Cat- Hannah Reetz
1st Mouse- Sophie Hamm
2nd Mouse- Bristol Curtis
3rd Mouse-
Little Yellow Riding Hood- Anna Wieberg
Wolf- Leo Oligschlager
Jimmy- Byron Nelson
Dean- Sunny Wright
Sausage- Maisyn Myers
Mother Pig- TB A
Big Bad Wolf- Tucker Herron
Goldilocks- Daisy Rinehart
Stuffy Waiter- Lenox Mahnken
Papa Bear- Tucker Herron
Mama Bear- Sophie King
Baby Bear- Lenox Mahnken
Busy Bees- Tekkies
Cast
Matilda Wormwood - Sidney Cash
Miss Honey - Abby Chitwood
Agatha Trunchbull - Amelia Moeller
Mr. Wormwood - Leo Oligschlager
Mrs. Wormwood - Abriana Lynch
Mrs. Phelps - Jyllian Whitworth
Escapologist - Tucker Herron
Acrobat - Brooke Day
Bruce - Vinton Lehnen
Lavender - Miah Strode
Naomi - Abbey Hamm
Amanda - Celia Blackaby
Hortensia - Lauren Hanley
Erica - Sophie King
Alice - Annabelle Stanford
Tommy/Rudolpho - Landon Whitworth
Michael – Rebecca Stanford
Ivana Smirkoff - Peyton Williams
Ensemble:
Natalie Landis
Amelia Limbrick
Hailey Schmidt
Kayla Stevenson
Amelia Lehnen
Sophie Zehnle
Airicka Herndon
Viola Roland
Alex , Lion- Owen Wilburn
Marty, Zebra- Tucker Herron
Gloria, Hippo- Jane Kreyling
Melman, Giraffe- Hannah Maxwell
The Penguins Hye, Hye
Skipper (Leader)- Margaret Kreyling
Kowalski (2nd)- Celia Blackaby
Rico (Karate)- Lacie Reetz
Private- Evan Landis
Singers on songs + Ariya Mongler, Maya Wieberg
The Zookeepers DUET There will be NO Zeke-
Zelda- Ariya Mongler
Zoey- Maya Wieberg
Mason Chimpanzee- Hannah Reetz
The Lemurs
King Julien- Anna Wieberg
Maurice Asst.- Kaylee Shramek
Mort (tiny)- Sophie King
Lynn (sm)- Sophie Hamm
Lew- TBA
Lee (sm)- Nora Isgrig
Lars (sm)- Vella Snow
The Foosa Cats (predators)
Hailey Schmidt, Ariya Mongler, Celia Blackaby, Maya Wieberg
Servers in the dream
#1 Scarlet Snow, #2 Lacie Reetz, #3 Evan Landis
Lionesses dancers
Maya Wieberg, Celia Blackaby, Ariya Mongler, Allison Landis, Hailey Schmidt
Cameraman- Kaylee Shramek
Candy Hammernose- Natalie Landis
Passerby- Allison Landis
Old Lady- Sophie Hamm
Police 1 & 2- TBA
Animal Control Officer- Nora Isgrig
Newspaper Man- Evan Landis
Ships Captain- Ariya Mongler
New Yorkers & Animals- Allison Landis, Kaylee Schmidt, Bristol Curtis, Sophie Hamm, Sophie King, Vella Snow
Harold Hill- Vinton Lehnen
Marion Paroo- Celia Blackaby
Charlene Cowell- Hailey Schmidt
Mayor Shinn- Leo Oligschlager
Eulalie Mackenzie Shinn- Bristol Curtis
Marcellus Washburn- Tucker Herron
Mrs. Paroo- Hannah Reetz
Winthrop Paroo- Evan Landis
Amaryllis- Sophie King
Tommy Djilas- Byron Nelson
Zaneeta Shinn- Maisyn Myers
Gracie Shinn- Naomi Maxwell
Ethel Toffelmier- Sophie Hamm
Pick-a-little ladies
Liv Washer
Alma – Natalie Landis
Maude Dunlap -
Mrs. Squires -
Conductor- Liv Washer
Constable Locke- TBA
Townspeople
Amiyah George
Roryck Waterman
Rennick Waterman
Traveling Salesman- Hailey Schmidt
Wa Tan Ye Girls
Rennick Waterman
Roryck Waterman
Natalie Landis
Bristol Curtis
Liv Washer
Daren Dean was born in Mexico, MO. He is a 1986 graduate of Mexico Senior High. He is the author of the novel Far Beyond the Pale, I'll Still Be Here Long After You're Gone: Stories, The Black Harvest: A Novel of the American Civil War, and This Vale of Tears. His latest novel ROADS is forthcoming in 2023. Dean did his undergraduate work at the University of Missouri and as an English Fellow at Central Methodist University. He earned his MFA from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His work has been featured in Bloom, Bull, The Chattahoochee Review, The Columbia Tribune, Ecotone, Fiction Southeast, Flyover Country Literary Magazine, The Green Hills Literary Lantern, Huffpost, Kirkus Reviews, Louisiana Literature, Maryland Literary Review, Midwestern Gothic, Ploughshares, StorySouth, Yemassee. His story "Affliction" was a Finalist in the Glimmer Train Short Fiction Contest for New Writers. His short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize three times. In addition, The Black Harvest was recently shortlisted for the Missouri Author Award. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Lincoln University of Missouri. He now lives in Jefferson City Missouri with his wife, Cassie, and their children.
