Students on an Odyssey of their own

A special performance of the Elmira District Secondary School’s award-winning adaption of The Odyssey will be running Friday night. After winning an Outstanding Production Award at the district competition last month, the cast has been meticulously working to perfect their performance ahead of their Ontario Drama Festival entry on April 17. Tomorrow night’s show offers local audiences an opportunity to see the polished performance.“In the past we have enjoyed doing sort of the dark dramas; this one is an epic mythology so it’s adventure. It’s a little different that way in the genre we usually pick,” said DJ Carroll, drama teacher at EDSS. “It’s a place full of myth, monsters, gods, mortals, adventure – there is some sword fighting, there is some great music in it, there’s dance. It’s got everything.”Winning at the district level, The Odyssey is an adaption of the classic story by Homer. The locally scripted version is about Odysseus’ ten-year journey getting home from the Trojan War. While the show took an inspiration from the well known piece, the 37-member student cast and crew decided to put their own spin on it, one they are proud to showcase.“We thought it would be really fun to do one here for the home town, for people to come out and see it. It gives our students a chance to tryout some new changes for the play and it gets them pumped up about performing for an audience,” said Carroll.Garret Tracey, a veteran in the performing arts crew, will be playing two different roles in the performance. For him, this entire journey has been very rewarding, but hasn’t come without hard work.“Winning districts was a pleasant surprise. It was really amazing, and it just shows how hard work really pays off,” he said. “Since that time we have really been ramping up, getting ready for several performances.”“I feel like there is a lot more attention to detail this run around, which will be really good.”All polished and set for the home crowd, Tracey says performing locally doesn’t come without some nerves. However, there is a sense of excitement to be able to perform for peers and family.Tickets for the local performance of The Odyssey are $5, available from cast members or at the door. The show starts at 7 p.m. Following the performance, there will be a reception for those in the audience to meet and chat with the actors.

Students on an Odyssey of their own

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