Pictures: Full Run Rehearsal 4/12

On stage Giver and Jonas

Jonas' final scene

Director Kagan-Moore gives notes to the cast 

Activity: The Giver Word Search

Interview with Olivia Palmer, LILY

Olivia as Thomasina Coverly in DramaCentre's 2010 Fall production of Arcadia

Education Outreach: What's your favorite part about the show/production? 


Olivia Palmer: My favorite part of the production, besides the show itself, would probably be the first few weeks of rehearsal. During this time, you get to know the people in the cast and the director and the production crew. It's a fun time where everyone is figuring out the show together. In these first few weeks you get the opportunity to experiment and explore the characters and their story.


EO: What's your favorite character in The Giver?


OP: My favorite character in the show is Asher. As Jonas's best friend, he is both funny and compelling. While he often plays the clown, we get the see a more realistic side of him that people can relate to. 

EO: If you could not act, what would you do in the show?


OP: If I wasn't acting, I would want to work backstage building the show. It's really fun to watch the set form around you and know that you contributed to building it. I really enjoy that feeling of accomplishment. 

EO: Funny or interesting moment in the production thus far?


OP: One of the funniest moments in rehearsal so far was definitely the day we started practicing the war scene. We got to run around and go wild. It was fun to get to play around like that. Everyone had a great time and it was hysterical to watch everyone's dramatic fight to the death. 

EO: If you could be a movie/TV star who would you be and why?


OP: If I was a celebrity, I would want to be Ellen Page. People tell me I kinda look like her and she seems like a pretty cool chick. I would love to have been in some of her movies like Juno, Inception, or, most recently, Super. 

EO: If I asked you to make a sandwich what would you put on it?


OP: My sandwich would depend on the day, but I would say my classic sandwich love would be peanut butter and jelly. You can never go wrong with pb and j. 

Giver Cast and Crew

Cast
Jonas' Father ............... ZACH TRETTE
Jonas' Mother .............. KAT YRENE
Lily .............................. OLIVIA PALMER
Jonas ........................... RAHUL JOSEPH
Asher ........................... STEVEN MADDOX
Fiona ........................... GINNY BICKNER
The Giver .................... SEAN COOK
Chief Elder ................... GEOFFREY BLUM
Ensemble ..................... LU HAN, SARAH WELCH,RACHEL BECKMAN, GREG NICAISE,ANDREW STAIRS, EMMA KAGAN-MOORE

Crew
Director......................... PATRICK KAGAN-MOORE
Scenic and Lighting Designer...................... MATTHEW HALLOCK
Assistant Scenic Designer........................... KATE DUNLAP
Assistant Lighting Designer......................... LIZY LeBLOND
Costume Designer...................................... ELIZABETH CLARK
Assistant Costume Designer........................ MELISSA STARKS
Sound Designer.......................................... HALLIE BOYD
Properties Designer..................................... MONTANA KERN
Stage Manager/ Assistant Director............... GEOFFREY BLUM
Production Stage Manager.......................... LAURA GARRETT
Publicity/ Education Outreach...................... LINDSEY ROLFE, OLIVIA ALLEN
Sound Board Operator............................... ALLY LANDON
Wardrobe Supervisor................................. KAYLA HIGBE
Properties Crew......................................... JOANNA MYER, TYLER ROWE, ROBIN CARROLL, AUDREY ERNSTBERGER
Costume Crew.......................... LYDIA KINKAID, ELIZABETH FRANK, ANNIE ROESSLER, ANGELA HERDE

Giver Synopsis and History

Synopsis

                The play is seen from the prospective of the eleven year old boy named Jonas. Jonas lives in a futuristic society that knows no pain, fear, war, or hatred. Everything in this society is black and white. There is little competition between the people in the town and there are no prejudices held against one another. At twelve years of age, every member of the community is assigned a job according to his capabilities and own interests. Citizens are not allowed to fall in love on their own; they must apply to get a spouse and then they are assigned exactly two children. Citizens who do not abide by the rules are released.

                Jonas lives with his father, mother, and seven year old sister Lily. Jonas is apprehensive of becoming of age and receiving his assignment for the community. Jonas is different from most people in the community. Jonas has a sense of perception in which he can look at something and cause it to “change”; he can see things in flashes of color.

                When he turns twelve he is given the assignment of being the Receiver of Memory. Jonas receives memories of the past, the good, and the bad, from the current Receiver; a man who is referred to as the Giver.  The Giver has the ability to see the world as it used to be, before everything became the same. Jonas and the Giver devise a plan that could forever change the world.

History of Performance

                The Giver­ was originally written as a novel written by Lois Lowry that was published in 1993. In 2006 Oregon Children’s Theatre premiered a stage adaptation adapted by Eric Coble. Coble’s adaptation was presented in the Coterie Theatre in Missouri all the way to the Theatre of Youth in Buffalo, New York. 

Welcome

Hello! My name is Lindsey Rolfe and I am part of the Education Outreach team for DramaCentre's production of the The Giver. This blog was created just for students where you can find information about:

• The show 
• Interviews with the production members
• Activities for the classroom 
• Pictures
• and much more!

Below each blogpost you can comment and ask questions! Explore and enjoy