From the author of Far Beyond the Pale, I’ll Still Be Here Long After You’re Gone: Stories, and The Black Harvest: A Novel of the American Civil War, comes a story of a sprawling cast of incorrigible and sometimes violent characters, each bent on their own quest to uncover meaning and find a place in the world. In a rave review HuffPost hailed Pale, “Visceral, authentic southern language flows throughout the starkly honest prose, performing a brutal, violent dance that is all at once hard to watch, yet impossible to turn away from.” Of The Black Harvest, Kirkus Reviews said, “Dean’s writing also offers a striking brew of poetry and punch, combining unflinching realism with delicately woven imagery.” This Vale of Tears paints a searing picture, a clash of the gothic themes of good and evil, in the lives of rural people in the Show Me state. We follow the intertwined lives of Walker Scofield, a man who wonders where he went wrong with his children and grandchildren as his tenuous grip on reality begins to slip; Merle Scofield, Troy’s father, an alcoholic, who hopes to find the strength to unite his family; Troy Scofield, haunted by the memory of his mother (a former soap star) who walked out on the family when he was a boy and is determined to confront his wife's lover; Alisha Scofield, Troy’s insatiable wife tosses him aside for the arms of another man only to discover she wants him back; Glenny Scofield, a truant who steals a baby in a jar of formaldehyde from the local college museum leading to his transformation as The Boy of God; Theron Beecher, an old man who sometimes hears the voices of the dead imploring him to care for the embattled Scofields; Ruby Phelps, a fierce matriarch determined to exact her revenge on the Scofields; Cyrus Phelps, a sometimes bail bondsman and dog breeder and the brute instrument of Ruby’s retribution; Raelyn Phelps, a young woman who finds the strength to escape her family's overbearing confines and follow her heart's own song. When Troy and Raelyn meet, they form an instant bond that will lead them on a cross country trip through the south to New Orleans in an effort to escape the strangling family ties of the past in the dark heart of the Little Dixie.
"Daren Dean's spectacular, distinct writing in This Vale of Tears brings us into the vivid and memorable worlds of the Scofield and Phelps families. This is a beautiful and affecting novel, and Daren Dean is a unique and powerful storyteller of the American South."–Karen Bender, National Book Award Finalist and author of Refund, Like Normal People, The New Order, and others
"The novel follows multiple points of view as it introduces Troy Scofield and Raelyn Phelps, an older man and younger woman from fierce families who use each other in an effort to escape all manner of heartache. The work grounds Dean in a genre he knows well: "grit-lit," an unflinching yet often darkly comic style of writing that draws from influences such as Faulkner and O'Connor."--The Columbia Tribune
This Vale of Tears, A Novel and others found HERE
Dear Parents,
Hello. My name is Sara Given. I am the Theatre teacher and director at Mexico High School. I am also the Creative Director of the Jellybean Conspiracy Foundation- Theatre of Kindness. Jellybean Conspiracy celebrates diversity and differently-abled performers through theatre, music, art and performance. The multi-school Jellybean Festival was started here at MHS in 2013 and continued celebrating differences and kindness until the spring of 2020. Unfortunately, COVID put a temporary halt to our festivals. But, we are back!!!
I am excited to announce that we will be offering a similar program for our neurodiverse and differently abled students at Presser Arts Center this summer. Plus, we are opening the opportunity to our younger students as well as our usual 6-12th grade participants.
Artsability 1 (ages 7-12) will be offered June 6-10 and Artsability 2 (ages 13-19) will be offered June 27-July 1.
What about summer school?
The students from Mexico Public Schools who are interested in Artsability 1, and are also enrolled in summer school may do both and we will provide transportation from camp to school. Parents will drop off their campers at Presser and the summer school enrolled students will be transported to their afternoon classes via a Mexico Public School bus. Students not enrolled in summer school will need to be picked up at Presser at the end of the camp day.
How do I sign my student up?
