East’s Fine Arts Department is in its final days of preparation for its upcoming performance of The Twelve Huntsmen. Shows will be starting October 20th and will run through the 22nd at 7 p.m in the Performing Arts Center.

Drawing inspiration from The Brothers Grimm and their stories,  The Twelve Huntsmen follows the brothers while they make their way through the forest, and stumble into a story of their own. Following a group of 11 women disguised as huntsmen, the brothers are told the unique stories of the huntsmen but, not every story will be heard each night, as only a select random amount of stories are told each showing. 

Cast members of  The Twelve Huntsmen have had to utilize different types of skill sets, even improv, in order to prepare for the unique changes in the script that the play calls for.

Senior lead, Casey Newman who portrays Wilhelm Grimm said that his biggest struggle in rehearsal has been memorization. 

“My biggest struggle has been how many different stories and scenes we have to memorize, and we’ve all been really focused on remembering all the lines and stories,” Newman said. “Right now it has been really helpful that all of us can utilize our improv skills to help the show move along and create a more encapsulating story.”

Even though memorization has been a source of trouble for the cast, even younger cast members have been able to get through struggles thanks to the support and close nature of the theater department. 

Sophomore Cooper Carlisle said how his relationship with the cast has helped him nail his role of The Lion.

“I love the connections I have with the rest of the cast,” Carlisle said.“Memorization has definitely been the hardest thing for me with this role but my friends in the cast always help me and are really encouraging, going home and practicing lines along with the support from my castmates has helped so much.” 

Director Nicole Chandler agrees that the unique script is one of the biggest challenges but, also said how it makes for a memorable show. 

“We actually get to make bigger choices, we’re living in the characters,” Chandler said. “We’re able to embody the words and the characters, that’s where true acting happens, that’s where the real magic happens.”

According to senior Ashley Sniegowski who plays Ariel, even though the script is hard to memorize the feminist notes behind the story make it worth it.  

“I really enjoy this script and story since it bends gender roles,” Sniegowski said. “I get to play a really strong female and the story is about women being strong and tactful which is nice to see, I think the cast is full of really strong and interesting women so it’s kind of like watching us play amped-up versions of ourselves.”

While The Twelve Huntsmen has a potential 12 stories not all of them will be performed each night. Those interested can purchase tickets now at sd308.org/oepac .

Samantha Trujillo is a staff editor for Oswego East’s online news magazine The Howl