Auditions for the 2016 NCI high school drama production took place on December 14–15. The auditions were headed up by the drama’s director, Deanna Wiebe. 16 kids, many of them first-timers, are vying for a role in the May production.
Students auditioned with a wide array of monologues ranging from Monty Python to Alice in Wonderland to A Few Good Men. “The students seemed more prepared than they have in years,” says Wiebe. “Almost everybody had their audition piece completely memorized and rehearsed.”
A play had been selected weeks prior to the auditions, but something rare has thrown a wrench in the plans.
“There were a lot of really talented newcomers that we didn’t count on,” says Wiebe. The play being considered didn’t leave room for the number of talented kids who auditioned. Wiebe doesn’t want to turn anyone away, especially in their senior year. “This is the last year a lot of these kids have to be a part of the school’s drama. I’d hate to turn them away just because the play has too small of a cast.”
New plays—like Pride & Prejudice, Cheaper by the Dozen, and The Man Who Came to Dinner—are being considered and a final
decision will be made in January, with rehearsals starting at the beginning of the new semester.
Typically the roles are handed out before Christmas break, but that is not a possibility this year. “I suppose this is a good problem to have,” says Wiebe. “We have too many talented actors, and I don’t want to waste any of them.”
