Children’s Theatre Of Annapolis To Present “Holes” In February

In February, Children’s Theatre of Annapolis (CTA) will perform “Holes,” based on the book by Louis Sachar. The play adaptation was also written by Sachar.

The show’s director, Ally Tierney, is a member of CTA’s executive board. She has directed four shows for CTA previously, including its Ruby Griffith Award-winning production of “Tuck Everlasting.” She suggested “Holes” as an option for a non-musical partly because it’s a story that a lot of kids are familiar with, which is a draw for both actors and for families interested in seeing a performance.

There are 17 actors in the cast, several of whom play more than one role in the show. While not every actor has read the original book, they were all familiar with the story prior to beginning rehearsal, due to either watching the movie or reading the book. Kids also make up the crew other than the stage manager, taking on roles such as lightboard, sound and helping backstage.

“Wherever we can have a student learning either onstage or offstage, we do it,” Tierney said.

CTA’s production will utilize unique elements such as puppets in the show, and rather than a car, they’ll have a bike.

“How I’m really looking at this play, or putting it on, is looking at it as fantasy realism,” Tierney said. “I really want it to feel like a book.”

The play tells the story of Stanley Yelnats, whose family says that they’re cursed, dating back to his “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather.” Stanley has been sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys are forced to spend every day digging holes in the ground, five feet wide and five feet deep. He realizes the warden is not just having them dig for character improvement, but also because he’s trying to find something. The show features flashbacks in addition to scenes from Stanley’s time.

“The kids have been working so hard. I hope that our community comes out and supports them,” Tierney said.

Performances will take place at 7:00pm on Fridays, 11:00am and 4:00pm on Saturdays, and 2:00pm on Sundays, February 6-22. Special performances include a Q&A talkback with the cast and crew on February 7, a backstage tour on February 8 and 15, a relaxed performance at 11:00am on February 14, and an American Sign Language-interpreted performance at 4:00pm that same day.

For more information or to purchase tickets, go to www.ticketleap.events/events/cta-md.