Hive Mind: Arts and Entertainment
Peter and the Starcatcher
By Julia Mote
Peter and the Starcatcher is the story about how an orphaned boy becomes the Peter Pan we all know and love. This story was performed by the Osbourn Park High School theater department in a funny and entertaining performance that I got to watch on February 6, 2026. It follows a girl by the name of Molly who travels on a ship called The Neverland to complete a secret mission for the Queen (God save her!). She meets a boy aboard the ship, and we follow their wild adventure. Throughout the story, we learn about Peter Pan’s past,
and what made him who he is. I loved all the actors’ performances; they were all entertaining! Molly (Alena French), Ms. Bumbrake (Ellie Salinas), Ted (Kat Hupman), Aster (Greg Dreischer) ... you were all so much fun. There are some actors and actresses to whom I wanted to give special shout outs. To start, Wyatt Jean, the actor of Peter Pan, created a very intriguing character that I
was eager to learn about from the start. I loved the way he portrayed Peter Pan and his growing curiosity throughout the show. Next, Cora Randlov as Black Stache. She was so funny and had everyone entertained every time she was on stage. She kept the audience engaged, and I loved that she came out of the auditorium seats when we first met her character. Of course, you can’t have Black Stache without his right-hand man, Smee! Julia Hruska played Smee so well, and was extremely entertaining. I chatted with her about the show afterwards, and she said that they had been preparing for the performance since early November. When asked what she loves most about being on stage, she said, “I love the nervousness and excitement and being backstage with the rest of the cast and people who like the same things you do is an amazing experience.” She also said that when she got the role of Smee she was initially nervous, as she had never heard of the play before, but as she read the script, she couldn’t stop laughing. Julia did a great job performing as Smee, and I hope to see her in more shows. This was the first theatre production at OP since the auditorium renovations. One of the biggest changes from the renovations was the lighting, and I'm interested in seeing what they can do with it when they learn more. Thanks to Osbourn Park for investing in these
updates for all our performers! The whole show was creatively put together, and ran smoothly, as far as I could see. Peter and the Starcatcher was so much fun to watch, and the cast had everyone in the audience laughing and fully entertained. If you loved the show, or missed it, and are interested in hearing the story another way, it was originally a book by Dave Barry, then adapted for the stage by Rick Elice. In fact, it’s a series of five books, all prequels to the
Peter Pan story you’re probably most familiar with. Congrats to our Osbourn Park cast and crew for creating a fantastic performance! I enjoyed the show and look forward to seeing you put more together.
The Stage is Theirs! The Challenges Faced for One Acts
By Fayyad Allhassan
Imagine: the stage is the school, and you and your friends are preforming a one-act
play that is entirely directed and organized by you. This is the pressure that many students
in the theater club have to face on October 22 – for Student-Led One-Acts! Here’s
everything you need to know about the show.
The stage is the gym – which is “a new obstacle”, tech director, Rylee Wyman, said.
“Usually shows are done on an auditorium with the audience facing straight, however due
to renovations being done there, it was done in the gym instead.” So how will they go about
this?
The students must use the “in-the-round technique”, a method in which “the stage
is set in the middle and the audience will be on two sides of it,” Rylee explained. Usually,
the method is used for stages like arenas, but because of how our stage is set, the
technique fits perfectly with their needs.
But what do Rylee and the rest of the team actually do? Well, they’re the ones who
put the environment in place; setting everything up for the show from props to dresses.
“The tech process for one-acts is always really intense," Rylee said.
She went on to explain the process: “All of our tech members start with reading
script, noting what technical elements need to be included and what we think would
elevate the show. Then, the next couple of weeks are spent bringing our initial designs to
life as we collect things we already have from past shows and creating new things to be
used in this show. Then, we go through our last finial dress rehearsal making sure we have
our last checks making sure we have everything we need and that everything looks good
onstage.” And after all that hard work, all they need to do is watch the actors bring
everything to life!
Go support the theater team for the Student-Led One-Acts, on October 22 starting
at 7pm – and while you’re watching the actors shine on stage, also appreciate the amount
of hard work the tech crew had to put into this spectacular night!