The Old Rochester Regional High School Drama Club invites audiences into a world of nonsense and adventure with its fall production of Alice in Wonderland. 

This production of Alice in Wonderland, written by Anne Coulter Martens, is a simplified version of the Lewis Carroll classic. Throughout the play, Alice (Cattarinha Nunes) encounters the Cheshire Cat (Calder Eaton), Mad Hatter (Jorge Carrillo), Queen of Hearts (Kathleen Dunn) and the rest of Wonderland’s staple characters as she tries to escape back home. 

Since the show’s auditions on Sept. 8 and 9, the ORR drama club has been hard at work rehearsing scenes, memorizing lines, constructing elaborate sets and costumes — and most importantly, building a community.

“I know we used to have these big, huge plays years ago and Covid messed that up,” said Nunes, a junior at ORR.  “I hope the audience keeps coming back to see how much fun we have here and how much community we have here.”

For Dunn, a senior at ORR, the drama community is important both on and off the stage. 

“It was the fastest way I gained friends ever,” she said, “because immediately the group was very welcoming, which was awesome for me, and I was able to walk on stage and be a different person and leave the stage and be myself.”

She added that the drama club is a place where she can show her whole personality. 

Over the ninety minute run time of the show, audience members will have a look into the colorful and silly world of Wonderland. 

Director Maxx Domingos hopes that the audience will take that silliness home with them. 

“I would really hope the audience suspends their disbelief a little bit and plays into the craziness,” she said. “I hope they connect with a childhood memory they have of the show. Or maybe take away that life doesn’t always need to be so serious. I feel like post-pandemic we’ve been so serious and concerned and I think it’s good to take a step back and enjoy the crazy.”

Showdates are Nov. 17, 18 and 19 at 7 p.m., and Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. at Old Rochester Regional High School. 

Tickets are available to purchase at the Marion General Store, Pen and Pendulum in Mattapoisett, Friends’ Marketplace in Rochester, and at the door. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors.