“Journey to the East” production set to run at RRHS

Laura Armistead
RRHS Staff

Thirty-two high school students make up the cast of “Journey to the East”, a dramatic production of three Chinese folk tales and three traditional Chinese dances. The play will be performed at RRHS for over 300 elementary and junior high students in a matinee on Wednesday, May 25. Evening public performances are Thursday, May 26 at 7:00 p.m. and a dinner theatre evening on Friday, May 27 at 6:00 p.m. The dinner is a Chinese buffet catered by Mom‚s restaurant.
The plays were written by Laura Armistead and are directed by Laura, Robert Murphy and Lori-Anne Armstrong. Last year‚s „It‚s All Greek to Me‰ was a great success and Laura and Lori were encouraged by the area’s response to learning about another culture. Lori-Anne spent three years teaching in Shanghai, China and is very familiar with Chinese traditions.
She was the inspiration for the plays.
The plays are the “Yellow Thunder Dragon’, “Mulan” and “The Empress and the Seed”. All the plays deal with the theme of a young person who has great power and value. The plays are connected through two silly, comedic characters Pi Pi (Pee Pee - Josh Wilson) and Po Po (Mark Singleton).
These two characters are in all the plays and add a great deal of slapstick humour to the event. The costumes are very colorful and accurate to the time period of ancient China.
Laura has also included three traditional Chinese dances; the fan dance, the ribbon dance and the lion dance as well as a Tai Chi (tie chee) demonstration. The lion dance is very spectacular. It features a dragon-like creature who performs amazing martial arts feats as he is taunted by a young girl. The other dances are colourful, graceful and beautiful to watch.
Tickets will be available, beginning May 9, at Susan’s Corner Store, Rainy River Drugs and at the high school. Admission for Thursday is $10 adults and $5 children (10 and under). Friday‚s dinner theatre has limited seating and usually sells out quickly. Prices are $20 adults and $10 children (10 and under). Tickets for Friday will only be reserved if they are paid for in advance. Please contact the school for further information.