LR Drama Club presents, ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, which opens tonight in the Lake Region High School auditorium, includes LR Drama Club cast and crew: (back row, left to right) Tyler Stuart, Tim Holbrook, Walker Elsaesser, Matthew Mayo, Connor Perfetto, Andrew Gianattasio, Director Eugene Long and Luna Atallah; (middle row) Tohru Ahlemeyer, Kennedy Brake, Thomas Kolofsky, David Delvecchio, Shannon Ranger, Emma Crawford, Leanne O’Brien and Abigail Scarlett; (front row) Samantha Pond, Isabella Wears, Paige Goldstein, Morgan Cross and Emeline Akeley.
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
SIGMA CAST — Thursday and Saturday at 7 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.
Paige Goldstein as Anne Frank
Matt Mayo as Otto Frank
Kennedy Brake as Edith Frank
Emma Crawford as Margo Frank
Samantha Pond as Mrs. Van Pels
David DelVecchio as Mr. Van Pels
Thomas Kolofsky as Peter Van Pels
Walker Elsaesser as Fritz Pfeffer
Collette Woodson at Miep
Tyler Stuart as Mr. Kraler
Eleina Sturk as The Narrator
RHO CAST — Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m.
Isabella Wears as Anne Frank
Lucien Wallace as Otto Frank
Tohru Ahlemeyer as Edith Frank
Susan Rose as Margo Frank
Morgan Cross as Mrs. Van Pels
Preston Philips as Mr. Van Pels
Andrew Gianattasio as Peter Van Pels
Timothy Holbrook as Fritz Pfeffer
Shannon Ranger as Miep
Connor Perfetto as Mr. Kraler
Fiona Murphy as The Narrator

By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

What was Anne Frank like?

Paige Goldstein carefully read Anne’s diary to get a sense of her personality and morals.

“The most challenging part of playing Anne Frank is portraying the development of her maturity and world views over her two years of living in the attic. She begins as a 13-year-old who is energetic, curious and irritating to a 15-year-old who has a new sense of hope and compassion for the people around her. Her love for the world despite her circumstances has left a big impact on me,” said the Lake Region junior from Naples. “Playing Anne Frank has really made me develop as an actor. Since the play is a real story, it has given me so much empathy and knowledge about the Jewish people during WWII and the hardships each one of them had to face. Also, I learned that I am not much different than Anne, because I too am horrible at algebra.”

Paige draws the lead role of Anne as the Lake Region Drama Club presents The Diary of Anne Frank, which opens tonight, Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium. The production will include two casts, with Isabella Wears also drawing the Anne part.

Sponsored by Ten Lakes Chiropractic Clinic and directed by Eugene Long, the play is brought to life by a talented cast (see performers list) and crew, including Stage Manager Abigail Scarlett, Assistant Stage Manager Emeline Akeley, Sound Technician Leanne O’Brien, and on the lights Kate Rose.

There will be subsequent performances on Friday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 17 at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m.

Advance tickets are still available at Aubuchon Hardware in Naples, Bridgton Books, Casco Village Variety, Crawford Law Office in Raymond, and the LRHS office. Please invite your family and friends and support arts in the community!

How will Paige know if she delivered her best on stage? “I know I had a successful performance if I am able to cry on stage,” she added.

Junior Emma Crawford of North Bridgton plays Margo Frank.

“The most challenging aspects of my role are being able to act seriously. My character, Margo Frank, doesn’t have any comedic lines and is not a comedic character, so to be consistently serious is something I’ve struggled with. It’s also hard to act in certain scenes that require a lot of emotion because I haven’t experienced anything like the Franks had,” she said.

To prepare for the role, Emma watched the movie The Diary of Anne Frank.

“It helped me to get to know my character better,” she said. “I’ve learned from being involved in this production what it feels like to live in someone else’s shoes; specifically someone in a such a situation as the Franks. It’s taught me to be more grateful for the life I have.”

Senior Kennedy Brake of Naples takes on the role of Edith Frank.

“The most challenging aspect of playing Edith Frank is stepping into the role of a mother. I’m not the most organically nurturing person, so it has been tough to tap into that,” she said. “I prepared for this role by doing some research into the lives of the Frank family — research that included reading The Diary of Anne Frank, as well as watching documentaries and other productions of the show.”

The powerful story touched Kennedy.

“I have gained many insights on the lives of Jews during WWII and the hardships that they faced through both my research and my portrayal of a Jewish woman of the time. I feel as though I have a better understanding of what these people went through,” she said.

As to how they will know if they delivered a sterling performance, Emma said, “I know I had a successful performance if I started tearing up. I’ve teared up before during a rehearsal, but not noticeably. That was my best rehearsal.” Meanwhile, Kennedy said, “I know I had a successful performance if I don’t break character on stage.”