Every year when Christmas comes along, boys and girls around the world anticipate the arrival of their favorite jolly old man, Santa Claus. However, Diamond Bar High School’s Advanced Drama put a twist on the classic Christmas story by introducing a few new characters that children everywhere around the world have come to know and love.
From Dec. 4 to Dec. 6, Advanced Drama performed for various elementary schools in Diamond Bar. The play was centered on the main characters of “Despicable Me” with Vector, the villain in the movie, hopping around from holiday to holiday stealing everything from Thanksgiving meals to Valentine’s Day presents. Gru’s daughters, Margo, Edith and Agnes, and two minions use a time machine to transport themselves with the culprit to try and save everyone’s holidays.
Along the way, the “Despicable Me” crew meets quite a few recognizable characters such as Ariel, Buzz Lightyear, and Spongebob. However, before the cast can transport themselves to another holiday, the children in the audience had to participate in silly activities such as tapping their cheeks like Agnes or jumping three times like a bunny.
Led by seniors Siham Ayoub, who played Margo, and Caitlin Chan, who played one of the two minions, Advanced Drama composed the play in a mere week. The following two weeks the members of the play spent rehearsing for opening day.
Costumes and props were all created by the Advanced Drama and Stagecraft students. In addition to the limited preparation time, junior Matthew Aquino, who played Gru, found that it was challenging putting together a successful play was putting together a 45-minute show that was both engaging and innovative for the elementary school students.
“My favorite part [about Children’s Theatre] is pleasing the kids and making them laugh. It feels good to give back to the community and show these kids a good time,” Aquino commented via Facebook.