Welcome to the 'Monkey King'
<p>Meghan Tiffany, one of the monkeys in the Lake City High School production of "Amazing Adventures of the Marvelous Monkey King," leaps over the other casted monkeys during a dress rehearsal Tuesday.</p>
<p>Emily Irvin, a makeup designer and stage manager, applies red makeup to Paige Estes, who plays Kuan Yin in the Amazing Adventures of the Marvelous Monkey King.</p>
<p>Eston Townsend, who plays the Monkey King, climbs on top of a tower of blocks while Meghan Tiffany, left, and Kole Smith take part in the activity.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Sure, you knew the cast of "Amazing Adventures of the Marvelous Monkey King" spent time rehearsing on stage for Saturday's shows.
But you didn't know they've been practicing for weeks, too, at Flip Factory.
It's pretty much mandatory that when you're telling a story based on a Chinese legend that dates back thousands of year, you must do one thing well:
Tumbling.
"It will be a fun, cultural experience for anyone.
A celebration of something that's uniquely different from us," said Sandy Seaton, drama teacher, as she explained how students were doing with their tumbling in preparation for the production by the Troupe de Wolfe Productions at Lake City High School.
Saturday's two performance at 2 and 7 p.m. promise to be filled with action, music and culture as the Monkey King comes to life.
There's plenty of fighting, bounding, bouncing, jumping, leaping and rolling on stage, too.
Seaton said it's also a chance to share the tale of the proud Monkey King, who falls, then fights back against foul foes as he learns to be brave and noble.
It's a story of love, good winning over evil. It's steeped in Chinese culture passed down through generations, rewritten in 1600 as a novel, "Journey to the West: The Monkey King's Amazing Adventures."
The 45-minute production features original set, designs, makeup and costumes.
It also had more challenges with last-minute cast changes when the original Monkey King had to be replaced due to illness.
"It's been a really fun, interesting process. Everything's been a learning curve for us," Seaton said.
Katharine Cheevers, costume designer, began her research in November. She checked out ancient designs, watched Chinese operas and looked up traditional costume pieces.
The result?
Costumes "with a simpler, more modern twist."
Emily Irvin filled many roles for Monkey King, including cultural liaison, assistant director, stage manager and makeup. There were even days she had to stand in when a cast member couldn't make it to practice.
"The costumes and the makeup are beautiful and the acrobatics are really fun," she said. "There's music the whole time. It's just really cool to see."
Seaton promises the audience will not be disappointed.
"We created this as an educational experience for the community," Seaton said. "It's about reaching out and seeing the world is not so different."
If you go:
• "Amazing Adventures of the Marvelous Monkey King." Curtain times at 2 and 7 p.m. Presented by the Troupe de Wolfe Productions at Lake City High School, 6101 Ramsey Road. Tickets cost $2 for general admission and $1 for ages 10 and younger, and are available at the door beginning 45 minutes before each show.