This one-act is set in a time when the world was new and the animal people went to the Land Where Dreaming Begins. The main characters, Crow and Weasel are chosen by Mountain Lion to go on a journey to discover people he saw in a dream. As they begin this journey, they soon learn more about themselves and other cultures.

“Crow and Weasel” is an abstract piece. White Station’s theater director Mr. Boone chose it for competition because of its focus on nature, animals, heritage, community and, most importantly, unison.

“This piece doesn’t really demand much on strong acting; it demands a unified cast to … portray animals,” said director Mr. Boone.

The cast faces many challenges. They must cut down a two hour play to 45 minutes for competition, and contend with a low budget and a diverse cast of all grades with ranging experience. The cast also wears masks, which limit facial expression.

“You have to use your body more and the inflection of your voice more… You can’t use the emotion that you’re allowed to use with your face,” said freshman Ashley M. Allen (Crow)

Rehearsals are filled with seemingly endless hours of vocal and physical warm-ups, and characterization discussions. Trips to the zoo and YouTube animal videos have also become quite common.

“…I’ve been watching YouTube videos of weasels; we went to the zoo, but there are no weasels at the zoo, so I watched some other animals, like meerkats and red pandas, just to get the general sort of movement of them,” said senior Jenny Wilson (Weasel).

The cast will continue rehearsals throughout the next two months, but are already excited about the performance and the friends they are making along the way.

Allen said, “We’re all actors here, and we love what we do… we all help each other to be the best we can be.”