PROVO — Louis Sachar, the author of the Newbery Award-winning book "Holes," also wrote the screenplay and stage script for his story of Stanley Yelnats IV and Camp Green Lake.
So the play, being produced for the stage at Brigham Young University, offers a treatment of the compelling story that is just as rewarding as the story on paper and the big screen.
"The material is just so good," said director Megan Sanborn Jones. "It's going very, very well. It's been just delightful to watch it come together."
The ensemble cast of 21 plays a total of 40 roles as the story at Camp Green Lake unfolds.
Yelnats is wrongly accused of theft and sent to the camp — which is neither green nor a lake — to develop character by digging holes.
The biggest challenge came in working out the scenic story, said Jones, since it involves a landscape riddled with giant, deep holes.
"Different productions have solved the problem by doing sets with very tricky components with real dirt and trap-doors. We took the opposite approach. We have no dirt. We have no holes built into the set, but all the digging is choreographed to music. It's very theatrical, very stylized, a lot of imagery," Jones said.
The next challenge came in finding actors of the various ages for the characters who are mostly teenage boys.
As a result, three of the cast members are freshmen from local high schools and junior highs: Burns Johansen from Provo High School, Keldon Shepherd from Lehi High School and Chris Atkin from Oak Canyon Junior High.
The result works, Jones said. "It's a very tight ensemble cast."
"It's a good play and our cast is awesome," said Atkin, who plays the "biggest kid in camp," the policeman who drives the bus and a cowboy from the Old West.
"Anyone who's read the book or seen the movie will enjoy the play," Atkin said.
Jones recommends bringing the family to see "Holes" and, if possible, attend the prematinee Lunch and Learn event.
"Anyone with a ticket to the performance is invited to bring a sack lunch and come meet the cast, ask questions, come on set, learn about the geology and about telling family stories," Jones said.
Very young children might be disturbed by some of the violence included in the flashbacks and probably would be confused at some of the subject matter, she said. But it's clearly for families with preteens and teenagers, she said.
If you go
What: "Holes"
Where: BYU's Pardoe Theatre
When: 7:30 p.m. nightly, May 25-June 11 with matinees June 2,4, and 9 at 2 p.m. (Meet-the-cast opportunities start at noon on matinee days)
Cost: $9, $3 discount for students
Tickets available from the Fine Arts box office: 378-4322
E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com