STALKER AT COMIC CON by & for Middle School Actors

What I remember most clearly of the creation of STALKER AT COMICCON back in 2012 was a huddle with my class of 8th graders on the set of the Upper School’s upcoming musical. Working in small groups, sixteen students had created characters who connected to each other in act one, whose relationships reached a crisis point in act two. I said, gravely, “A masked villain is holding a little hostage somewhere in this twenty story hotel. It’s up to you guys to recover the boy safely.” Dramatic pause. I whispered, “Now, go!”

Teams of characters fanned out on the massive Upper School set, up stairs, under the vast platform, behind panels, across the stage. Ten minutes later, they all came back to to tell what they’d found on the roof, in the halls, in the basement.. We devised a plan to rescue the boy, and our script was finished.

This year, the stars aligned to stage a revival of this excellent script. With just a few tweaks to characters’ traits and a few updated references, the script adapted perfectly to the actors who showed up for the first W.arts meeting. In fact, everyone got their own choice for a role.

I think back with gratitude to those eighth graders, now in college; and I’m grateful for the enthusiasm and hard work of the kids onstage today.

[Stalker at ComicCon, or, When Nerds Collide, a comic thriller written by members of The Walker School’s class of 2017: Paul Adkins, William Blakely, Celine Dang, Alex Hardie, Jack Jones, David Kahn, Ashwin Kanuru, Megan Landro, Holland Martin, Keson Paul, Harrison Pritchett, Timmy Riordan, Chase Robertson, Abby Saberi, Bobby Straub, Jordan Tasman, with 8th Grade Drama teacher Mr. Scott Smoot]

[Photos: The set... The curtain call, from the raised perspective of the tech crew]

Characters in order of appearance

DANIELLE WHITE, police detective / Mattie Lou Light
JIMMY, her son, age 10 / Matthew Browning
MARLEY, friend, age 10 / Allie Slipakoff
CONCIERGE / Tessa Allers
RED SKULL / Sophie Severino
ROBERT, bellhop / Bobby Goggin
ALICE, hotel security / Sarah Roper
SALLY / Caroline Turner
PIPER HADAWAY, celebrity / Lila Rathbone
CHANNING, Atlanta girl, age 19 / Mriganayani Rajan
BRITTANY, her friend / Elena Higgins
BILLY / Ty Evangelista
GEORGE DAYBORN, Star Wars fan / Riley Light
GEORGE JOSEPH, Harry Potter fan / Nadia Webster
DYLAN, college guy, age 19 / Dawson Davis
JAKE, his friend / Grant Roman
UNSEEN ELEVATOR OPERATOR, MIchael Opoku - Mensah

Production Staff

Tech Director, Alex Tejedor, class of 2021
Crew: Kendall Brock, Hayden Black, Priya Nath.
Mr. Smoot, Director.