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There’s a certain amount of improv required for most every production on a stage. No matter how hard a person rehearses there’s always the possibility of a missed line, missed cue and dealing with no lights.

Most notably, the Austin High School drama troupe has recently had to deal with that last challenge, but luckily they have an understudy of sorts for their upcoming production of “Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella: The Enchanted Edition.”

Normally presenting its productions on the Ellis Middle School auditorium stage, AHS has had to shift to Riverland Community College’s Frank W. Bridges Theatre due to a problem with Ellis’ lighting.

The problem will require a complete replacement of the lighting set-up at the school.

“I sought out John Deyo to see if he had any background on anyone I can rent lights from,” said Director Kim Potter. “He asked what the dates of the show were and then said, ‘why don’t you just do it here?’”

While not initially on her radar to shift the play to the Riverland theater, the move turned out to be advantageous, even if it will be a one time deal.

With the size of the Ellis stage, the move to Riverland provided a comparable venue that required little in the way of alternating how the play is performed.

“Ellis is a really good sized stage,” Potter said. “It’s been nice. Everything came over pretty efficiently. Really, the community came together with 100% backing of us.”

The move has been good for the students as well as they’ve been able to make use of dressing rooms and the rest of the facilities at the theater.

“They are really enjoying themselves,” Potter said. 

The play itself has been near and dear to Potter’s heart and something she’s wanted to do for a long time. When options failed to garner interest across the board for the student-players regarding other suggested productions, Potter decided to move forward with Cinderella.

Potter said that she’s excited for the troupe to present it to the audience, complete with a fantastical array of special effects.

“I’ve worked closely with Jim Jayes,” Potter said. “We’ll definitely have some magical things happening in terms of transformations with Cinderella’s dress and the carriage.”

While the transition from Ellis to Riverland has been a lot for players and production, Potter said she’s been impressed with how the students have handled everything.

When an extra hand was needed, they’ve been there to help.

“Resilient is probably not a strong enough word,” Potter said. “They are definitely going with the flow. They’ve had my back the entire time. They are always asking what they can do.”

“They have smiles on their faces and they are singing songs and having a good time,” she added.

“Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” will be presented at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday at Frank W. Bridges Theatre. General Admission tickets are available at the door or through www.gofan.com and searching for Austin High School under arts.

CAST and CREW

Cinderella – Hannah Zerke 

Christopher– Bryan Cruz Vasquez 

Fairy Godmother – Jocelyn Voth  

King – Sam Vortherms 

Queen – Emma Tharpe 

Lionel – Alice Osmonson 

Stepmother – Nadia Hummel  

Grace – Karrah Green  

Joy – Kalli Potter 

Coachman – Ashlyn Strampe 

Footman – Oscar Blas 

Young Cinderella – Phoebe Oftelie 

Merchants, Villagers, Palace Guests,  

Aubree Heimer, CJ Turcotte, Crystal Root, Keyli Vincente, Kenzie  Brown, Paytin Simmons 

Musical Director – Kim Zerke 

Stage Manager – Cazen Crews 

Stage Crew – Lily Diel, Eleanor Page, Gavin Mayers, Erik Juarez Valle Tech/Lights – JB Holtorf, Kai Holtorf, Mollie Johnson Sound – Emma Potter 

Costume Assistants – Rhonda Regan, Kathy Potter 

Choreography support – Becca Couch 

Props/Set Support – Jim Jayes, Jake Gustine, John Deyo, Antonio  Morales, Eric Potter