After nearly two months of rehearsing, Gilbert High School’s musical production of Little Women is a mere four days away from hitting the stage!

The 18-member cast — with another 15 students as part of the ensemble and many helping out with production — will step onto the stage in front of a live audience on Friday and Saturday inside the Gilbert High School Auditorium. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. both evenings, with a curtain time of 7 p.m.  Tickets will cost $6 and can be purchased at the door or in advance HERE. All seating is general admission.

Based on Louisa May Alcott’s life, Little Women follows the adventures of sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March. Jo, who will be played by Jessica Stoker, is trying to sell her stories for publication, but publishers aren’t interested. Her friend, Professor Bhaer, who will be played by TJ Barbier, tells her that she has to write more about herself and so, begrudgingly, Jo weaves the story of herself and her sisters, and their experience growing up in Civil War America.

Musical director Zach Hackbarth says Little Women embodies the complete theatrical experience and those in attendance won’t be disappointed.

“Most people are surprised to hear that Little Women has a musical adaptation since the most popular versions of it are obviously the original book and the various movie and TV versions,” Hackbarth said. “But when I stumbled upon it this summer after exploring a variety of other options for the musical, I knew that was the best choice because it fit the current students in our theatre and choir programs so well.”

Hackbarth says rehearsals have gone well since the cast was finalized in early September. Vocal music teacher Tanner Stutzman also plays a vital role in the production, as he and Hackbarth split time working with the students to prepare for the show.

“We’ve got a great team of actors and crew as always, but this year we get a full bit band,” Stoker said. “Mr. Stutzman and the rest of them are doing such a good job with the music and I think the songs are going to be really fun.”

Said Arfa Firoz, who plays Aunt March: “I’m most excited about putting on an amazing show with some immensely talented people. Everyone has worked so hard on the show and I can’t wait for the audience to see it.”

In addition to the countless hours put into perfecting the performance by the actors, Hackbarth says the students who work behind the scenes are just as vital to the production.

“I start off with the hardest-working student production team I could ever ask for, which includes Vanessa Rivas-Pena and Lane Maxson as stage managers, as well as Taryn Limoges as a dramaturg/rehearsal prompter,” he said. “We also have a team of 16 students on the crew, doing things like running lights, adjusting sound levels, moving props and furniture, or helping with costumes and make-up. All of them help the show run seamlessly.

“When it comes down to it, I just want everyone attending to appreciate how much of a collaborative effort it is to put on a show like this, and that the people they don’t see are equally as vital to the success of the production as those who are on stage.”

THE CAST

Jo March (2nd oldest sister): Jessica Stoker
Meg March (oldest sister): Anna Tallman
Beth March (2nd youngest sister): Carly Dolan
Amy March (youngest sister): Jenna White
Marmee March (mother of sisters): Jamie Anderson
Aunt March (great-aunt to sisters): Arfa Firoz
Professor Bhaer: TJ Barbier
Mr. Laurence: Evan Goetz
Laurie Laurence: Aldo Escalera
Mr. John Brooke: Charlie Mortimer
Mrs. Kirk: Ella Hatfield
Clarissa: Isabel Platts
Braxton: Spencer Weydert
Rodrigo: David Dunn
Knight: Maks Koziel
Hag: Sophie Chitty
Troll: Lydia Weiler
Rodrigo 2: Leah Mostek

Ensemble
Kelsey Ayers, Alyse Beyer, Jo Heimer, Kaylee Higgins, Megan Lennon, Makayla Mills, Bri Olson, Kaya Robison-Engeman, Emrick Ryan, Cece Schwager, Andrew Soupir, Audrey Spiess, Joanna Stoker, Danielle Vogel, and Olivia White.

The Gilbert Esports team is headed to state!

Coach Jason Chung announced the good news Thursday evening after he learned the Tigers had been seeded fourth among the 19 Division I teams in the state. That automatically gave Gilbert a spot at state, which is set for Friday, Nov. 18, at MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex in West Des Moines.

Gilbert compiled a 6-1 regular season record playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The Tigers’ lone loss came against Nevada, but they were able to earn a bit of redemption earlier this week when the Cubs traveled to GHS for an exhibition that Gilbert ultimately won.

The 10 players who will compete for Gilbert at state include Jackson Dalager, Carson Chittick, Sam Ellingson, Nick Staudt, Carter Hogden, David Hinderaker, Miles Britt, Aiden Cowley, Matt Weber, and Raymond Lopez.

