There’s no need to head south in search of tropical trees and the sounds of jungle creatures. Elmira District Secondary School’s fall production of The Jungle Book will have plenty of both, along with the characters many of us have grown to love.
Director and drama teacher DJ Carroll said one of the reasons he chose the play is because it’s a classic.
![Drama students at EDSS will be performing their rendition of The Jungle Book at the school from Dec. 4-6.[Whitney Neilson / the observer]](https://www.observerxtra.com/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/post_junglebook.jpg)
“I grew up reading the story, seeing the old live movie version and of course the Disney version,” Carroll said. “It’s such a great story. It’s a simple story but it’s a fun story.”
Based off of the 1894 collection of stories by Rudyard Kipling, numerous film adaptations have been made. A new one is even making its way to the big screen in 2015 with stars like Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Idris Elba, and Christopher Walken.
The EDSS cast and crew of 55 students have been working on the production since the start of the school year, and upped their practices to three times a week this month.
“The kids are dedicated,” Carroll said. “They all want to be here. They’ve all bought into the story so it makes it very easy to coordinate them all. There are hiccups but we solve them along the way.”
The story follows the author while he’s at boarding school where he wrote the story. Carroll says we get glimpses into his imagination and memory of writing the story as we follow the young boy Mowgli, who’s raised by wolves in the jungle.
“He has to help defend the jungle creatures from Shere Khan, the evil tiger,” Carroll said. “It’s a great story that shows compassion, that shows bravery, that shows that you can learn from almost anything in your life.”
Grade 11 student Kurt Michael will be playing the older version of Mowgli. He said some of the challenges to putting together the play are blocking and timing. The set involves a lot of risers of varied height, and climbing the ladders to be in the right position for your cue takes practice.
“I love acting and I heard there were a few possibilities for the play, and before I even knew it was The Jungle Book I knew that I was going to audition, no matter what. I love all the people here,” Michael said.
Grade 12 student Rachel Scott is one of the many animals in the play, a black panther. The animal costumes include masks, wings, and lots of fake fur.
“For me, I love theatre and so I do it every year,” Scott said. “It’s an automatic thing for me. I love it and I enjoy the people.”
“Plus The Jungle Book is such a great story.”
Carroll said aside from sorting out the set and costumes, the toughest hurdle was casting. Several actors dropped out of the play and their characters had to be recast. Regardless, the students were all eager and chipper as they put on freshly painted masks and made costume adjustments at their Monday rehearsal this week.
“I’d like to have a big crowd every show,” Carroll said. “This is a family fun show and it’s right before Christmas. It’s a nice treat to bring everyone out and have fun.”
The Jungle Book runs from December 4-6 at 7:30 p.m. in the EDSS auditorium. There is also a 1:30 p.m. matinee show on December 6. Tickets are $5 for children, $7 for students and seniors, $10 for the general public, and $15 for a family for the matinee show. Doors open 30 minutes before the show to buy tickets or they can be purchased beforehand from the cast.
