Leading role leads to more risks, discoveries on stage for Weathervane actor

Maxwell Rees plays Christopher in “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” which runs Sept. 6 through the 23 at Weathervane Playhouse. After Christopher finds himself standing beside his neighbor’s dead dog, he’s under suspicion and must solve the mystery of who murdered Wellington.

When I auditioned for Weathervane’s production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” I felt that my audition went well but I didn’t think that I would get cast in the show. I then got a call that I was cast as Christopher and I just became super excited that I was going to be a part of this amazing show that I fell in love with the minute I saw it.

This is my first time doing a show in a while, and I have really enjoyed figuring out with my fellow cast members, the directors, and vocal coach how we are going to tell Christopher’s story. With playing the part of Christopher, it has been really interesting and a lot of fun to figure out how to convey Christopher’s feelings through the speed, tone and pitch of his words and other noises that he makes as opposed to using facial expressions.

We have also with our production made the ensemble an extension of Christopher and have used them to help expand on how Christopher is feeling in certain moments, which I think is a really cool element. Also, as a performer, this show has made me more trusting of others and has allowed me to take more risks and make more discoveries.

For example, there is a moment in the show where I have to be physically lifted into the air and through working that moment over and over, I feel comfortable with being lifted and it has become one of my favorite moments of the show.

For me, there have been a few challenges with this show. One is that Christopher really likes math and outer space, so there are times that I have to recite numbers or am scientifically explaining how space works. Since I personally don’t really have a math or science brain, these sections of the show have been a bit challenging to memorize. Despite this challenge, I am really excited about being in this show and I really look forward to starting performances so that we can share our hard work and Christopher’s story with everyone.

“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” runs Sept. 6 through 23 at Weathervane’s Founders Theater. Show times are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. There is also one school matinee on Sept. 19 at 10 a.m. with a special student/teacher price of $7. Tickets for all other production dates range from $10-$22 and can be purchased by calling 330-836-2626 or going to www.weathervaneplayhouse.com.