Of course, dragons are scary creatures. After all, they’re big and scaly and have long, pointy tails. Just the way they look makes them something to be feared, right?
Well, maybe not. And that’s the premise behind Chantilly High’s upcoming children’s show, “The Reluctant Dragon.”
The curtain rises Friday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 8, at 2 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door or via www.chantillyhsdrama.com.
Director Ed Monk adapted this play from one written by Kenneth Graham, author of “The Wind in the Willows.” The story takes places in “olden times” in a village town square, the dragon’s cave and a farmhouse.
“It’s about a dragon who wants to write poetry and not fight, and the little girls who becomes his friend,” said Monk. “But the townspeople think all dragons are bad and want to slay him.”
There’s a cast and crew of 60. “It’s double-cast because we had so many good kids,” said Monk. “All the actors are freshmen and sophomores, so we have lots of fresh, new talent, and they’re doing a really nice job.”
Calling this play enjoyable for the whole family, he said it’s got “lots of silly humor for the kids, jokes for the adults and a nice message about accepting people who are different. And it’s just an hour and 10 minutes, so families can come in out of the cold and do something fun together.”
Daniel Richter plays the dragon as a male named Fred; however, sophomore Hannah Warnick’s dragon is a female, Francesca. “She’s a little quirky, talks with a lisp and likes to write poems and have fun,” said Warnick. “She’s also a little nerdy and her favorite snack is herbal tea and Fig Newtons. She lives in the woods in a cave. And when a dad finds the dragon, he thinks she’s mean and ferocious and tells his daughter Charity to stay away from her. But she comes and makes friends with the dragon.”
It’s Warnick’s first major part and she’s enjoying making new friends while working with her best friends. She also loves making the role her own. “The costume’s fun and there are no boundaries,” she said. “I get to paint the picture of what this dragon is like, and I try to make my movements upbeat, happy and bouncy.”
She said the audience will like that the characters are “different from what they expect them to be like. And the story’s about friendship, having fun and doing the things you like to do.”
Sharing the role of Charity with Grace Mattes is sophomore Kristen Popham. “Charity’s a farm girl, about 11, trying to find herself,” said Popham. “She absorbs everything and is open to what her parents and society think until she realizes what’s wrong with society. Then she goes on a journey to prove the townspeople – who judge everybody before they know them – wrong.”
Popham says Charity “represents the innocence in children. She’s caring, doesn’t give up and sees people for who they truly are. I love playing kids because you can embody them and the children in the audience won’t judge you because they’ll know your character. And I can go back and remember what it was like to be a child, play games and be content.”
She said the audience will enjoy the cast’s interaction with them. And, she added, “It’s better than a storybook because it’s a children’s story come to life.”
Freshman Adam Lekang and sophomore Lana Blinova both portray Mayor Leech. “He’s determined to be the best mayor and tries to fix the townspeople’s language – they pronounce ‘W’s as ‘V’s,” said Lekang. “He’s kind of goofy and doesn’t remember stuff. He’s just trying to do what’s best for the village.”
Lekang likes playing the mayor because “he’s so forgetful and has really weird speech. So it’s a challenge to learn the lines, but definitely fun.” He said the show even has some political jokes for the parents and “we make big, oversized motions so kids are drawn into the play.”
Blinova plays the mayor as a young woman. “She’s really ditzy and doesn’t know what she’s doing, but tries to be official,” said Blinova. “She depends on Jenkins, her assistant and advisor, to tell her what to do.”
It’s her first, big role and, she said, “It’s a funny character that kids will like and I get to be really expressive.” Overall, she said, the show’s “silly and fun, but has an important message.”
