to see Holyoke’s most talented youth performers as Charlie himself (Camryn Rist), Willy Wonka (Devonny Lopez), Augustus Gloop (Jayden Lopez), Violet Beauregarde (Molly O’Donnell), Veruca Salt (Nevaeh Lopez) and Grandpa Joe (Shane Bourgeois). The entire production is tied together by the Narrator (Aidan Fontanez-Courchesne) who will bridge time and excite the audience with creative anticipation.
The three nights of shows all begin at 6:30 p.m. and the play is based on the classic book by Roald Dahl and dramatized by Richard C. George. This production is being produced under special arrangement with Dramatic Publishing of Woodstock, IL.
Under the leadership of Theater and Media teacher Bevan Brunelle, the Holyoke High School Theater Company is an after-school club that is an extension of the Performing and Media Arts Academy at Holyoke High. The production involves students from grades 9-12.
A Holyoke native and alum of the High School and their theater program, Brunelle is in her fifth year teaching at the school and started the theater company in her first year.
“When this job became available, I jumped at it because it’s the perfect job for me,” Brunelle said. “It’s really awesome to be back in my home school as a teacher and doing awesome things with the kids.”
This production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” will be the 10th show by the club in the last five years. Typically, the club does two shows a year, a comedy in the fall and a more serious show in the spring.
Coincidently, the first play Brunelle was ever in was in fourth grade at Kelly School and it was also “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” She played Mrs. Beauregarde and noted she likes to bring the connection to her students as the show as a whole is a “fun classic story with some really great character development for the students.”
The year before they choose a play, Brunelle has students in her advanced theater class read the plays being considered before having conversations about challenges for one production versus another. Character analysis and discussion of themes leads the group in deciding which play makes the most sense for the club. She added that it adds excitement for students in the process of putting on a production and gives them a voice in the discussion.
Brunelle noted that the club tries to stay low-budget for most productions, as for her, it is more important for students to learn “great acting” and telling stories as opposed to the spectacle of the show itself.
She added that they still put effort into making a great set and creativity comes out in finding ways to build a set that works.
According to Brunelle it’s not the biggest concern to spend money on the set as they do not receive funding from the school and are entirely funded by their own fundraising efforts, ticket sales and donations.
“It’s really problem solving. Theater, for me, can get you prepared for anything even if the students aren’t planning on going into a career in theater,” Brunelle said. “It’s very rare to have a lot of kids to go into that career field but its very fun for them. They get to connect with other students, they get to make really strong bonds, they learn how to communicate with each other and really it is problem solving.”
Brunelle added through their responsibilities they learn to problem solve by doing their job in general and gives students a taste of a real-world situation with having certain responsibilities.
The relationship between Brunelle and her students is a strong one as she said she looks forward to helping students interested in acting and theater find their potential in their work. She noted that every year the club takes a trip to New York City to see a Broadway show, as well as attend a class at a New York theater school.
Following each of the three performances will be a post-show discussion with the cast and crew. All performances will be staged in the John F. Sears Auditorium at Holyoke High School, 500 Beech St. in Holyoke.
According to Brunelle, the recent trend of students creating original music for shows will continue in their production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” The move helps the club save money on paying for rights to music in the show and allows for students to express the creative avenue. This year, viewers of the play can expect a twist on the Oompa Loompa’s as they have created a new take on the assistants of Wonka, and they will be performing a dance to original music.
Brunelle said she hopes her students have a great time throughout the entire process of putting on a show and hopes they build confidence and friendships.
“A lot of students come start with me and are really shy and quiet and then they really break out of their shell and feel like they can be more confident speaking in front of people and working in teams, so I just want them to break out of their shell and have more confidence in the process,” Brunelle said.