Published Thursday, March 27, 2003
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
When the house lights go down and the curtain opens, Marie Newman wants to be the one standing in the spotlight.
"I like the thrill of when you walk on the stage and everybody's looking at you," said the 11-year-old Sharon girl, who stars in the Youngstown Playhouse Youth Theater's production of "The Time Machine" Saturday.
"I love to act," she said.
Marie, a home-schooled sixth-grader, gets plenty of opportunity to act in "The Time Machine," H.G. Wells' bleak drama of a scientist identified only as the Time Traveler who creates a time machine and zooms into the future.
The Time Traveler finds the human race has evolved into two separate branches: the Eloi, a meek, vegetarian race that lives on the surface, and the Morlocks, a meat-eating, aggressive race that lives underground.
While Wells took the Time Traveler into the future alone, Kathryn Schultz Miller adapted the story to have two children stowaway with him and participate in his adventures. Marie plays one of the kids.
"It's a strange story, but I like it, probably because it's my biggest show and my largest role so far," said Marie, who acted in two previous Youth Theatre shows, "The Adventures of Amelia Bedelia" and Hansel and Gretl."
"It's a really cool play," said the aspiring veterinarian. "It's really fun to be in."
Marie said her favorite part of the show is "where I come out and scream my head off."
Kellie Kaiser has no screaming in her role as Weena, an Eloi female whom the Time Traveler befriends.
In the book, the Eloi spoke a foreign tongue, but Ms. Miller has them speaking a form of broken English.
"I like the Eloi," said Kellie, a 16-year-old Sharpsville girl. "They remind me of little kids and I like to play a little kid."
Kellie said, when she's acting Weena, "I picture my little brother (Ricky), who's in first grade."
The Sharpsville High School junior has acted in high school productions of "A Mad Breakfast," "Anything Goes," "Drive-In" and "Bye, Bye Birdie" and will play in the Youth Theatre's "Jack and the Beanstalk."
Kellie said she's "very serious" about the theater -- she also loves to sing and dance -- and plans to major in theater in college.
Her sister, Samantha, has no such plans, and only auditioned for "The Time Machine" at the behest of Kellie.
"I thought I wouldn't make it for a part or anything," said Samantha, 14, who is acting in her first play. "I just came to get experience."
Samantha plays three roles, a psychologist friend of the Time Traveler, an Eloi and the voice of the Sphinx.
The Sharpsville eighth-grader called the play "a good one."
"I'm glad I started with this one," she said. "It has the opportunity to play a lot of different characters."
The play will be staged at 2 p.m. at the playhouse, which is off Glenwood Avenue. The play is directed by Nick Cordova and Khaladd Tabbara, who acted in the play for Magic Carpet Theatre. Tabbara plays the Time Traveler.
Reservations: (330) 788-8739. Tickets also will be available at the door.