Starting this last week, the NDSU Theatre Department has begun to debut its October show, “Little Women.” “It’s the American Civil War and the March family recently lost their wealth. The March sisters–Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy–do their part to support their family while their father is away at war. Experience this classic coming-of-age tale that follows the sisters from little women to adulthood.” The above synopsis is provided by the NDSU Theatre website. Show dates include October 17, 18 and 19, along with 24, 25 and 26, all at 7:30 p.m.
Many moving parts have gone into this production and the whole cast and crew are thrilled to be able to finally bring this to the stage for the NDSU and Fargo-Moorhead community to experience. Cora Clark who is playing Amy was able to provide some more insights into the excitement of the unveiling of this show. This is Clark’s second year attending NDSU as a musical theatre major.
In an interview, Clark supplied a deeper look into the character of Amy March. “So Amy’s the youngest, and she’s very upset that she’s always come second to all her sisters, especially Jo. I just love how she is not afraid to show her emotions because this show obviously deals with pushing against the boundaries of what females are supposed to be like and do, and Amy’s a very outspoken character, and I really love being able to work with that and show it.” This is just a peek into how complex each and every character is and how the members of the NDSU Theatre Department will be portraying them.
“I think some of my favorite parts have been really connecting with my castmates, especially the girls who play my sisters, and also the support of everybody who’s involved in the show, everybody backstage and everybody on stage, all of the professors and adults. There’s just an abundance of help and support, and it’s a very healthy and nurturing environment to be in,” explains Clark on her favorite part of being involved in this production in particular and how it has been so far.
Another student, Kate Folkestad, a BS in theatre with a minor in strategic communications who is completing her third and final year at NDSU, is also involved in this show and provided her take on the inner workings of the show and how much work has been put into it. “We did auditions at the end of August, and then they started the day after callbacks; so the last couple days in August, and we’ve been going ever since. Five days a week and now six days a week, four hours a day,” Folkestad includes on how long they’ve been working on the show.
In the same interview, Folkestad expresses her favorite part of being involved with the show. “I think my favorite part has probably just been discovering new ways to tell a story people already know because ‘Little Women’ is so popular and a lot of people already know the book or have seen the hundreds of movie adaptations, especially the newest one. So I’m trying to find new choices and I’ve also been avoiding watching any of them because I don’t want to influence myself so staying away from that. Also getting to work with people that are willing to make choices with you and if you do something, they don’t question it, they just keep going. That’s always so nice.”
With all of the moving parts of the show, it’s easy to miss the small details, but Folkestad was able to express some of her favorite details and nuances in the show. “I think something fun to look out for is the story goes through different times, so there’s a couple years that pass and we’ve all been working on what the differences are in our characters, like when they’re younger versus when they’re older. So I think something to look out for is how we make those changes, but also what we keep the same, like what stays in this character, they always talk a certain way or walk a certain way, or does that evolve as they change and grow? I think nuanced stuff like that is really interesting.”
The cast and crew of NDSU’s Little Women are more than excited to be able to share this unique adaptation of the Broadway musical. Tickets may be purchased on the NDSU Theatre website or by calling the box office number. NDSU students get into the production for free by reserving their tickets through a form on the theatre website. As Kate Folkestad included in her interview when asked about anything else she’d like to add, “Go watch ‘Little Women’ and go Bison!”