Oilfields School junior drama students are working hard to perfect their parts before the curtain goes up for two upcoming performances at the school in Diamond Valley.
Students will present Witches, Britches, Rings and Things by Dave Barton. The patchwork of folk and fairy tales runs on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.
The play features some of the best stories from the good old days, narrated by retired witch Ethel Appleton, played by Olivia Selinger.
The show features classic fairy tales with magical beings, trolls and witches among them, said teacher Manda Henrichsen.
“It’s a whole bunch of little plays put together,” said Grace-Lynn Dyck, who plays a housekeeper and a villager. “There’re definitely a lot of funny moments.”
Gabriel Way-Dunlop plays a troll in one play and a gentleman in another.
The gentleman is a serious character in a funny play, he said.
“It's a very fun play like that," he said. "He goes around, a serious guy, going around looking for funny stuff.”
Way-Dunlop added he’s looking forward to performing for an audience.
“It's going to be fun," he said. "I think we’ve got a lot of new actors this year, and they're all going to do great.”
Another class will present The Case of the Mysterious Missing Ring by Janie Downey Maxwell on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.
Mystery meets comedy when the Queen, played by Lily Gregoire, misplaces the royal ring at a party, and someone steals it.
Royal detectives are summoned to track down the ring. Every detective was at the party, however, making every detective a suspect.
Student Cassie Crane is Miss Scarlet, one of the detectives working the case.
Although not a very good detective, Miss Scarlet does her best to find the missing ring along with the others, Crane said.
“It's basically a rat race around the castle graveyard,” Crane said.
The Queen’s butler, played by Brady Maull, is also involved in the mystery.
“I serve people tea and make sure everything is going good in the palace,” Maull said.
He also tries to avoid suspicion and not become a suspect himself.
Tickets to the play are $5 and are available at the door or from the school office ahead of time.
Henrichsen said it was challenging to do both productions at the same time, but the students made the experience rewarding and worthy.
“I am very proud of all my students for pushing their boundaries for the enjoyment of children and all family audiences alike,” Henrichsen said.