The cast and crew of Amélie brought the culture and ambiance of Paris, France, to Orthwein Theatre at MICDS last weekend. Twenty students collaborated to build sets, create and program complex projections, and use creative lighting to transport their audience.
The title character is a young waitress who takes pleasure in orchestrating the lives of the people who surround her, helping them find happiness while carefully creating the world in which she lives. Based on the mega film hit, the production follows the journey of the inquisitive and shy Amélie, who turns the streets of Montmartre into a world of her own imagining while secretly orchestrating moments of joy for those around her. After discovering a mysterious photo album and meeting a handsome stranger, Amélie realizes that helping others is easier than participating in a romantic story of her own. Upper School Arts Teacher Carolyn Hood appreciates the story. “Amélie was chosen for its magic and message of trying to affect other people’s lives for the better,” she said. “Amélie was able to find ways to anonymously aid others in successfully overcoming the hurdles in their lives. When she was unable to do this for herself, she accepted the guidance of an elderly, ailing artist who taught her how to take risks that would bring her love.”
Hood, partnering with Upper School Arts Teacher Patrick Huber, carefully guided their 20 students through determining what was needed to bring the story to life. “The most fun realization for the cast was that although relatively small in number, they were able to create the scores of Parisian people that Amélie encountered,” she said with pride.
“My experience in Amélie was super positive. Our smaller cast of 20 allowed us all to get close to one another and become fast friends. This made it easier to show our genuine relationships on stage, and being friends helped everyone come out of their shells much quicker,” said Natalie Benoist ’25, who played the title character. “Personally, this show was interesting to portray because of how abstract the story is. Amélie is a story of a girl helping her community with anonymous good deeds, and lots of the story happens in Amelie’s head. Because of this, we found a way to bring imagination to a theater stage with characters like Fluffy the Fish and the Garden Gnome. Another way we incorporated imagination was with our music, lights, and projections. This is a show that couldn’t have been done without our amazing cast, crew, and musicians.”
The biggest challenge the production faced? “The immense technical aspects that helped create the story,” according to Hood. Greysen Brown ’24 was responsible for lighting the production, and she agreed. “This show was one of the most technically difficult productions I’ve done at MICDS,” said Brown. “As a lighting designer, it’s my job to make sure faces are lit, dancers can be seen, and the colors used make sense—all to subtly manipulate the audience into feeling what I, and the director, want them to feel. Amélie was particularly difficult because of the projections used to define the ambiance of the scenes, and I could not throw light where the projections were. It was a delicate, collaborative process, and overall, our efforts were worth the final product.”
Click here to read the program.
Congratulations to the cast and crew of Amélie for a wonderful production!