‘Still Life with Iris’ showcases large cast

Senior+Sarah+Cutrer%2C+who+plays+the+role+of+Iris%2C+in+Still+Life+with+Iris+visits+with+senior+Elyse+McVey+during+a+scene.+McVey+plays+the+role+of+the+memory+mender+in+the+performance.

Senior Sarah Cutrer, who plays the role of Iris, in “Still Life with Iris” visits with senior Elyse McVey during a scene. McVey plays the role of the memory mender in the performance.

Taylor Nethery, Staff Writer
November 10, 2021

For the first time, theater teacher Jami Windham looks forward to directing her first main stage show at Kingwood Park. She’s excited to have students from all grades contribute to “Still Life with Iris” with more than 35 kids in the cast and crew.

“The fun thing about this show is that it’s not just varsity theater,” Windham said. “We’ve had some really outstanding crew members. We’ve got some freshmen in the show that are doing a great job.”

“Still Life With Iris” is about a girl named Iris who loses her memory, goes on an adventure and meets a bunch of friends along the way trying to get her memory back and get home. It’s a comedy and fantasy show for all ages. The first of its five performances will be Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Windham said really likes fantasy and “Still Life with Iris.” She didn’t want to do the show unless she could do it right, but is confident this group will put out a great show.

“I learned about this show when I was in graduate school for theater education,” Windham said. “I thought this year we really had some kids who could play really fun characters, so we thought this is the time to do it.”

Junior Abigail Hunt plays Annabel Lee, who is one of the friends Iris makes on her journey. Annabel Lee caught Hunt’s eye with her spunky personality, which she tries to embody on stage. She’s excited to be able to put this together with her friends.

“It’s really funny and entertaining,” Hunt said. “It’s something different than what Kingwood Park theater is used to performing. It’s different in a good way.”

Since this production is not just varsity theater, there is a much larger cast with varying levels of acting experience. The cast and crew is full of talented students eager to put on a great show, Windham said.

The crew has been working hard to make a set for such a unique show. In order to do that, the stage and sets are painted all white. The theater recently got new color lights that will be used against the white sets to make shapes and colors to bring to life the fantasy world.

“It’s cool to watch people be in the same scene together where the experience is so varied,” Windham said. “They’re learning from each other and I just think that’s really exciting.”