Advertisement It has received rave reviews from judges at sectionals and regionals of the Wisconsin High School State Theater competition. Now the play will be performed Saturday at the state high school theater festival in La Crosse.
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Rachel Cody, Alexa Lautenschlager and Grace Kube star in the Holmen High School production of "War Letters," which will be performed this weekend at the state drama
festival in La Crosse.
Photo by Erik Daily |
Holmen is the only high school in the La Crosse area represented at the state contest being held today through Saturday at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Viterbo University.
“War Letters” will take the stage as the second play in the 9:45 to 11:15 a.m. block Saturday in UW-L’s Toland Theatre.
The play is about letters between Jack, a soldier off to war, and his mother, played by freshman Grace Kube; his wife, played by junior Rachel Cody; and his daughter, played by freshman Alexa Lautenschlager. Jack’s father was killed during the Korean War.
“We’ve done a lot of comedies, and I like that this play is serious and emotional,” Cody said. “You can get deeper into your character.”
Cody said the ending scene is a difficult one because her character’s husband dies in the war. She said she has to play a range of emotions from waiting for her husband to come home to being strong for her daughter.
“Crying during a performance is tough, but I like the depth of my character,” she said.
Kube thinks of her cousin, who was killed in a March 31 car accident, to help her with her role. “It helps get me sad so I can play my role better,” she said. “We’ve seen tears when we have done this play.”
She said the play has brought the cast closer together. “When you do something this emotional, you get real close,” Kube said. “This play has been a special theater experience for us.”
Lautenschlager thinks about her grandmother who has been through a lot in life when she plays her role. “I think about how strong we all are,” she said. “This has been a real meaningful experience. I can’t wait to do this play at state.”
Kamlin Roswall, Holmen’s theater program director, said she chose to enter the state theater competition this year because she had the talent, and the one-act play suited her budget.
“The kids are really excited about state,” Roswall said. “This has been a rollercoaster ride, but they have done a fabulous job.”
