Crossroads News
Middle School Players Stage ‘Animal Farm’ at Crossroads
Orwell allegory adapted for theater amid U.S. presidential transition.
Crossroads’ Middle School Players recently performed a stage adaptation of George Orwell’s classic political novel, “Animal Farm,” to coincide with the transition of power in U.S. presidential politics.
The production, which ran Jan. 20-22 at the Crossroads Theater, featured students taking on the roles of Orwell’s allegorical characters as they catalogued a dramatized version of the events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Directed by Zoey Zimmerman, the show helped students understand moments of political change across history.
“Our actors and crew are expected to take themselves seriously as artists and to understand their role as theater artists in our community,” she said. “We are here in service of our audiences, to give them a deeply meaningful experience in the theater.”
Complex subject matter is nothing new for the Middle School Players. Past productions have included adaptations of works such as Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” Charles Dickens’ “Nicholas Nickleby” and Jean Giraudoux’s “The Madwoman of Chaillot.”
The recent staging of “Animal Farm” offered students an opportunity to engage in discussions about literature, government and current events.
Eighth-grade dramaturg Saga Leslie said, “Political discussion should not be a special occurrence or confined to the classroom—it should be part of our lives as citizens in our country.”
