Actress Anja Arora performs the titular role in the Children’s Theatre Company’s production of Alice in Wonderland. Photos: Glen Stubbe Photography
A young Plymouth actress gives us a glimpse behind the curtain.
The scene at the Children’s Theatre Company is delightfully chaotic on this chilly evening. Kids and their guardians make their way to their seats. The student ensemble actors, sporting black and white stripes and mime makeup, mingle with the crowd and lead small pockets of kids in hearty renditions of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.
There’s at least one pint-sized Alice in attendance, wearing the iconic blue dress. A young Red Queen, sporting a tiara headband, sits a few rows ahead of me. It’s the opening night of Alice in Wonderland, and somewhere backstage, Plymouth’s Anja Arora is preparing for the evening debut of her first leading role.
“Ever since I was really little, I’ve always had this love for performing and for the arts,” says the Minnetonka High School freshman. “I always knew that I wanted to do some form of [acting]. I didn’t know whether or not that meant doing professional theater, but I always knew that one way or another, I was going to dip my toe into it because I just loved it.”
In this production of Alice in Wonderland, some characters such as the Caterpillar and the Cheshire Cat, were played by an ensemble of actors, enhancing an already surreal performance.
Alice in Wonderland is Anja’s fifth production with the Children’s Theatre Company. Her first was Annie, which hit the stage in 2021 after COVID-19 pushed back the production schedule. “I was one of the orphan girls,” Anja says. “And it was super fun because actually, the girl that I am doubling the role of Alice with right now [Audrey Mojica], she played Annie in that, so I already knew her.”
Memorizing lines can be a tall order, especially for a role that spends nearly the entire show on stage, but Anja attributes her success in part to her mom, who runs lines with her. It also doesn’t hurt to have a friend sharing the role. “[Audrey and I] really support each other in those kinds of intense rehearsal processes,” Anja says, noting the rehearsal schedule for Alice in Wonderland started at five hours a day, four days a week, plus all-day rehearsals on Saturday.
“The Children’s Theatre is an incredible place to work and to be an actor at because they are so accommodating and so supportive of people just being people,” Anja says. Even as the production transitioned into longer tech rehearsals, Anja and the other student actors continued to juggle full time school and homework throughout.
“Curiouser and curiouser.”
With opening day drawing nearer, Anja says she’s most excited about inviting the audience on Alice’s journey with her. “I think she really represents the true nature of human curiosity and the human spirit,” Anja says. “I’m really excited for people to especially bring their kids, because I think it’s so important for youth to try to understand things and to be curious and to explore … you’re only in this world to enjoy it and to ask questions.”
Back in the theater on opening night, the organized chaos of people finding their seats is being mirrored backstage. “Behind the curtain, there’s a lot of things going on,” Anja says. “All that theater magic that makes it so special, there’s an incredible crew making all of that happen, and there’s a lot of effort that goes into making this show so special.”
And somewhere in that mix will be Anja as Alice, waiting for the curtains to go up. “I think on opening night, when the curtain goes up, I will be just purely happy and excited,” she says. “There’s so much work from all of us that goes into making this production. And whenever the curtain goes up on opening night, it all feels worth it and so magical.”
Children’s Theatre Company
2400 Third Ave. S., Mpls.; 612.874.0400
Facebook: Children’s Theatre Company
Instagram: @childrenstheatrecompany
