DeKalb actors to stage 'Pride and Prejudice'

“I’ve challenged the kids to make sure they understand that this is a story about feminism before people think feminism was born,” said DeKalb’s director, Jed Freels.

“It’s a story that’s been told over and over and over, and it’s crucial that we do it well,” he said. “We have to make sure that people understand that this idea, of being treated for who you are, is important.”

On Oct. 29 and 30 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 31 at 2 p.m., DeKalb will present a 75-minute stage play based on the novel, complete with music and dancing.

“At one point, there’s over 30 waltzers who waltz in, in black-and-white, just to beautify the whole picture,” Freels said.

The plot revolves around the five daughters of an English landowner. At least one of the girls must marry well to support the others. The conflict revolves around the importance of marrying for love rather than money or social prestige.

“The challenge for us as a theater department is to bring that message to life, and they have just done a remarkable job of trying to get that done,” Freels said.

Theater students have built a set that represents Austen’s library, filled with oversized books of the era.

“The characters develop and come out of the books, and the story comes to life in Jane Austen’s library. We’re really excited about that,” Freels said.

Adding to the learning experience, the students will present the play in the round, with audience members on four sides.

“We’ve never done anything in the round with this group of seniors, so we challenged them,” Freels said. “Most of them were scared to death and didn’t know what to do. But for their acting experience, I just thought it was crucial for them to learn what acting in the round was like.”

From the multi-level, four-sided stage, “You can’t deliver a line in one direction,” Freels said. “That’s been a challenge. When you’re on stage, you have to walk on and you have to involve every single audience member.”

The cast ranges from freshman to seniors, with some 20 actors in leading parts, another 15 as waltz and ballroom characters, and still another 30 creating the set.

Senior Sophia Bell portrays leading woman Elizabeth Bennet. Freels said she is “doing a phenomenal job — emotions just pouring out of her.”

Jesse Graves takes the leading male role as Bennet’s suitor, Mr. Darcy.

“He’s a phenomenal actor, but he started out in my scene shop,” Freels said. “He told me, ‘Mr. Freels, I want to cut, and I want to saw. I’m not going to get on stage.’ And here he is, his senior year, with a starring role. … I’ve seen the show a lot, different places — I’ve never seen it done better than he’s doing it.”

Approximately 200 audience seats will be set up on the auditorium stage for a more intimate feeling than the full, 600-seat theater.

Freels said he challenged the students to calculate how many seats they need to cover the expenses of the show.

“What do you have to do as a theater production team to stay solvent — be in the black?” he asked students. “There’s a financial side that they have to understand to make sure they can continue to support DeKalb theater and what that will mean in the future.”

Looking ahead, DeKalb recently installed all-new curtains in the auditorium, and plans are in process for “an incredible, state-of-the-art lighting system” by the end of school year, Freels said.

Upcoming shows include “Believe” on Dec. 18-19 — “about truly believing in high school kids and what it takes to understand each other,” Freels said — and the Broadway musical “Big Fish” in the spring.

New to the schedule, Freels said, will be a June 2022 production involving students from all grades, kindergarten through high school seniors.