Production Sure to Scare at Van Nuys

The haunting sound of a solitary piano note played over and over. A darkened stage lit only by the strike of a match. A crazed man dressed completely in black, terrorizing a blind woman holed up in fear in a New York apartment.

If student producer and actor Dane Biren wanted to scare his Van Nuys High School classmates this Halloween, he’s sure to succeed with the dramatic production of “Wait Until Dark,” which opens on the school’s auditorium stage Thursday and runs through Saturday.

“I always wanted to do something really sinister,” said the 17-year-old senior. Bringing this play here, “was a dream of mine.”

“Wait Until Dark” marks Dane’s first role as student producer. He made casting suggestions, enlisted senior Cassie Nickols, 17, of Van Nuys, to score eerie original music, found special props and costumes and even created fliers promoting ticket sales. He also has a starring role in the play.

The idea to stage the frightening tale of a search by three con men for heroin they believe is hidden in a blind woman’s apartment came to Dane after seeing the play on Broadway in 1997, and having a chance meeting backstage with its star, Quentin Tarantino.

“He told me to stay dedicated and all that stuff,” Dane said. “I was very excited. I had never met anyone like that before.”

Dane loved the nail-biting elements of the play and “fell in love” with Tarantino’s character. “He was so evil, and I’ve never played anyone evil before.”

Initially, Dane hoped to produce the play for the Santa Monica Playhouse--where he has been acting since fifth grade. But funding fell through, so he brought the idea to his school drama teacher, Deanna Ableser.

“He bugged me incessantly to do this project,” Ableser said. “He is a very passionate person.”

Dane’s relentless pursuit of the opportunity to produce the play lends itself well to his merciless torturing of the blind character, Susy, played by senior Rebecca Kagan. He especially loves the scene when his character makes a dramatic leap, tackling Susy in the play’s climax.

“Everybody jumped back three rows in the theater [on Broadway] when that happened,” he said, “and I’m hoping that I can get that kind of effect here.”

“Wait Until Dark” will be staged Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 nightly by students from the Performing Arts Magnet at Van Nuys High, 6535 Cedros Ave. Tickets, available at the door, are $9 for students with ID and $13 for adults.

The character Mike will be played by senior Justin Field; Carlino by junior Matt Stein; Harry Roat Jr. and Harry Roat Sr. by Dane; Susy by Rebecca; Gloria by senior Vanessa Nelson; Sam by junior Ryan Cole; Lisa by junior Erin Sheppard; and the patrolman by junior James Bingham.

KUDOS

Mission to Mars: Kimberly DeRose, 13, an eighth-grader at the middle school campus of Chaminade College Preparatory in Chatsworth, is the only American student selected from more than 10,000 entrants worldwide to serve on the Planetary Society’s Red Rover Goes to Mars project.

The remaining eight students--ages 10 to 15--are from Hungary, Brazil, India, Poland and Taiwan. The team will collaborate to identify a possible ideal landing site on Mars for a future mission.

“This is an incredible opportunity for me,” said Kimberly, who hopes someday to be the first astronaut to walk on Mars. “It’s the unknown that fascinates me . . . I want to explore. I want to go where no one has ever been before.”

Currently, Kimberly and the student scientists are independently conducting research for ideal landing sites. In December, they will meet via conference call to narrow down their selections to one or two sites.

Then the students will come together at Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego to program a high-resolution camera on the Surveyor, currently orbiting Mars, to photograph their selections.

You can track the student scientists’ progress at:

https://www.planetary.org.

PROGRAMS

The annual “Passport to Reading” literacy fair presenting authors, illustrators and storytellers for all ages will be at Taft High School in Woodland Hills from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday. Information: (818) 348-7171.

END NOTES

Enrollment for the Los Angeles Unified School District has reached 722,727, according to district officials. The increase over last year’s enrollment is 11,540 more students--a jump of 1.62%.

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Class Notes appears every Wednesday. Send news about schools to the Valley Edition, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Or fax it to (818) 772-3338.