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THEATER TMTO stages 'Peter Pan' at the Craterian Theater Teen Musical Theater of Oregon stages high-flying fun Comment By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 5, 2015 at 9:00 AM By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 5, 2015 at 9:00 AM » Social News Mara Pulsipher remembers the first time she was lifted high into the air during a rehearsal for the Teen Musical Theater of Oregon's production of "Peter Pan." "The harness is a whole lot of pain, but when you get lifted up, it's like a roller-coaster ride. Your stomach is going crazy," says Pulsipher, who plays Wendy Darling in the musical. "I feel awesome being able to fly." Audiences are bound to be startled and amazed when the young actors in "Peter Pan" fly above the stage thanks to a system of harnesses, pulleys and dark wires. Performances are set for 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 7-8, Thursday and Friday, Aug. 13-14, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, at the Craterian Theater, 23 S. Central Ave., Medford. Tickets cost $25, $15 for ages 18 and younger, and can be purchased at the Craterian box office, 16 S. Bartlett St., online at craterian.org or by calling 541-779-3000. Like football players logging daily double workouts to get ready for the big game, the young actors with lead roles in "Peter Pan" have been attending regular rehearsals — then adding on flying rehearsals. Several fathers of cast members received professional training on how to hoist the actors and make them appear to fly. The Fly Dads, as they are known, learned how to double- and triple-check the safety harnesses and send the actors surging up almost to the stage lights, swooping horizontally across the stage and dropping to the floor unscathed. Tom Guy, one of the Fly Dads, has helped build sets and clean up after performances for the theater company, but this is his first time operating the flying equipment. He admits to feeling nervous in the beginning, but says all the extra effort will pay off when audiences see the results. "It's going to be great. It's going to be amazing. Bring the little kids. They won't know about the wires and harnesses," Guy says. "It's going to be magical to the kids. They're going to be in awe." Eric Strahl, director of "Peter Pan" for Teen Musical Theater of Oregon, says the year-round local youth theater program picks blockbuster-quality musicals for summer. More young actors are available for productions with big casts, and they have more time to rehearse. Past summer performances have included "Shrek" and "Tarzan." With more than 70 kids taking part, "Peter Pan" will be the program's largest production so far. It features detailed sets, including the Darling children's bedroom where Peter Pan visits Wendy, John (Grayson Weaver) and Michael (Dominic Walsch) and teaches them to fly, Strahl says. They soar away to Neverland and must face Peter Pan's nemesis, Captain Hook — who has borne a grudge ever since the boy cut off the pirate's hand. Meanwhile, a crocodile that ate the hand has developed a taste for Captain Hook. "Captain Hook devises a plan to capture Peter Pan once and for all," Strahl says. The action-packed play culminates in a fight on a pirate ship with aerial combat. An exceptional singer, Maya Patridge, who plays Peter Pan, has learned to deliver her spoken and sung lines while leaping through open windows, flying two stories into the air and battling pirates. "I was nervous. Then I started, and I was like, 'This is so much fun!' It's becoming second nature now," she says of the flying. Strahl says in every Teen Musical Theater of Oregon production, kids and adults come together in the beginning as a group of strangers, but end up feeling like one big family. He's seen even stronger bonds emerge among the flying cast members and the volunteer Fly Dads. "The cast members and the dads become the Flying Team," Strahl says. "They are forever bonded by the experience." By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 5, 2015 at 9:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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