Our resident theatre company, Drama Studio Mangosteen, has been training and developing acting talents in our school for a couple of years now. They regularly produce their own show to invite parents and friends to watch their performance. This has built up confidence in the children and they have been improving their talents and skills every single time.
We have witnessed the dedication in our students staying in school until seven in the evening once or twice a week for their drama school.
Back in April, their team successfully produced a show that they call a "ridiculous comedy of madness." It is an original script inspired by Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Alice through the looking glass'! Their show was simply called "Alice." A quick summary from Mangosteen reads:
"As we begin our tale, Alice is confronted with the reality of identity! Who is Alice? Does she try to be her or is she just her? Our ever-curious Alice always seems to find herself in trouble, this time innocently enough as she chases a most curious White Rabbit through an airport stumbling upon Wonderland. Her adventures go from strange to stranger as she meets an assortment of humors yet mad characters. From talking Doors, beautiful flowers, silly twins and Cheshire cats, to Mad Hatters, March Hares, the wisest of Caterpillars, and the most hateful and angriest of Queens, 'Alice' brimming with maddening metaphors and philosophical insanity! With a captivating script, amazing costumes and fantastic musical numbers, 'Alice' is sure to be an unforgettable show!"
"Alice" is their third major stage play since they've been with us -- after "The Little Prince" (2016) and "The Jungle Book" (2017). But "Alice" is definitely the most unforgettable show as this turned out to be their ticket to a bigger stage.
On 8th of June, the team comprising mostly of students from ISS proudly presented their original play at “HeadStart international School” in Phuket. This was their first time to perform outside the ISS Drama Hall and it was a big milestone for the entire team. They performed in front of about 500 people!
Here's a list of students from ISS who took part in this performance:
Valeriya Lavrenkova (Year 3)
Petr Volkov (Year 4)
Taisyia Lavrenkova (Year 5)
Arda Phothiphrom (Year 5)
Isabel Franceschini (Year 6)
Elizaveta Lebedeva (Year 6)
Platon Mychkin (Year 6)
Victoria Levitskaya (Year 8)
Some of them shared their experience:
Isabel (Year 6) - March Hare:
“At first, I was actually really scared because I always kept on thinking to myself that I would mess up on stage but as soon as i arrived to the school, I realized that “hey Isabel,will you have an opportunity like this again?” And so I thought “you know what, I give these people what they have come for”. And so I did I gave it my all and I did my best. But yes, I did go through some difficulties but in the end, I enjoyed it so much and I would love to do it again”.
Victoria - Queen of Wonderland:
“I liked this experience, even though it was very tiering. There we're some things which made me go crazy, but at the end I am proud of myself and others. I find this experience very useful, and I did really enjoy it”
Lastly, Joel Adams, director from Phuket, is sharing his impressions about show “Alice” in HeadStart School:
“What a terrific show! Hats off to you and your team! You're wonderful! I was very impressed. I thought the ideas, the staging, the characterization, the costumes and decor as well as the choice of music and all was very, very good”
Congratulations to the entire Drama Studio Mangosteen team! And we are happy and fortunate to play a small role in your success and see our students soar to different heights.
If you are interested to enrol your children to this drama school, they are open to all children on the island. Just have a look at this video of their last class in the ISS Drama Hall for this academic year.
You can contact them via their Facebook page: Drama Studio Mangosteen or email Julia Chaykina at +66 87 382 8375.
