Senior Cadie Logston entered stage left. Her blue and white makeup glistened under the spotlight and her long fur cape dragged behind her as she walked to center stage. Logston stood there, towering over her minions, who awaited her next orders. Her voice echoed off the walls of Bethel University’s soon-to-be sold-out black box theater.
Logston plays the White Witch in Bethel University’s fall production of C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” which debuts Friday, Oct. 18.
Director Glenn Morehouse Olson included a unique twist to this production: stage combat training. Actors in the play learned the choreography and the basics of unarmed combat. They trained to fall, grapple, punch and kick, all while ensuring no one gets injured. Olson appointed Arron Preusse, founder of The Fake Fighting Company, to assist with this aspect of the production.
“When you do stage combat, you need to have a professional to do that,” Olson said. “It’s not my area of expertise. For safety and everything else, people think it’s just fighting, but it’s more than that.”
Stage combat adds new intensity and emotion to the classic scenes from “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” Junior Aviya Wadsager, who portrays the oldest Pevensie sister, Susan, believes this element will put the audience on the edge of their seats.
“It raises the stakes and the tension of the show,” Wadsager said. “By having that training, it made it easier to get into character.”
Wadsager believes that the realistic fight choreography will help immerse the audience in the characters’ stories and their battles. Bethel’s black box theater also adds unique elements to the story. Its unconventional stage layout allows the audience to sit close to the action, making it easier to notice characters’ facial expressions and reactions.
Tickets for the production sold out a week before its debut due to its popularity among students, staff and families. For the students, it was not only a favored choice to watch but also to participate in. The current cast of 20 is one of the largest theater casts in recent years. Olson also decided to have students from the BUILD program participate.
“I love shows that give a lot of people opportunities,” Olson said. “My philosophy is theater is for everyone.”
Another appeal to this production is the story’s reputation as a nostalgic, well-known classic. Logston and Wadsager both remember reading the book at a young age and watching the 2005 film adaptation of Lewis’s tale.
“My dad read it to me when I was super little,” Wadsager said. “Most of the people have also watched the movies,” Wadsager said.
Olson and the cast believe the production is widely interpreted by Christians as an allegory for the story of Christ and His resurrection. Themes such as forgiveness, sacrifice and redemption are represented throughout the entirety of the play.
“This story is about forgiveness, redemption, Christ’s death, and resurrection,” senior cast member Kyla Kirsch said. “At the end of the story, he triumphs over sin and the White Witch.”
Stage combat. Nostalgia. Christian themes. “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” debuting Friday, Oct. 18, in Bethel University’s black box theater.
