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CCHS drama going inside the mind of a madman

Canmore Collegiate High School’s drama program will delve into the mind of a madman in their year-end performance of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Mr Hyde (Tyler Samms) attacks his close friend Dr. Hastie Lanyon (Geoffrey Husdal).
Mr Hyde (Tyler Samms) attacks his close friend Dr. Hastie Lanyon (Geoffrey Husdal).

Canmore Collegiate High School’s drama program will delve into the mind of a madman in their year-end performance of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The students, led by teacher Jodi Anderson, will present the classic tale of good versus evil on two evenings this week, with the first show tonight (June 9) and a second show on Friday (June 10).

Both performances will begin at 7 p.m. at the Canmore Collegiate High School theatre.

The play, a dark thriller, is new ground for the drama program.

“We’ve never done anything like this before,” said Sophia Middleton, who plays the role of Dr. Jekyll. “It’s a serious kind of play.”

It was the students in the program who made the decision to try something a little different.

“We got to go through the ones (plays) we thought would be good and then we narrowed it down to Jekyll and Hyde,” said Tyler Samms, who will be taking on the role of Mr. Hyde.

For the students graduating this year the play is an opportunity to take on a more serious role before leaving the program.

“We’re usually doing like parodies, but this is classic literature made into a play which is really cool, and it’s scary and dramatic,” said Middleton.

Apart from acting, the students are also responsible for much of the set creation, props, costumes and makeup.

“I’ve taken some gore make-up classes, so I know how do crazy special effects,” said Middleton, who does her own makeup for the role of Dr. Jekyll, as well as Tyler Samm’s makeup for his role as Mr. Hyde.

“I watch a lot of YouTube videos. I’m hoping to do something like this for a job, special effects makeup or something.”

The pressure is on for the students as the final performance date approaches.

“It’s pretty much like our final exam,” said Middleton. “It’s still almost as stressful as the other final exams.”

The darker, more serious subject matter, and the looming performance date, doesn’t appear to be dampening the student’s spirits.

“It’s a great play,” said Middleton. “It’s great fun.”

A trailer for the upcoming performances can be viewed on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIfeEg5s834.

Entrance to the show is by donation with all proceeds going towards the school’s arts program.

Anderson advises that the show is not suitable for young children and recommends a rating of 14A for the performance citing mild language, violence and mature subject matter.

“There is death,” said Middleton. “Spoiler alert. There are a few deaths.”


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