A Prince, a Witch, and a Magic Pool all in on

Karsten Ladner

The high school drama, The Secrets of the Magic Pool, opened Friday, May 20, featuring unforgettable characters and a perplexing story centered around a mysterious pool guarded by an enigmatic woman.

The play follows the story of a man, Cane (played by Sam Hofer (11)), who is transformed by the mysterious Magic Pool. After having only a drop of the pool, he is transformed, and his infirmities leave him. Heeding the advice of a witch (played by Hannah Graves (12)), Cane seeks out the pool guarded by a mysterious woman (played by Ysabel Loh (12)) who demands an exorbitant price for a single drop. Many characters intersect the main characters, and the play includes a love story between a prince (played by Noel Teng(12)) and a princess (played by Mary-Claire McIntyre(12)) and between a humbler cobbler’s daughter (played by Sarah Stoltzfus (9)) and the village baker’s son (played by Seth Kelley(9)).

Auditions for the play began in January of this year, and many tried out for it. Once the final cast had been set, the cast began practicing under the direction of Mr. Mark Sasse and Miss Laura Danneker once a week until opening night; but in the final weeks leading up to opening night, they practiced long hours on Saturdays in addition to their normal Monday practices. The directors worked hard to help the actors and actresses bring their characters to life.

At the same time, Miss Mary Geiman worked diligently to create all of the costumes for the cast. Although she came prepared with many ideas and materials, she worked hard throughout the semester to find apparel that would fit or create new costumes for the cast. She was joined by Mrs. Emily Heiber who came in the final weeks of practice to design the hair styles used by all of the actresses.

In addition to directing, Mr. Sasse supervised a team of students who met weekly to build the scenery and backdrops used in the play. This team worked on the Magic Pool that briefly appears in the second act, the princess’s chamber, the cobbler’s house, and the structure around the Magic Pool.

Towards the end of the semester, the crew joined the cast in rehearsals in preparation for all the lighting and sound effects that would be used throughout the performances. Four students came to the practices and watched, jotting down notes occasionally, as the cast practiced. During the performances, these students sat in the sound booth and managed all the lighting and sound for the play.  

By opening night, it was clear that the play was the product of many talented students and staff members who sacrificed a great deal of time to bring Mr. Sasse’s original script to life on that Friday night.

Mr. Sasse, about finally seeing all the parts come together for the play, said, “It was 17 months from conception to stage, so in that sense, it feels like a great accomplishment, and I’m proud of what our team put together. To me, there's something utterly fascinating about telling a story for the first time ever, so when the laughter started, when the oohs and awws came, it was very rewarding.”