Learning to operate a puppet character is not only technically difficult 鈥� it鈥檚 a full on workout.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really heavy and you have to do crunches for the plant to move forward or backward, and you do arm punches for the plant to talk,鈥� said Grade 10 Walnut Grove Secondary student Erica Fang, who plays Audrey III in Theatre in the Grove鈥檚 production of Little Shop of Horrors.
Audrey III is one of several iterations of a wicked plant that has a thirst for human blood. The plant is portrayed by different life-sized puppets, which are mechanically operated by students inside. The voice of the plant is done by another student outside.
鈥淚nside the puppet, it鈥檚 really dark. But since I鈥檓 not the voice of the plant, it鈥檚 really hard sometimes to figure out when I should move the plant. It takes a lot of time to incorporate this with the character of the plant, so it鈥檚 a lot of synchronizing and memorizing,鈥� said Fang.
鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely a bit of a disconnect as you don鈥檛 say any of the lines,鈥� added Grade 9 student Paul Virtue, who plays Audrey IV.
鈥淭here鈥檚 someone else reading out lines, so it鈥檚 kind of like lip syncing to someone else. You have to memorize the lines, but you don鈥檛 say them. You have to move to the lines. It鈥檚 interesting. You鈥檙e speaking but not really.鈥�
Little Shop of Horrors runs April 5-7 and 12-14 at Walnut Grove Secondary, 8919 Walnut Grove Dr.
The musical follows the story of Seymour Krelborn, a poor young man who works in a florist shop. He acquires a plant, similar to a Venus flytrap, and soon discovers it requires human blood to survive.
鈥淚 just like how the audience doesn鈥檛 know what to expect,鈥� said Grade 10 student Kaitlyn Peters, who plays Audrey III with Fang.
鈥淚t starts out having nothing to do with the plant, and then there鈥檚 a plant and it eats blood, and then by the end it鈥檚 eating people.鈥�
鈥淲e wanted to do something different,鈥� added musical theatre instructor Janelle Castro, who is also choreographer of the show.
鈥淭his is a darker, more sober comedy than what we鈥檝e done in the past.鈥�
There are 79 students featured in the production, with four doing tech, two helping with costumes, and the others on stage. There is a live orchestra as well featuring 10 students under the direction of Shane Fox.
鈥淭he class is really inclusive,鈥� Castro said. 鈥淢any have never been on stage before, and many have never danced before.鈥�
Retired teacher Susan Wilson Murray is providing the costuming, while Chad Hendricks takes the lead on music, and Danielle Meshen on directing.
The plant puppets are loaned to the school by Vagabond Players, which did the same production last October.
All evening performances of Little Shop of Horrors begin at 7 p.m., and a special matin茅e will be held April 14 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults; $12 for students/seniors. They can be purchased online at .
Dinner and the show performances are offered April 5 and 12. Dinner seating is between 5:30 and 6 p.m., followed by the performance. Tickets are $30 for adults; $25 for students/seniors. Dinner will be a three-course buffet style prepared by students in the Youth Train in Trade/VCC program.
For more info, email theatreinthegrove@sd35.bc.ca or call 604-882-0220 ext. 580.
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