NEVADA CITY, Calif. March 20, 2019 – Director John Deaderick, local theatre artist and long time Sierra College acting teacher writes:

I must truly love the extraordinary world created by Lewis Carroll, as this is the fourth time in twenty plus years I have directed some version of Alice in Wonderland. The Nevada City School of the Arts, with its arts-inclusive curriculum and its nifty little performance space, not to mention its wonderfully creative students, offers the perfect venue. Working with NCSA drama teacher Michaela King as co-director as well as arts and theater tech staff has made our Alice a collaborative school production.

Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Dodgson, was an Oxford University math professor and early pioneer of photography. His associate Henry Liddell had three daughters, the youngest of whom was named Alice. Boating with the family on the river Isis in 1862, Dodgson recited the beginnings of a fable to the very young Alice who encouraged him to write it down.

Thus a masterpiece was born.

Carroll’s dream-like fictions have enchanted readers since 1865 with the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. Many people don’t realize that there are two Alice books, and that some of the familiar characters such as Humpty Dumpty and the Tweedle twins are from the second book. Most performance adaptations for stage and film combine features from both books as has been done in our production.

Our play is fast and funny and wild and free, larger than life, and, we hope, true to Lewis Carroll’s vision. Our cast of 34 students in grades 4 through 8 has set out to capture the fantastic quality that has made these stories still so popular after more than 150 years. Come celebrate fantasy with us!

  • Performances of Alice in Wonderland are open to the public at Nevada City School of the Arts, 13032 Bitney Springs Road, Building 2, Nevada City.
  • Show times are Friday, March 29, at 7pm, Saturday March 30 at 1pm and 7pm, and a final performance on Sunday March 31 at 1pm.
  • Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children 13 and under. Tickets are available at the door or at www.ncsota.org. For more information please call 530 273-7736 ext. 204.