The Boy at the Edge of Everything
by Finegan Kruckemeyer
A NOVA Youth Conservatory
Production
Director:
Dan
Nickerson
October 3-12, Black Box Theater
PHOTOS
Take a trip on an intergalactic
journey through space and time– a quirky and fun play that
exudes a young boy’s imagination and adventure.
“A canny,
witty way of reflecting on worlds unknown”- The Seattle Times
Cast:
Tyler Shackelford (Simon Ives) is a 15 year old
Freshman. He has recently been seen on NOVA’s stage in Big,
The Musical, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and
The Giver. “What you do in life echos in eternity.” –
Spartacus (Gladiator)
Carrick Napier
(Colin/The Boy at the Edge of Everything) is an 8th grader at
Lockwood Middle School. Most recently he has been seen in
Big, The Musical at NOVA as well as Aladdin Jr.
and the Summer Showcase at BST. He would like to thank God,
family, friends, the cast of this show, Miyon and Dan for
letting him be a part of this. Although the theater world is new
to him, he wants to be in many more shows.
Chloe
Mayer (Mom / Ms C) is a 7th grade homeschooler. You may
have seen her in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as
the Dodo bird at NOVA. Her words of wisdom to all: “People are
always too quick to judge. If you see a homeless person, you
assume they’re dirty and mean; open, be nice and love each
other.”
Ryland Nelson (Louie) is a 5th
grade homeschool actress. Recently she has been seen on the NOVA
stage in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and
Chicken Little as well as The Other Side of Oz for
Backyard Theater. She would like to thank her family for all
their support. “Life is either a darling adventure or nothing.”
– Helen Keller
Matthew Hagen (Dad) is a
senior home school student. Most recently he has been seen in
Spamalot at BST and Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland at NOVA. “When in doubt, make a fool of
yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being
brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on
earth. SO what the heck, leap.” – Cynthia Heimel
Raegan Melbur (Chloe) is 13 and attends Castle Rock
Middle School. She was recently seen in A Midsummer Nights
Dream and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at NOVA
as well as Aladdin Jr. at BST. She wants to thank the
cast, director and her mom for such a great experience.
Cruz Martinez (Michael) is a 15 year old
sophomore in high school. Recently he has been seen in Shrek
The Musical and Aladdin Jr. at BST as well as
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at NOVA. “With any part
you play, there is a certain amount of yourself in it. There has
be, otherwise it’s just not acting. It’s lying.” – Johnny Depp
Kievan Charles McCave (Artie) is 14 years
old and has most been seen in The Pirate Play and
How to Eat Like a Child at Venture Theatre/NOVA and The
Wizard of Oz. “I reject reality and substitute my own.” –
Mythbusters.
Crew:
Dan Nickerson
(Director) is a 30 year old graduate of Cornish College of the
Arts in Seattle, WA. He is currently the Youth Director of NOVA
Center for the Performing Arts. He would like to thank his
family for supporting his long hours and the cast for continuing
to say yes and grow as actors. “Not to go to the theatre is like
making one’s toilet without a mirror.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
Miyon Durham (Assistant Director) is 12
years old. He has recently been seen in Big, The Musical,
The Wolves in the Walls and The Princess who
doesn’t laugh at NOVA. He would like to thank his mom who
didn’t give him a choice to act (just kidding).
Unpeeling the Onion
by director Dan Nickerson
When I took over as Youth Director in the Fall of 2013
I made it my mission to pick shows that would challenge our
youth on many levels. I wanted to build upon the education and
passion that had been laid before me by my predecessors, but
also start to form my own artistic vision in the Billings
community. I believe the work done by NOVA’s youth, teachers,
directors and myself over the past year have put us down the
right path but The Boy at the Edge of Everything will cement
that vision and give our Youth Conservatory the identity it’s
been working towards.
I first heard about The Boy at the
Edge of Everything through a college friend of mine who saw the
show in its infancy at the New Victory Theater in NYC as well as
it’s premiere at Seattle Children’s Theatre in the Spring. I
could easily see it being a great script for our Youth
Conservatory season and immediately contacted Australian,
playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer to pursue the rights.
