Drama teacher and director Mr. Greg Worley directed his first major production since taking over as Drama teacher last year with It’s a Wonderful Life: a Live Radio Play by Joe Landry. It was performed by mostly students in his Drama classes.
The cast worked on the play for nearly a month and many students helped with behind the scenes preparation like set design and special effects.
The radio version of the play requires the action to place all one stage in front of a live audience just like an old radio broadcast.
Worley said, “Most of the challenges came because of the short period of time we had to put it all together. The easy thing to have done would have been to not do a fall production at all, but I felt that the production, good or bad, would be a good learning experience for the students involved.”
While many students are familiar with the classic movie version starring Jimmy Stewart, the live radio performance offered a unique twist on the holiday classic.
“… because the theatre space is currently being shared with the dance classes, we couldn’t load in or build our set until the week of, and that demanded a lot of long hours after school to insure it was complete in time. I believe I was still assembling the set minutes before the opening,” said Worley
The performance challenged students to use their imaginations more since many of the effects for the performance were just audio.
The end result was a very entertaining performance.

Stage Manager…………………………………..Kara Dunkelberg
George Bailey/Freddie Filmore ……………..……Drew Bussey
Mary Hatch…………………………………………….Taylor Rister
Violet Bick………………………………………………..Olivia Fitts
Clara……………………………………….………….Lizz Moncure
Jo……………………………………………………………Mary Efrid
Rose Bailey/Mrs.Hatch………………………………Mary Helblig
Harry/Sam/Nick …………………………………..Bobby Morgan
Bert/Old Man Collins/Mr. Welch/Sherriff……….Michael Hals
Mr.Potter…………………………………………………Chris Kline
Gower/Uncle Billy/Bridge Keeper……………..Lane Broadwell
Tommy/Zuzu/Young Harry/Pete……………Maggie Moncure
Young George…………………………………David Dunkelberg
Young Violet/Janie/Sadie……………………..Marrissa Hutton
Young Mary/Ruth Bailey/Teller…………………..Anna Polson
Peter/Ernie/Dr. Campbell/Charlie/Ed …Garrick Scott
Matilda/Mrs. Thompson…………………….Alina Burlaw
Martini………………………………………………Chris Barnette