"I chose the play because it lent itself perfectly to a middle school cast and the roles were very flexible," said Director Mark Guerra. "The play takes place in a fantasy world, so we could choose how the class wanted it to look and how they wanted to perform it."

 

"The play is funny, but it has a very meaningful message," said Guerra. The many profound messages about love, loss, friendship, memory, and courage slowly revealed themselves during the performance. Set in Nocturno, characters spend their nighttime hours creating elements that are put to use during daylight. Still Life With Iris chronicles a young girl's quest to regain her memory and with it her home. With the help of the a strange assortment of characters she meets along the way, Iris recovers more than her past. Iris succeeds in finding herself through the power of faith and the courage of persistence, traits that ultimately lead her home. "The play really brought home the importance of remembering the past and keeping memories alive," Guerra added.

 

Iris was played by Alanna Stern. Mom/Miss Overlook was played by Kira Willis. Chris Luke and Ryan Douglas played Grotto and Gretta Good. The other actors, including some who who played several very different roles, were Jonah Shaw (Man/Mister Matternot/Dad), Zuri Williams (Leaf Monitor), Claire Howard (Anabel Lee), Asher Chamoy (Flower Painter/Mozart), Maggie Turkyilmaz (Memory Mender), Addison Baum (Elmer/Mister OtherGuy), Jourdyn Owens (Bolt Bender), and Kalli Turner (Hazel/Miss HerToo). Marissa Rubio served as stage manager.