New Kid hits the road, spreading a message of tolerance to Anchorage public schools

Admitting that you don't understand the art of performance can be vulnerable at best, and embarrassing at worst. But with the latest production from UAA's Department of Theatre and Dance, any misunderstanding is purely by design.

New Kid is a one-act play that tells the story of Nick, a young boy from a country called Homeland who immigrates to Alaska with his mother and unseen father. The play depicts Nick's struggles to assimilate into this foreign culture through interactions with his new classmates, the compassionate Mench and the domineering Mug.

Nick's frustration is made all the more relatable by using a clever theatrical approach: Nick and his family speak English while his Alaskan classmates speak a made up language of gibberish.

"At first you don't understand what the characters are saying, so you as the audience member are also the new kid," describes Nova Cunningham, New Kid director and UAA assistant professor of theater and dance. "As the show progresses, you start to learn the language much like Nick does, and so you have sort of that parallel."

Many of those parallels with the source material also apply to a majority of the cast, which goes a long way to help them inhabit their roles.

"When I was young, the new kid in school always got sat next to me because I was nice to them," shares Alexandra McCall, who plays Mench. "But my character is a lot braver than I was. She actually makes the bold choice to stand up to her friend [Mug] and say, 'I don't like what you're doing.' It's a good lesson to see how big a difference just being a friend can make."

Emani Secret, who plays Nick's mother, mentions a similar influence. "My mom is in the military so we moved around a lot, I think 13 times altogether. Being able to be in my mom's spot for inspiration for this role has been very interesting for me," she recalls.

While the play's themes of anti-bullying, immigration and acceptance are important for any person - young or old - to learn, they are especially resonant in Anchorage, where the public school system is more diverse than any other in the nation and is expected to become more so as the population increases.

Cunningham believes that metric makes Anchorage the "perfect place to practice those virtues, or to be reminded of those educational themes, or to experience our memories of moments where we weren't accepted so that we can hope that we're not doing that to other people in exchange."

Much like Mug, the character he portrays, Ben Hagensieker takes things a step further by mentioning that even though bullying appears different today than how it's presented in the play, the message of being kind to one another is timeless.

"I could go on my phone right now and find some random person on YouTube and speak some horrible things, and people do that a lot," stresses Hagensieker. "I hope audiences interpret that even though it's not depicted like that in the show, it's still the same thing."

New Kid kicked off its 7-week tour in Girdwood followed by Denali. Not only did these visits spread the show's message to schools that are too far to justify a field trip into Anchorage, but it provided the cast and crew with a crash course in traveling productions in order to prepare for the show's run throughout the Anchorage School District.

"I'm very new to acting, so it's been a good experience for me and I appreciate the opportunity," says Bao Her, swing actor for Nick's mom. "When I don't act, I still do the tours with them and help set up or remove the sets. I'm learning a lot."

There's even a lot to learn for longtime actors like Joshuah Rutten, swing actor for the role of Nick. "I do not envy people who do touring for years on end," he jokes. "The biggest adjustment is not having that set performance calendar. Instead of Friday, Saturday and Sunday at this time, this time and this time, it's Monday at 5 a.m. and then Saturday at 2:30 p.m., et cetera."

So far, the adjustment has proven to be worth it, and is a good indication of how New Kid should be received locally.

"Hearing 200 kids all laugh at a joke is one of the purest most rewarding things you can get out of doing a show," says James Kendall, company manager on the production. Listening to those same students sing along with your scene change music makes sound designer Krisha-Nicole Manuel's work rewarding.

Jarett Hardy, the actor behind Nick, shares a similar sentiment, adding, "I've learned lots of amazing things. I've mostly learned how much these shows affect people. We've been touring Denali and places like that and we've got to perform for these kids and it's amazing when they come up and they either share stories or just say that they loved it and understand the message we're trying to get out."

New Kid marks many firsts for those involved. It's the first touring production for many of the seasoned actors in the cast, and it's the first UAA play including the freshman Hardy, let alone in a lead role. In addition, the play is the first foray as a scene designer for Myranda Bailey, and as a costume designer for Kayla Gonzalez. Judging by the end result, you wouldn't know it was their first time doing either.

Bailey was tasked with creating a portable set that could be moved frequently by the small group of actors. Not only that, but the set had to depict the three locations in which the play takes place. Her solution was to construct five periaktos, 3-sided triangular columns that date back to their use in ancient theater.

"This is my first design so it was fun to see people play around with it," Bailey explains. "I was a little nervous that the periaktos wouldn't be enough to establish the different places the story was going. I feared they wouldn't really fill the area or that the set would look incomplete. Once I got to see them up and the actors using them those fears went away."

In order to come up with costumes for four distinct characters, Gonzalez drew inspiration from her own childhood. She also had a little help by going straight to the source, both by building on subtle cues from the script and by asking real teenagers what they wore today.

"There's a line where he says he's like Kermit the Frog, so that's where all the green that he and his mom wears comes from," reveals Gonzalez. "Another thing I thought about was as a kid, what did I like to wear that was comfortable? I also asked my two teenage nephews what kids are wearing. Then I pooled all those ideas with what I thought would be playful and whimsical. It was fun to see the actors make the pieces come together onstage and know that I did that."

Before ending its run, New Kid will be open to the public on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at UAA. Despite the initial emphasis on elementary and middle school students, Cunningham invites audiences of all ages to check it out for the universal message.

"We tend to teach tolerance as an educational theme for young people - isn't that a valuable lesson for adults to see?" Cunningham asks. "We earmarked [New Kid] initially for a younger audience, but everyone remembers that moment when they walked into the cafeteria and didn't know where to sit. There's not a soul that I've talked to that doesn't recall that. It's a poignant part of life. I think the more the child in all of us is reminded of that lesson, the better society can become."

For tickets, click here.

Written by Matt Jardin, UAA Office of University Advancement