Elk Lake senior’s play saves day

A group of heroes confer with Stan Lee and Mrs. Arthur, their "orchestrator.” PHOTO BY PAT FARNELLI

BY PAT FARNELLI
Correspondent

A group of heroes confer with Stan Lee and Mrs. Arthur, their "orchestrator.” PHOTO BY PAT FARNELLI

A group of heroes confer with Stan Lee and Mrs.
Arthur, their “orchestrator.” PHOTO BY PAT FARNELLI

An Elk Lake senior has written the drama club’s spring play, “Heroes,” as both a gift to the school’s theater program, and as a tribute to
comic book heroes and screenplays.

Kevin Burns began writing the play last February, as he contemplated what he would do for his graduation project. He has been an active member of the Elk Lake Drama Club since eighth grade, and he “wanted to give something back.”

There are responses, in the play, to scripts from previous productions.

Partly as a cost-saving measure, the drama club avoids Broadway shows and famous scripts, and performs plays and musicals from smaller companies such as Pioneer Drama. The plots are often spin-offs from popular movies, nostalgia pieces like “Back to the 80s” or “The Nifty Fifties,” or use well-worn tropes like fairy tales, murder mysteries, or pirate stories.

An obligatory chase scene, whether in the script or added by the cast, has become a tradition on the Elk Lake stage. “Ditch Day” had an epic chase scene…I was cast in that play but had to drop out because my parents were splitting up at the time,” Burns said.

Elk Lake senior Kevin Burns is the author of an original play, "Heroes", premiering Friday and Saturday, April 8-9, at 7 p.m. PHOTO BY PAT FARNELLI

Elk Lake senior Kevin Burns is the author of an
original play, “Heroes”, premiering Friday and Saturday, April 8-9, at 7 p.m. PHOTO BY PAT FARNELLI

He said he also included many references to Marvel and DC comics as well as the previous Elk Lake productions.

Burns first tried writing short stories in fifth grade, and has written scripts for films with Iolaus Trowbridge, a home-schooled Elk Lake drama alumnus.

“Last winter, (drama director Ina) Bradish and I got together to think of a play idea. We thought that comic book heroes are popular, and it’s a theme we haven’t done,” he said. “The heroes don’t actually have any super powers, because “this was easier to pull off on stage.”

There are a few fight scenes, with varied combinations of male and female villains and heroes.

“There are two guys fighting, a girl fighting a guy, and a girl fighting a guy and girl team,” Burns said. The playwright is one of the cops in the show. He said, “I tried out and directors Braddish and Edwards got to pick the part I got. I wanted nothing to do with directing the play.”

Braddish said that a student-written play was considered two years ago, but it had a very small cast and the writers wanted to be the directors, which did not work with her views on her drama director’s role. “Pardon me, but I am the queen,” she quipped.

In “Heroes,” Toni Rogers (Rachel Zayleskie) is exposed to radiation during a dentist appointment, she thinks she suddenly possesses super powers. She then enlists the help of her best friends to fight crime, as well as Stan Lee, creator of Marvel Comics, to train the heroes.

Meanwhile, Charlie Curry, a rising supervillain, has stolen a machine that studies repressed memories.

The four villains want to use this invention of Wendy Stark to take over New York City. The machine, called the MR System (pronounced Mister) is a psychological device developed to repress and eventually un-repress memories, Burns explains. Soon, the mayor of New York City and the entire NYPD is held captive by villain Gold Girl (Maddie Spila). The squad of four heroes is called upon to rescue the citizens and government from the “super
villains.” The cast is set up in groups of four: four heroes, four villains, four cops, and (in the chase scene) four citizens. “There are about a dozen
citizens, as well,” Burns said. He feels the character’s motives all worked, and that the ending was a satisfying one for him.

“I’m very happy with how it is turning out,” he concluded.
The cast Heroes are Toni: Rachel Zayleskie; Nate: Travis Tewksbury; Peter: Chris Kinder; and Barbara: Hannah Decker. Villains are Charlie: Cydney DeWitt; Kitty: Maddie Spila; Clark: Troy Rought; and Kent: Jeryn DeLong Tadzi Trowbridge is the Computer. Cops in the cast are Chief: Will Farnelli; Lieutenant: Kevin Burns; Detective: Gabe Spila; Officer: Colin Schake. Justin Grosvenor portrays Stan Lee. Citizens are Ms. Arthur: Reilly Shingler; Mrs. Quinn: Caitlyn Brown; Mr. Wayne: Caleb Shafer; Madam Diane: Allison Hewitt; Ms. Stark: Amelia Comly; Mrs. Gordon: Brynn DeLong; Logan: Georgie Sobeck; Harley (store clerk): Taylah Culver; Jean (store clerk): Sarah Cobb; Shyeera (Stark’s secretary): Erin Voda; and Linda, (Diane’s granddaughter): Rachel Farnelli.

Burns’ “Heroes” comes to the Elk Lake stage Friday and Saturday, April 8 and 9, 7 p.m. Admission is $3. Tickets can be reserved in advance by calling the high school, 570-278-1106 and are also available at the door.

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