Iqaluit middle school students return to stage with ‘Annie Jr.’

Aqsarniit Middle School students are heading back onstage with a musical production of Annie Jr.

Producing a play is great for the students for two reasons, said organizer Shawna Thomson, a student support teacher at the school: It gives an opportunity for students to get involved in after-school activities outside of athletics, and it instills confidence.

“I wanted to bring an opportunity for kids who are really interested in arts to express themselves,” she said earlier this month in an interview.

This year’s production follows a run last year of the play High School Musical.

Annie Jr.,  a shorter version of the stage play adapted for middle school students, follows the adventures of a young girl, Annie, who runs away from an orphanage hoping to find her parents.

Thomson said the students involved are learning to work as a team, get up on stage, and put themselves out there in ways they might not otherwise. For example, she said, a student might be nervous if they are asked to make a presentation in class.

“But when they’re on stage, they’re not themselves and they get to disappear into that role, and they’ve got the whole team up there,” she said.

Alexa Senkow is cast as Annie, the main character in the play.

“I really love performing,” Senkow said, adding she has been involved in drama since Grade 2.

One thing she has had to work on to prepare for the role is her singing, she said, but getting to work with her fellow students has been a rewarding experience as well.

“You get to know a lot of people better than you did before,” she said.

The character of Miss Hannigan, the orphanage owner, is played by Molly Hayward.

“She’s not the kindest of people,” Hayward said with a smile, about her character.

She said she took on the role of Miss Hannigan because she thought playing someone who is loud and aggressive would be fun.

“I thought it would be something cool to try out,” Hayward said, adding the character also has a lot of fun scenes and songs.

The song Little Girls is her favourite, she said.

Seeing the students enjoy theatre and the work it takes to stage a play is “pretty awesome,” said Thomson.

“To see how committed they get to [the play] and where they start and where they go [to] is pretty incredible,” she said.

She said she would love for people to come out and see a performance.

“The more support we get from the community, that makes it more likely that we can continue doing productions in the future,” she said.

The play will open to the public on March 1 at 7 p.m. There will also be shows March 2 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

For the public shows, admission costs $10 for adults, $5 for anyone 18 and under, and elders are guests.