Dolores Theater Troupe stages Alice in Wonderland with student cast
Dolores students from elementary through high school will share one stage in a 50-member cast, with Julianna Vega stepping into the role she once played as a flower.
The Dolores Theater Troupe will bring together about 50 students and crew members from elementary school through high school for a run of Alice in Wonderland at the main gym on the Dolores School District campus, a production that has been in rehearsal since February and will put a wide range of young performers in the spotlight.
The stage version, adapted by Anne Coulter Martens, will open at 7 p.m. Thursday, with additional performances at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday. Tickets will cost $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors.
For Dolores County families, the show is more than a spring play. It will place elementary students, middle school performers and high school actors in the same production, along with technical crew and extras, giving younger students a first step into theater and older students a chance to lead. The cast includes students appearing as flowers, heart children and soldiers, expanding the show well beyond the principal roles.
Julianna Vega will play Alice, a role that carries a full-circle moment for the Dolores senior cast member. Vega said her first-ever show was also Alice in Wonderland, when she played one of the flowers. Ben Carpenter, who will play the March Hare, said he first took part in the theater program in fourth grade, underscoring how the troupe has served as a long-running entry point for students moving through the district.
Other principal cast members will include Callie Vaughn as the White Rabbit, Amelia Pym as the Mad Hatter, Jadyn Gorsuch as the Cheshire Cat, Sam Lindus as the Caterpillar and Navaeh Settles as the Queen of Hearts. Piper Green and Addy Thompson will share Tweedledee, while Nyah Gorsuch and Levi Rantz will perform as Tweedledum.
Peter Swingle, the Dolores Theater Troupe teacher-director, said the door is a pivotal set piece in the production, and Adeline Dettloff painted it. Gorsuch also helped design costumes, adding another layer of student involvement to a show that will begin directly in Wonderland rather than with Alice chasing the White Rabbit from home.
The troupe’s Alice production also ties into a larger pattern in Dolores schools. In 2019, the district’s theater group staged Alice in Wonderland with 25 students. In 2025, the troupe mounted A Midsummer Night's Dream with elementary, middle and high school participants. This year’s version continues that tradition, using one stage to build confidence, mentorship and a stronger public identity for young performers in Dolores County.
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