The
show itself centers around the life of Simon Ives; A “twelve and
a bit year old boy” who lives in the chaos of middle school
life. Between friends, homework, sports and obnoxiously loud
family dinners, he struggles to find the time to “just sit….and
be.” Through a random series of events, including the igniting
of improperly stored fireworks, Simon is launched into the
deepest corner of space where he meets a boy, living at the edge
of the unknown universe, who shows him just what he’s been
looking for.
With such a small cast, I chose eight kids
who could easily play any role in the production and understand
its complexities. It has been my pleasure to work with such a
cohesive ensemble with whom I encourage to think of me as their
facilitator, rather than director, to stress the importance of
free thinking. In the true nature of ensemble work, every idea,
whether we choose to use it or not, is useful. They have
continued to evolve as actors and people throughout the
rehearsal process; discovering new depths in Finegan’s explosive
writing and, as I say to them, unpeeling the onion to expose
another unique layer (even crying a bit; as onions make you do).
Through a series of stage pictures, movement pieces and
yoga-like meditation we have created a visually and
intellectually stimulating show, sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Without giving away too much, audiences can expect an
intergalactic ride through space and time, leaving them with
questions about the universe and how we perceive ourselves in
it. Don’t miss out on a truly transcendental show that will
shape the very fabric of NOVA’s Youth Conservatory for years to
come.
Weekly Webb: NOVA production provides a new
life lesson
By Jaci Webb
HANNAH POTES/Gazette Staff
Tyler Shackelford, left, playing Simon Ives, and Carrick Napier,
right, playing The Boy at the Edge of Everything, perform a
scene from “The Boy at the Edge of Everything.”
There is a lot of learning going on at NOVA Center for the
Performing Arts this fall.
It’s not the traditional kind
of study, where students learn algebraic equations. Rather, they
are unraveling the complexities of life.
The NOVA Youth
Conservatory cast and crew tweaked lighting and projected images
Monday for the new production, “Boy at the Edge of the
Universe,” which opens Friday. The ensemble cast of eight was
off-script and some actors occasionally missed a line. But they
had clearly found the depth of their characters and possibly for
the first time, they were exploring their own voices paired with
movement in a production about being young and longing for a
different life. The show runs through Oct. 12.
NOVA youth
director Daniel Nickerson encouraged the cast to see him as a
facilitator, not a director. Cast members range in age from 10
to 18, with many of them being just about the same age as the
two main characters, who are in middle school. For the first
time ever, Nickerson assigned a youth, 12-year-old Miyon Durham,
to serve as his assistant director. This truly is a youth
production.
Australian playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer
clearly remembers what it was like to be 12 years old, just
entering middle school and trying to find center. The author of
70 plays created characters so genuine they will make you laugh
and think and possibly revisit the roller coaster ride of what
it is to be 12.
Tyler Shackelford, a 15-year-old freshman
at Skyview high School, plays Simon Ives, who is a
“12-and-a-bit-year-old.”
Shackelford said he began to
understand his character more after taking on this role. Simon
Ives is struggling to stay focused in a chaotic world of
friends, school, sports and loud family dinners. He longs to
“just sit and be.” But when Simon Ives reaches out to his
parents for guidance, they don’t seem to take him seriously.
Because he spends most evenings at the theater working on
portraying this frazzled kid, Shackelford ends up staying up
late finishing homework and taking care of other
responsibilities. In essence, he is becoming Simon Ives.
“I can understand what Simon Ives is going through,” Shackelford
said. “Adults don’t always see teenager’s problems as being as
important as theirs.”
Carrick Napier plays Colin, who is
the “boy at the edge of everything.” Napier is an eighth-grader
at Lockwood Middle School. His character is at the opposite end
of the spectrum from Simon Ives. Colin lives in space, away from
the world. The only way he can learn about other people and life
is from textbooks and watching people from his perch in
space.
Simon Ives envies Colin’s solitude and Colin longs
for the constant social interactions of Simon Ives’s life.
Nickerson said he chose the script in his effort to challenge
the young people he works with.
The play was workshopped
just a year ago at the New Victory Theater in New York and
produced at the Seattle Children’s Theater in March. Nickerson
said he asked his cast to unpeel the onion to expose another
layer of themselves and ultimately, their characters.
Through stage images and movement pieces and even some yoga-like
meditation, the cast worked to create a visually and
intellectually stimulating show.
Nickerson promised that
every show will be fresh, with different projected images and
movement. But one constant will remain — a strong young cast
motivated by a visionary facilitator will entertain and engage
us.