You must register for camp at Presser Arts Center, or online (see link above). The camp fee is $150 for the week. There are scholarships available. Please fill out the scholarship application on the Presser website. Presser Scholarship Application Link (https://www.presserpac.com/scholarship-application) In addition to your camp registration, we ask that you fill out the attached student information form so that I have a better understanding of the needs of your student and their interests. Artsability Camper Information Form (https://forms.gle/ihfiWBxSEMSHEknN9)
What will they do at camp?
Our goal at camp is to explore various artistic genres such as singing, dancing, rhythm through instrumentation, acting, storytelling, poetry and more. We will find what each camper is most interested and confident in and work on a performance, or work of art to showcase at the end of camp.
I am so looking forward to meeting my Artsability campers! Please let me know if you have any questions. I can be reached via email at sgiven@mexico.k12.mo.us. For questions about registration, please contact Presser Arts Center at 573-581-5592.
Thank you for considering Artsability camp.
Sara Given, Director
Moana- Abriana Lynch
Maui- Ryan Beasley
Gramma- Miriam Gleeson
Tui- Ethan Wiley
Sina- Lexi Winterbower
Pua- Victoria Fugaro
Hei Hei- Kaitlin Rose
Tamatoa- Karisa Hayden
Chief Ancestor 1- Nora Budke
Chief Ancestor 2- Lilly Seward
Chief Ancestor 3- Lucy Gleeson
Left Claw- Becca Stanford
Right Claw- Annie Stanford
Fisher 1- Abby Chitwood
Fisher 2- Jyllian Whitworth
Villager 1- Hannah Reetz
Villager 2- Miah Strode
Villager 3- Tucker Herron
Villager 4- Landon Whitworth
Villager 5- Vinton Lehnen
Villager 6- Becca Stanford
YW Solo 1- Sidney Cash
YW Solo 2- Abbey Hamm
YW Solo 3- Amelia Limbrick
YW Solo 4- Lauren Hanley
YW Solo 5- DJ Wall
YW Solo 6- Abby Chitwood
YW Solo 7- Jyllian Whitworth
YW Solo 8- Insley Washer
Gate Monster- Vinton Lehnen
The Knight at Dawn Cast
1. Jack- Tucker Herron
2. Annie- Natalie Landis
3. Jester- Celia Blackaby
4. Minstrels- Ali Grace & Peytyn Smith
5. Black Knight- Hailey Schmidt
Sentry Castle Guards
6. Mustache Tough Guy- Sawyer Gilliam
7. Squinty- Anna Wieberg
8. Red- Hannah Reetz
Commoners
9. Sharon The Sheep Shearer- Ali Grace Fryer
10. Chandler The Candle Maker- Kaylee Shramek
11. Bartley of the Barley Meadow- Roryck Watermann
12. Cartwright the Cart Builder- Peytyn Smith
13. Duke- Leo Oligschlaeger
Castle Kids
14. Rikki- Kaylee Shramek
15. Baxter- Rennyck Watermann
16. Yates- Roryck Watermann
Suits of Armor
17. Suit #1- Ali Grace Fryer
18. Suit #2- Peytyn Smith
19. Suit #3- Liv Washer
The Dungeon Keepers
20. Dungeon Keeper #1- Liv Washer
21. Dungeon Keeper #2- Rennick Watermann
22. Keenan- Leo Oligschlaeger
23. Elf- Allison Landis
24. Vagrant 1- Kaylee Shramek
25. Vagrant 2- Roryck Watermann
26. Harry- John Otten
27. Tom the Tinker- Harvey Otten
(tentative- parts still being cast)
James- Owen Wilburn
Ladahlord- Landon Whitworth
Spiker- Jyllian Whitworth
Sponge- Natalie Landis
Grasshoper- Leo Oligschlaeger
Ladybug- Abbey Hamm
Earthworth- Lauren Hanley
Centipede- Tucker Herron
Spider- Celia Blackaby
Ida Walters- Allison Landis
Bitsy Botana- Anna Wieberg
Buzz- Karisa Hayden
to be cast- Margaret Kreyling
Stuart Little
Landon Whitworth
Actor 2- Mr. Little, Hank, Tiger, Storekeeper, School Superintendent, Narrator, Passenger
Leo Oligschlaeger
Actor 3- George, Leroy, Angie, Mr. Clydesdale
Korban Gilliam
Actor 4- Doctor, Snowball, Bus Driver, Dr. Carey, Zeke, Tele Repairman
Lacie Reetz
Actor 5- Mrs. Little, Reporter, Malty, Miss Swenson
Hailey Schmidt
Actor 6- Neighbor, Bureau Chief, Referee, Margalo
Sophie Hamm
Actor 7- Woman w/news, Babette, Pigeon, Harriet Ames, Narrator
Allison Landis
1st Dog- Lenox Mahnken
2nd Dog- Viola Roland