Congratulations, Tigers! And good luck at state next month!

Gilbert XC runners motivated by guest speaker leading up to state meet

Why not Gilbert?

The Tigers might not be favored to win Class 3A state championships when the girls’ and boys’ teams trek to Fort Dodge for the state cross country meet on Saturday, but the message they heard on Thursday was one of self-belief.

Daryl Nelson, who is currently the Director of Organizational Development for the New England Patriots, held a Zoom call with the Tiger runners to help get them motivated and mentally prepared for what they’ll face on the big stage at Lakeside Golf Course this weekend. Prior to taking his role with the Patriots, Nelson was an assistant athletic trainer for 6 1/2 years and the direct supervisor of Mason Finn, an athletic trainer at Gilbert.

Nelson spoke at length about how believing is a must-have mindset within the team.

“Why not you guys? Why not Gilbert?” Nelson said aloud as the Gilbert state qualifiers sat at attention around the large screen.

Nelson talked about the preparation for a big event, and he advised the Tigers to keep the status quo that worked so well throughout the regular season. Nelson even told the athletes to make sure they save a copy of the newspaper after they win.

Thank you, Mr. Nelson, for taking the time out of your busy day to spend a few minutes with our athletes.

The No. 7-ranked girls’ team — Clare Stahr, Abby McGuire, Abby Patel, Keira Andersen, Claire Grandgenett, Sarah Thatcher, and Nora Kalvik — won the team title at last week’s State Qualifying Meet in Humboldt and will be out to improve upon last season’s 13th-place state-meet finish. Stahr, McGuire, and Patel all ran at Fort Dodge a season ago.

Head coach Laura Kautman has guided the program to one state championship in 2013, and a year later the Tigers were runners-up.

Gilbert boys’ head coach Aaron Thomas has his program back in the state field after a two-year hiatus, and the Tigers enter Saturday ranked No. 6. William Wadsley has been the team leader throughout the fall and he’ll toe the line at state with an eye on a top-10 finish. Also competing for Gilbert will be Zain Mueller, Preston Stensland, Carson Squires, Emmett Barber, Harrison Kraehling, and Nolan Weber.

Thomas has led the Tigers to three team state titles and a pair of runner-up finishes during his career.

The 3A girls’ race is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., followed by the boys’ race at 11:15 a.m.

Pella enters the state meet ranked No. 1 in both 3A races.

7 first-place finishes, 11 top-three performances highlight day

Gilbert’s business and marketing club put together a strong showing at DECA districts, which was held at Gilbert High School last Saturday.

How strong? Try seven first-place finishes and 11 total top-three performances.

Well done, students. Very well done, actually.

So what is DECA? It’s the Distributive Education Clubs of America, and it gives students an up-close look at business and entrepreneurship as they begin to eye the future.

DECA prepares students to be academically prepared, community oriented, and professionally responsible, and it allows them the chance to be leaders.

“No matter what you’re interested in doing in your future, the skills you get from DECA are going to be invaluable,” Vicki Hales, a business teacher at the high school, said. “Learning how to talk to somebody professionally, learning how to think on your feet and problem solve, and be creative, all of those skills are really what employers are looking for. That’s going to help them no matter what industry they go into.”

Districts was the first chance students had to get a feel for the competition. In each of the business scenarios, students were presented with a problem or need in their fields, and then they had 10 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes with the judges to discuss the issue.

Gilbert’s seven first-place finishes went to:
•Clair Lewis: Apparels and Accessories Marketing.
•John Hales: Food Marketing.
•Lizzie Mitchell: Hotel and Lodging Management.
•Macy Underwood: Human Resource Management.
•Abby Greder: Restaurant and Food Service Management.
•Charlie Schreck and Noah Lenz: Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team.
•Ella Henningsen and Abigail Thompson: Travel and Tourism Team.

Earning second-place nods were:
•Hannah Becker: Food Marketing.
•Joey Currans and Nash Hanson: Entrepreneurship Team.

Gilbert students placing third were:
•Owen Kautman: Hotel and Lodging Management.
•Elle Nguyen: Restaurant and Food Service Management.

The 15 Gilbert students that competed at districts, as well as many more of the 44 members of the school’s business and marketing club will compete at the state competition in February. At state, students will get the chance to qualify for the international competition, which will be held in Orlando in April.