Peter and The Starcatcher, a re-imagination of the origin story of Peter Pan, turned the gloomy tale of an unfortunate orphan into one of an at-sea adventure with pirates and star magic. This production’s magic-infused elements took over our own stage on opening night, Thursday 27th, 2022, when theater production brought the whimsical play to life. 

Fictional elements are abundant in this production, and Michael Hollomon, Lebanon Trail Theater Director, explained that the crew had to work dedicatedly to bring all the minuscule details of magic to life. Hollomon explains that this production’s fantastical elements make it a highly technical show.

 “There’s a lot of special effects,” he said. “There are a lot of moving scene changes, and there are a lot of opportunities to see different characters use the set as an extension of their character–so there’s a lot of magical moments”. The versatility of the play makes it easier to polish all of these quaint details in order to bring Peter Pan’s origin story to the stage. 

Further discussing the play, Hollomon revealed that the set took a while to make and that the extended construction time proved to be an extra challenge for the preparation of the production. 

In addition to the intricate blocking and extensive polishing, the crew had to do all of this without a set for most of the rehearsals. 

“Trying to stage an entire show flat makes it a little bit difficult,” Hollomon said, “and you have to adjust much more once the set comes up–[it] was challenging to do all the adjustments [while also] trying to get the show where it needed to be on time”.

 Hollomon explains that the crew still blazed through all the obstacles with masterful efficiency, “everyone [gave] their fair share of sweat, blood, and tears,” he explained. 

Talking with John Davenport, Technical Director at Lebanon Trail High School, he also explained that other challenges faced by the crew in regards to the stage was the fact that this play doesn’t have a specific place that they could create. Meaning that the crew had to bring a highly fictitious play to life with a fixed set.

 “Everything has to have the potential to represent any place in the play,” Davenport said, explaining that to better stage the show, they had to keep in mind that what they designed couldn’t be too specific and easily identifiable. 

The two main characters in this play, Peter and Molly, are both young 13-year-olds, hence it is beneficial to work with young actors and actresses that can represent the characters’ ages as best as possible. When asked about the benefits of working with a young crew, Hollomon explained that it brings a certain air of excitement and joy since they will be the future of theater. 

“It’s exciting to see their growth and passion for theater come alive with the characters they play,” he said, further commenting that when they get to open a show and have the audience applaud their hard work he is happy to see the crew’s joy. 

Hollomon also mentioned that the younger actors and actresses benefit from working with older students. “The young crew…learn from the upperclassmen, so the more that we can give them early on the better they will be prepared for their future in the rigorous theatrical [career] ahead of them”. 

Davenport also explained that to have a successful career in tech theater, kids should have a well rounded base, and he commented that participation in the play would allow them to get the practice in.

 “You…learn how to do as many things in tech as possible,” he said, “[and] you will be well rounded…[to] work anywhere”. Participation in this production, as explained by the two directors, is immensely beneficial for the crew. 

Lastly, Hollomon mentioned that everyone’s hard work resulted in a great play that would amaze this audience and audiences for years to come, and that the production was a great way to showcase the hard work done by the theater department.

 “We give the community a sneak peek to all the amazing opportunities that fine arts at Frisco ISD and Lebanon Trail High School provide,” Hollomon said, further affirming that the students in this production and any other show work really hard to bring the best out of the theater department.