This year's production by Olds Koinonia's drama class will be Little Women.
The play is based on American author Louisa May Alcott's book of the same name, which tells the story of the four March sisters growing up with their mother Marmee (played by Kennedy Coates) while Mr. March (played by Bryce Parrott) is away during the U.S. Civil War.
The main protagonist is Jo March (played by Kayla Jansen), second-oldest of the four sisters, and described as a tomboyish, aspiring writer — very much a girl ahead of the times.
"Definitely. She's definitely an intellect. She's very intelligent and she has a strong will," said OKCS drama teacher Kaitlyn Schnell.
While she doesn't share Jo's passion for writing, Jansen was drawn to Jo's fierce independence.
"I liked that she was adventurous. She has this dream of being a writer and she writes all these elaborate stories and (performs) these scripts with her sisters," Jansen said, speaking about her role. "She wants to seek that (career) for herself but runs into some bumps along the road."
Karis Stirling plays the youngest of Jo's sisters, Amy. As opposed to Jo, Amy fits into more of the conventions expected of women of the era. She's also described as a bit of a snob and clashes with Jo over the course of the play.
"That was my first choice, to play Amy," Stirling said. "I liked her attitude. It was just fun to act it out. She's a little stuck up."
Schnell said Little Women was a good fit for her class, which is made up mostly of female students. Rounding out the March family are Jo's sisters: romantic Meg (Kyla Bosomworth) and kind-hearted Beth (Katelyn Spreeman).
She said the play (not a musical) highlights the importance of family through the relationships between the sisters and their mother. In one scene, Jo sells her hair to earn money so that Marmee can visit her ill husband. In another, Jo and Amy feud after Amy destroys Jo's portfolio of writing. The two later reconcile after Amy falls through the ice while skating and needs to be rescued.
Little Women will be performed from Dec. 15-17.
The play is based on American author Louisa May Alcott's book of the same name, which tells the story of the four March sisters growing up with their mother while their father is away during the U.S. Civil War.
