Virtual 'Mirror, Mirror' Production Reflects The Times
/ASC’s First Theatrical Show of 2021 Features Young Cast
A fairy tale fit for 2021 is coming to mirrors — er, screens — this spring.
The Arts & Science Center’s theater volunteers and staff have begun production on the first theatrical production of the year.
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall — A Virtual Fractured Fairy Tale will stream for ticketholders at 7 p.m. April 1-4, 2021. Tickets go on sale Monday, March 1. The production is sponsored by Relyance Bank.
The show consists of a large cast of young perfomers, and is inspired by classic fairy tales.
Mirror, Mirror begins with the Evil Queen (played by Lily Jennings) who wishes to be fairest of them all. When her Magic Mirror (Lanie Lopez, in her ASC debut) informs her that runaway Snow White (Grace Morara) is the most fair, the queen is livid. She summons great magic in hopes of finding Snow White and can now see out of all mirrors throughout the kingdom. There’s a catch ... the magic also allows everyone else’s mirrors to show their deepest desires.
The rest of the colorful characters and cast are Cinderella (Zoey Newcomb), Cinderella’s stepmother Stoatia (Aubree Wright) and stepsisters Ermine (Chloe Hargis) and Weasetta (Addilyn Hopkins), Prince Impeccable (Briar Thompson), Prince Charming (Matthew Nguyen), Prince Dashing (Travar Ambler), Rapunzel (Madelyn Thompson), Beauty (Anna Grace Bailey), Beast (Dorian Hunter), Rumpelstiltskin (Myra Corpulis), Gretel (Rory Lake), the Fairy Godmother (Layla Hoskins); the Seven Dwarfs — Pigsty (Aaron Huckeba), Blingy (Violet Jennings), Bouncy (Adalyn Puthoff), Glammy (Cali Reed), Sluggy (Riley Scholes), Stinky (Bailey Phillips) and Speedy (Anniston Wright); Weasetta (Addilyn Hopkins), Gasdumb (Keiren Minter), Jack (Casey Reed), Jack's Mother (Violet Myers), Butterscotch (Tenley Rodriguez), Royal Maestro (Anna Grace Stephens), Miller's Daughter (Kennedy Thompson), Gretel's Father (Will Witt), and Crying Baby (Emery Commerford, the youngest cast member at 7 months old).
“This is the most diverse cast we have had in a long time, and a lot of these kids are making their ASC debut,” said Kayla Earnest-Lake, director of Mirror, Mirror.
In a modern twist on the classic tales, the characters can communicate with each other through their mirrors, much like Facetime.
“It’s a lot of fun and it’s a really super-cute take on a fairy tale. It’s definitely sticking with the current times,” said Lindsey Collins, ASC theater education coordinator and the production’s editor.
To adhere to social distancing protocols, the actors will be filmed on stage at ASC individually, coming in at separate times. Then the individual performances will be edited together, similar to a movie.
Earnest-Lake is a longtime ASC theater volunteer both behind the scenes and on stage. Although this is her first time directing at ASC, it is not her first time in the director’s chair. She directed the Grant County Community Theater’s debut show Peter Pan in 2019. Before that, she directed three shows at the Cleveland County Community Theater — Simply Cinderella, Magically Musical, and The Fairy Tale Network.
Kayla Earnest-Lake
Her involvement with the ASC theater program began in her early teens when she attended theater camp. Her first show was 2008’s Peter Pan, when she was 16.
“Theater, and ASC in particular, was a huge part of my childhood and teen years,” Earnest-Lake said.
On-stage roles at ASC include Sister Mary Stephen in Sister Act: The Musical (2018), Mrs. Beauregarde in Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka (2017), and the Narrator in Stuart Little (2012).
Backstage roles include assistant director for A Christmas Story (2019), stage manager for Legally Blonde the Musical (2019) and Through the Looking Glass, and other crew jobs in about a dozen more productions.
More recently, Earnest-Lake has been an integral part of ASC’s virtual productions. She assisted with ASC’s first virtual production, Clue: Stay at Home Version, the Heart for the Arts telethon, and the kids’ holiday variety show, A Not-So-Silent Night.
Earnest-Lake also helps to coordinate ASC’s read-aloud videos, with theater volunteers reading and performing favorite children’s books in fun videos, as part of ASC’s virtual programming.
“I’m passionate about children’s theater because I have witnessed firsthand all of the amazing benefits: the unbreakable bonds, the sense of accomplishment, the boost of confidence, the skills acquired, and so many other things,” Earnest-Lake said. “I love the feeling of being able to give even just a little bit of what I have received back to the next generation, and I’m forever grateful to ASC for giving me so many opportunities to do so.”
Earnest-Lake’s 6-year-old daughter, Rory, possesses her mother’s love of performing. She’s been a part of a few of the virtual programs and will appear in a small role in Mirror, Mirror as Gretel.
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall — A Virtual Fractured Fairy Tale, written by Brian D. Taylor, will stream at 7 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, April 1–4, 2021. Tickets go on sale Monday, March 1, and are $7 for ASC members and $10 for nonmembers. Ticket buyers will receive a video link before showtime.
