Scurrying around backstage Flat Rock Playhouse on a school night, area students rehearsed lines, applied makeup and made last-minute blocking changes before the full dress rehearsal of “The White Rose.”
Starring West Henderson High’s Justin White and Hendersonville Middle’s Louise Cummins in lead roles of Hans and Sophie Scholl, “The White Rose” opens on the Flat Rock Playhouse mainstage Wednesday.
Based on the true story of college students in Germany passively resisting Hitler during World War II, “The White Rose” was written by Flat Rock Playhouse YouTheatre alum and 17-year-old homeschool student Sarah Hart and presented at the Hendersonville Little Theatre last November.
“At that point in time, we were actually rehearsing in a barn loft because everywhere else was booked,” Hart said.
Hart’s mentors from her time apprenticing at Flat Rock Playhouse attended the performances and subsequently extended an invitation to the state theatre’s mainstage.
“I saw ‘The White Rose’ when they presented it at the Hendersonville Little Theatre last November and was blown away by not only their storytelling and honesty within the piece, but also their drive and determination to present this very polished, professional, quality evening of theatre,” Flat Rock Playhouse Artistic Director Lisa K. Bryant said in a news release.
White said the play’s rise to the Flat Rock Playhouse is a tribute to the dedication of the student actors and crew – comprised of students in Henderson County Public Schools, Transylvania County Schools, and local home and private schools.
Cummins said that it’s been exciting to see how the technical assets of the Playhouse, particularly lighting and oversight by Playhouse staff, has added to the overall performance.
(Article written by Molly McGowan Gorsuch at Henderson County Public Schools.)