RUMFORD — With the Muskie Auditorium off limits, the Mountain Valley High School Theater Arts students took their play to the great outdoors. They performed “The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland” on the lawn adjacent to the school.

On opening night, the audience braved cool temperatures, newly-hatched black flies and threatening rain clouds to watch the performance.

Senior Nathan Fitzpatrick played the White Rabbit who Alice, acted by Carita DeTellis, chased down the rabbit hole.

He explained, “Without an auditorium, we’ve decided to perform the play outside. This presented several challenges. We had to integrate various ideas that break modern convention in the theater. For example there was no back stage area to prepare actors for the next scene.”

Rather than be hidden off stage, the actors mingled in the audience until it was their turn to enter the play. Tiki torches delineated the boundaries of the grass stage.

Senior Robyn Pellerin liked interacting with the audience as part of her role as the Queen of Hearts.

She said, “The play was really fun outdoors. That gave us more opportunities like sitting in the audience. I didn’t have to say ‘Off with their heads!’ to anyone in the audience.”

For those unfamiliar with the story, the Queen of Hearts’ most frequently-used line was “Off with their heads!”

Asked about her experience with the production, senior Kelsey Bevins said, “We put a lot of work into it and it was totally worth it.”

She played the Red Queen. In a scene from the second act, the Red Queen showed how Alice could become a queen. Later on, the Red Queen combined forces with the White Queen to promote Alice from a pawn to a queen.

Junior Kayla Drapeau, who played the Mouse, reflected on the play in terms of the three seniors – Fitzpatrick, Pellerin and Bevins.

She said, “It was the seniors’ last play and we did well for them. It was a nice send-off for them.”

Freshman Hannah Leonard added, “My experience with the play was really, really fun. We had some difficulties but I believe my cast and I put in our best effort on both nights.”

Leonard had two roles. She was one of the cards and a bird. She enjoyed both characters.

Freshman Alexis Vining commented, “I loved our cast. Everyone got along. We really are like a family. I played a card and the dodo bird in the play and both characters were so fun to play.”

So what did the brave audience members think?

MVHS alumnus Andrew Phelps said, “I really enjoyed that play. I grew up watching the old film so seeing it recreated was awesome. Doing it outside was also a great idea. The nature really gave it more of an exciting feel. I’d give it a 10 out of 10 rating.”

In addition to the seniors, cast members included juniors Corbin Arsenault, Kristen Arsenault, Kayla Drapeau, Carita DeTellis, Cheyenne Gannon, Shelby McDiffett, Dalton Milledge, Angela O’Leary, and Tucker Phelps. The sophomore actors were Joey Buccina, Random Gurney, Dellshawn Harris, Breann Ross and Ronnie Russell. Freshmen rounded out the cast with Hannah Leonard, Emily Little, Alexis Vining, Cicily Morrow, Rebecca Roy, Jasmine White and Robert Zaczkiewicz.

Natalie Simmons is the theater arts teacher and directed the production.