Jennifer Geens
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 16/04) - There must be parents in town who haven't seen their kids in weeks.

Starting next Wednesday they'll find out just what their teens have been up to when the Sir John Franklin spring musical takes to the stage at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre.

Tess Alain and Sarah Bonner share the role of Alice in the Sir John Franklin high school spring musical. - Jennifer Geens/NNSL photo

This week the drama room was as busy as an ant hill as students rehearsed Alice Rocks in Wonderland every night until 6 p.m., with additional hours for the musicians and the dancers. They'll spend the weekend "loading in" to the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, then they'll be dress rehearsing late into the evening Monday and Tuesday before the curtain goes up on Wednesday. But the long hours haven't dampened the students' enthusiasm.

"I'm really excited," said Grade 12 student Jazzan Braden. She plays a mouse and Tweedledum.

"I want to start performing it now," she said on Tuesday.

Alice Rocks in Wonderland is a retelling of the Lewis Carroll story, with classic rock songs like White Rabbit and Break on Through thrown into the mix. Five Sir John Franklin students provide the music.

Besides the number of hours of rehearsal, there's also the number of performers to be reckoned with. At least two students were cast for every part in the play to spread out the workload and allow the maximum number of students to benefit from the experience of performing.

That means there are two Alices: Tess Alain and Sarah Bonner are sharing the lead. Each actress will play three performances.

The two Grade 12 students aren't competitive. In fact they've been helping each other with their lines during spares. They both agreed learning all the lines is the hardest part, followed closely by acting with different people playing the same parts.

"It's complex working with both casts," said Alain.

In rehearsals, one performs and the other prompts her from the script if she forgets a line.

Alice Rocks in Wonderland will be Matthew Thomson's first time on stage and he's nervous. But the Grade 10 student said even with all the long hours the experience has been great.

"It's really exciting," he said. "Everything's going really well."

Performances start at 8 p.m. next Wednesday to Saturday with a matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday.