MLC thespians look for ‘lost’ teacher; learn lesson to appreciate others
Mountain Lake Christian (MLC) High School thespians from the high school drama class were on the hunt as sleuths over this past weekend in order to uncover what happened to their missing teacher – Miss Nelson – in the play, “Miss Nelson Is Missing!,” taken from the book by Harry Allard and James Marshall.
The story unfolded during a trio of weekend of production presentations in the school’s Music Room on Thursday and Friday evenings and Saturday afternoon.
The kids in Miss Nelson’s elementary classroom – Room #207 – love to misbehave. Spitballs are stuck to the ceiling. Paper planes go whizzing through the air. She can’t get them to settle down and listen during storytime. They are the worst-behaved class in the whole school – because Miss Nelson is just too nice.
One day, Miss Nelson mysteriously didn’t show up for school. The students’ substitute teacher was Miss Viola Swamp – a “hard-as-nails, detention-loving, recess-canceling, homework-overloading substitute teacher” – who forces the children to (gulp!) be quiet and do arithmetic. She also cancels story hour and assigns them a loud of homework.
After a few days with Miss Viola Swamp, the students get worried that they will never see Miss Nelson again. They come up with all kinds of crazy ideas about how Miss Nelson went missing. But none of them could really have happened. They go to a detective for help – and even sneak over to her house to see what they could spy.
Just when the class thinks they will be stuck with Miss Viola Swamp forever, Miss Nelson is at school the next day. The children missed her and from that day on the kids behaved themselves – regretting their own former wicked ways.
And . . . very interesting . . . it turns out that Miss Nelson has the same ugly dress – just like the one worn by Miss Viola Swamp.
“Miss Nelson Is Missing” is a play that teaches the lesson of appreciating others.
Directing the production is MLC’s K-12 Music Teacher Aaron Petersen.
Cast
+ Lavita (a little spitfire girl) – Danica Dick.
+ Ramona (a confident nerd with an attitude) – Summer Janzen.
+ Morris “Mouse” (a tough kid) – Josh Raabe.
+ Principal Humleker (a happy-go-lucky woman) – Regan James.
+ George Jorgenson Jr. (a confident jock) – Bryce Adrian.
+ Detective McSmogg (a not-so-bright detective) – James Hamm.
+ Kimberly (a perfect, popular girl with great hair) – Melissa Lohrenz.
+ Elvis (a slicked-back-hair greaser boy who talks like “The King”) – Seth Klassen.
+ Miss Nelson (a sweet teacher who can’t control her class) – Katelyn Fast.
+ Miss Viola Swamp (a hard-as-nails substitute teacher) – Paige Riihl.
+ Phoebe (a shy, nerdy girl who gets nauseous a lot) – Sara Quiring.
+ Classroom Students (equally as misbehaved as the other students) – Emily Schroeder, Zoey Smith, Anna Toutges and Elizabeth Linscheid.
Behind the Scenes
+ Assistant Director – Carter James.
+ Stage Manager – Chloe Klassen.
+ Crew – Bren Toutges and Cheyanne Courts.
+ Costumes – Anna Toutges and Lizzy van Beilen.
Below is a photo gallery from the production:
MISS NELSON – A sweet teacher who can’t control her class (Katelyn Fast), standing left, works hard to get her misbehaving students to like learning – to no avail. Seated at desks, front, from left, Elvis (Seth Klassen), Kimberly (Melissa Lohrenz) and Lavita (Danica Dick) and back, from left, Ramona (Summer Janzen), Phoebe (Sara Quiring) and another misbehaving student (Emily Schroeder).
KIMBERLY, THE perfect, popular girl – with great hair (Melissa Lohrenz) – needs a little work on her spelling, especially on the word “s-p-e-l.”
MORRIS – A.K.A. “MOUSE” (Josh Raabe), front right, works hard to gross out George Jorgenson Jr. (Bryce Adrian), front left. At back, more misbehaving students from Room #207 (Zoey Smith, left and Elizabeth Linscheid, right).
WHILE MISS NELSON (Katelyn Fast), seated center, attempts to pique her students’ interest in what she is reading to them during storytime – her students’ interest is instead piqued on tying up their teacher. From left, Lavita (Danica Dick), George Jorgenson Jr. (Bryce Adrian) and Morris “Mouse” (Josh Raabe).
NAUSEOUS PHOEBE (SARA Quiring), left, proves to her teacher, Miss Nelson (Katelyn Fast), right – who is still tied up – that really did need to run to the rest room for a very important reason.
PRINCIPAL HUMLEKER (REGAN James), standing, impresses on Miss Nelson’s students the importance of scoring well on their tests – so that she can go to a ballpoint pen convention in Saskatchewan. Seated at front, from left, Lavita (Danica Dick), George Jorgenson Jr. (Bryce Adrian) and Morris “Mouse” (Josh Raabe). At back are students (Emily Schroeder, hidden behind Lavita and Elizabeth Linscheid, behind “Mouse”).
THE CHALLENGE OF getting all of Miss Nelson’s students to earn “A” grades on their tests is most evident when Lavita (Danica Dick), front, is more interested in spreading glue on her hand – to be able to peel it off later when it dries – instead of studying and learning. Behind is another classroom student (Emily Schroeder).
IT IS OUT the school classroom window for the “nerd with an attitude,” Ramona (Summer Janzen), seated on desk, as her classmates plan the strategy for their conspiracy. From left, Elvis (Seth Klassen), Lavita (Danica Dick), Kimberly (Melissa Lohrenz), Morris “Mouse” (Josh Raabe) and George Jorgenson Jr. (Bryce Adrian).
WITH FRIENDS LIKE these – who needs enemies? Kimberly (Melissa Lohrenz), center and Lavita (Danica Dick), right, taunt their classmate, Ramona (Summer Janzen).
WHO HAS SCARED the students, making them scurry into a corner of the classroom? From left, misbehaving student (Emily Schroeder), Elvis (Seth Klassen), misbehaving student (Zoey Smith), Phoebe (Sara Quiring), Lavita (Danica Dick), Kimberly (Melissa Lohrenz), Morris “Mouse” (Josh Raabe) and George Jorgenson Jr. (Bryce Adrian).
WHY, IT IS hard-as-nails substitute teacher Miss Viola Swamp (Paige Riihl).
MISS VIOLA SWAMP (Paige Riihl), standing left, whips her students into studiers – including giving them a ton of homework, to the consternation of Elvis (Seth Klassen), seated right.
LAVITA (DANICA DICK) appears a bit squeamish about the “ickiness” of the proposition of homework. Behind is another classroom student (Emily Schroeder).
THE STUDENTS IN Miss Nelson’s Room #207 eventually turn to Detective McSmogg (James Hamm) – a not-so-bright-detective from the Bureau of Missing Persons Department – to help them find the missing Miss Nelson, and free them from the vice of study-happy substitute teacher Miss Viola Swamp.
THE STUDENTS TAKE matters into their own hands, sneaking up to spy on Miss Nelson at her house. In order to “break in,” Ramona (Summer Janzen), left, come up with a plan to use a bobby pin (from Kimberly) and a little oil (from greaser-boy Elvis – or Seth Klassen, right), to “jimmy” the lock in order to gain entrance.
HOWEVER, MISS VIOLA Swamp is approaching, and the students scatter. Miss Viola Swamp runs away, too, but drops a clue, discovered by Ramona (Summer Janzen). That clue? Miss Nelson’s “Story Time Book.”
WHILE THE STUDENTS now believe that Miss Viola Swamp has something to do with Miss Nelson’s disappearance, they are also buoyed by their new-found enjoyment in learning, to study hard for the upcoming big test. Above, Lavita (Danica Dick), left, answers the questions that Kimberly (Melissa Lohrenz), right, is asking to quiz her on test question information.
THIS AVID STUDY group is rattling off the capitals of countries around the world and of states in the United States. From left, Elvis (Seth Klassen), Phoebe (Sara Quiring), Ramona (Summer Janzen), George Jorgenson Jr. (Bryce Adrian) and Morris “Mouse” (Josh Raabe).
THE TEST IS a success for all students – and “Hurrah!” – Miss Nelson is no longer missing! And when it comes to storytime, the students are now all ears. From left, Phoebe (Sara Quiring), George Jorgenson Jr. (Bryce Adrian), Ramona (Summer Janzen), Miss Nelson (Katelyn Fast), Elvis (Seth Klassen) and Lavita (Danica Dick).
THE CAST AND crew of “Miss Nelson is Missing.” Seated front, from left, misbehaving students (Zoey Smith and Elizabeth Linscheid), Phoebe (Sara Quiring), Ramona (Summer Janzen), Principal Humleker (Regan James) and Detective McSmogg (James Hamm). Middle, from left, Miss Viola Swamp (Paige Riihl), Miss Nelson (Katelyn Fast), Kimberly (Melissa Lohrenz), Lavita (Danica Dick), Morris “Mouse” (Josh Raabe), misbehaving student (Emily Schroeder), George Jorgenson Jr. (Bryce Adrian) and Elvis (Seth Klassen). Back, from left, crew member (Cheyanne Courts), assistant director (Carter James), stage manager (Chloe Klassen) and costume crew members (Lizzy van Beilen and Anna Toutges). Not pictured is crew member (Bren Toutges) The play’s director was Aaron Petersen, MLC’s K-12 music teacher.
