By Craig Marx, Editor

The Antigo Youth Theater put on a great production of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” on Wednesday at the Volm Theater, showcasing their acting and stagehand abilities while working on a tight deadline. The troupe of young drama enthusiasts gathered together on Thursday to strike the set on their summer performance.

“It was good. It went way better than dress rehearsal,” said co-emperor Devyn Jaraczewski, who shared the eponymous role with Nick Luerssen.

“I thought it went well,” added Gracie Dawn, one of six girls to play the part of Petra. “No one really messed up and if they did, they covered it up well.”

The talented group of young actors had only 48 hours of total time to put into the production, including learning lines, creating the set, and practicing costume changes – something that in a production entitled “The Emperor’s New Clothes” was obviously a challenge.

“One of the most interesting parts of the show was when Nick had to change into his emperor clothes, a costume that one of the Petras had made for him. He had to come off stage, run around to the back, change, and come back around in about minute,” Holly Luerssen said, smiling. “We just pulled it off.”

Luerssen and Leigh Brown headed the dedicated production staff as directors. With such time constraints, the guidance of the two women was crucial in making the production go off smoothly with only 12 days worth of practice, preparation, and performance allotted to work with the children.

“I thought it was really fun and everyone did a really good job,” Anna Evans, also playing one of the Petras in the performance, said on Thursday.