Drama Club Presents The House on Pooh Corner

03/26/19  |  By: Meghan Schrader

Trine University Drama Club presents The House on Pooh Corner held in the T. Furth Center on April 7th at 2 p.m., the 8th at 10 a.m., and the 9th at 7 p.m. The play is free admission and open to all students, staff, and community members.

This fun, nostalgic rendition comes from the stories of A.A. Milne, adapted to stage by Bettye Knapp, and produced by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company of Wood-stock, Illinois.

The play will explore themes of friendship, growing up, loving everyone, and the importance of education. It will feature all of the classic characters we know and love from Winnie the Pooh as they deal with change and go on a daring adventure where they will learn about themselves, and each other. The club hopes to capture the personalities of these characters and bring the child-hood memories that we all share to life. While there will be a few pieces of animal elements surrounding the characters, the cast wants them to be depicted as people.

“We definitely want them to be seen as humanized characters,” Student Directer Kaitlyn Lee said. Lee is a freshman communication major and the actor who will be portraying Pooh on stage.

The club’s goal is to create a storybook feel with their background and props depicting a quaint, woodland scene. They hope to speak to everyone's inner child with their costumes.

“Something you could imagine your 6-year-old self running through the forest, or the mud [in],” Lee said. Audiences can expect to see floral overalls and crocheted tails to portray our favorite woodland friends.

This year, for the first time in over a decade, the play will be held in the larger T. Furth Center rather than in the beloved Wells Theater. The group is hoping this will allow for greater options in terms of sound, lighting, special effects, and, of course, greater space for movement on stage. Greater audience interaction is also a benefit of a larger space, and should be expected during this production.

“We’re really excited to see what we can do,” Lee said of the new location. She adds that with a larger, more advanced space, the Drama program can hopefully grow and put on more productions.

The Drama Club would like to extend their invitation out to the community, as the play is a family-friendly show that can be enjoyed by all ages and is especially oriented towards the younger audience. For Trine students, the play will also be counted as a CHAT credit.

The T. Furth Center is located at N. Darling St, Angola, IN. For more information regarding the play, or for students interested in getting involved with the Drama Club, contact Dr. Byron Bond.