Coalers digging "Holes"

Stanley Yelnats is a good kid with bad luck, a teenager born into a family plagued by the storied misdeed of his, “no good dirty rotten pig stealin’ great-great-grandfather.”

Convicted of stealing a pair of expensive sneakers that literally dropped from the sky, Stanley is given the choice between jail or Camp Green Lake and he chooses the later telling the judge, “I’ve never been to camp before.”

So it’s off to Camp Green Lake—a juvenile work camp billed as a place for young boys to build their character—and it turns out to be everything Stanley wasn’t expecting.

There’s no lake a Camp Green Lake where the boys sent there dig holes day after day, each one five feet wide and five feet deep. Each looking through the dry Texas sand for a bit of treasure that might land them a day off and maybe an extra shower.

What Stanley comes to realize is they aren’t digging to build character, but to find something the warden is looking for and it has his name right on it.

The story of Stanley Yelnats will be told in a two-act play when the Coal City Theatre Department presents the regional premiere of Holes, based on the award-winning novel by Louis Sachar.

Derek Carlson, a senior at Coal City High School, is taking on the role of Stanley and said he is, “excited to show the audience that Coal City Theatre Department is and will continue to do things no one has seen before.”

Not only is this the regional premiere of the show, but the stage is set with sand and there are a few other elements of surprise awaiting audiences.

Carlson is also excited to see so many new students trying theatre this year and one of those is his stage partner Buddy Widlowski, who is taking on the role of Zero.

Widlowski joined the theatre department last year working backstage for the spring musical and decided to giving acting a try and it landed him a leading role.

As audience members will come to discover the two characters have an intertwining past, and that history carries on to the Warden, a woman who oversees the camp with a purpose.

Senior Brecken Johnson is playing the warden who works alongside Mr. Sir, played by fellow senior Collin Dames, and camp counselor Mr. Pandanzki, a role being portrayed by junior Stephen Byers.

Then there are the camp boys—Magnet, X-Ray, Armpit, Zig Zag, Squid and Twitch roles played by Landen Selio, Chris Collins, Julian Micetich, Dane Noffsinger, Austin Harding and Jordan Olson respectively.

Mason Natyshok, a sophomore, plays the part of Elya Yelnats and he’s the one that started the curse on his family when he failed to follow through on a promise he made to a gypsy fortune teller named Madame Zeroni, a role being played by senior Izzy Kostbade.

In flashback scenes the audience will come to understand the history of the characters and the events decades earlier involving Kate Barlow, played by junior Elaina Patten, that led to the current activities at Camp Green Lake.

Rounding out the cast are Ethan Scrogham, Max Hone, Karli Pearson, Chessa Kuhel, Mason Hamilton, Melody Kinder, Kilen Davidson, Logan Hausman, Gianna Savarino, Bella Byers, Fianna Gregory and Olivia Sage.

“We had a phenomenal group of students audition this year,” said director Jack Micetich.

Out of the 26 student performers taking the stage, 14 are participating in play for the first time.

Holes will be presented in the Coal City Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 13 and Saturday, Oct. 15 and Sunday, Oct. 16 at 2 p.m.

This will be the first indoor fall play for the theatre department since 2019, and as much fun as performing on an outdoor stage was, the students say they are excited to be back inside for this year’s show.

Holes is presented through special arrangement with Susan Schulman Literary Agency.

Advanced reserved seat tickets are available online at bit.ly/CCTDTickets or at the door beginning 45 minutes prior to each scheduled performance, cash only at the door.