BSM Students Helping with Twin Cities Production of 'Seussical'

Students from Benilde-St. Margaret's are helping with a production of "Seussical the Musical," set to take the stage late next month at the Chaska Valley Family Theatre.

The entire production is being co-directed by father/daughter team of Mary Pat Ross, a sophomore at BSM, and her father, Randy. They're not the only Red Knight connection to the production, as student engineers at BSM are designing the operating mechanisms for several puppets in the Dr. Seuss-themed show.

"It’s fun to be working with my dad on this project,” said Mary Pat. “It’s also fun to have my fellow Red Knights involved.”

Benilde-St. Margaret's officials report approximately a dozen students have volunteered their time outside of regular class time for the BSM Advanced Competitive Science (ACS) lab every Wednesday through June 5. Students have been working as a team to design mechanisms to animate the feathered and painted creatures to fill the stage. The fabrication of the puppets is being handled by Chaska Valley Family Theatre puppet designer Cody Braudt.

Rachel Thorstenson, a senior at Benilde-St. Margaret's, said the team has been working diligently to imagine what it will take to "make eyes blink and beaks open and close."

"We’re also figuring out how to give the birds’ necks and heads full range of motion controlled by the puppeteers," Thorstenson said. "We may be doing some computer-aided design work, too."

As the June 21-30 performances near, some of the BSM students will stay on to attend rehearsals and performances to serve as advisors to the puppeteers.

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