NORTH DELTA — A young girl has penned an original play for a second year in a row, putting on a production of The Witch Who Wished She Was Santa Claus with hopes of raising money for charity.
Rayne Inkster, 11, adapted a children’s book written by her mother into a screenplay, paying her mom, Nadine, $1 for the rights to the work and adding in extra characters so kids from her theatre group could star in the play as well.
Last year, the North Delta preteen raised $500 with her play Just Another Fairytale, donating the money to Bright Stars, a program at Surrey’s EJS School of Fine Arts that takes on students who can’t otherwise afford to attend theatre schools. Rayne was one of the program’s largest donors in 2013.
(Scroll to bottom of page to see Now video of last year's production.)
This year, Rayne hopes to again donate to the Bright Stars program, with some of the proceeds also going to BC Children’s Hospital.
Eighteen kids star in the 75-minute play, to be presented to the public on Saturday, July 19 in the carport of her family’s home, in the Sunshine Hills area of North Delta.
They have been rehearsing the show since June 20.
“Thanks to the teachers’ strike, they’ve been practicing quite a bit longer than they would have been otherwise,†Nadine said.
The kids have met twice a week for at least four hours each time, rehearsing the play, painting sets and designing props, she added.
Rayne was busy writing the book into a screenplay, adding even more to the story to accommodate her peers who wanted to be part of the production.
“On the first day of practice, when they were actually picking all the parts, everyone wanted lead roles, so she rewrote some scenes to give some characters some new lines and wrote a whole new scene,†said Nadine, who added that her daughter has always had a penchant for writing. “She’s always been a writer; she always carries a book with her and writes stories everywhere she goes; she’s always thinking of a story.â€
The carport stage is set up to accommodate 28 seats, eight to 10 carpet tiles for youngsters to sit on the floor and room for 10 more standing adults.
The Witch Who Wished She Was Santa Claus plays Saturday at 1, 4 and 7 p.m., with a magic act by Rayne’s brother Dawson and friend Chase opening the shows. Snacks and drinks will be sold for $1 each, with beer and wine for the older crowd by donation. Tickets for the play are $3 per seat, and donations are welcome.
For details, email Nadine at dmrd101@gmail.com.