Zionsville Middle School sixth-grader Dylan Acquaviva is having a blast playing Gomez Addams.
“I like the role because he’s funny and has a lot of personality,” Acquaviva said.
Acquaviva will portray Addams in Zionsville Middle School’s production of “The Addams Family” at 7 p.m. March 18 and 2 and 7 p.m. March 19.
“I chose to do an accent for Gomez that I need to maintain consistently throughout the whole show,” Acquaviva said. “Gomez is a very funny character, which means I have to have good comedic timing and wait for the audience to react.”
Eighth-grader Makaili Patterson plays Gomez’s wife, Morticia.
“(I enjoy) being able to be the sassy, fun fashionista know-it-all mom, because Morticia is actually the boss of the family,” Patterson said. “Everyone thinks Gomez is, but really she’s the boss. She runs the entire household. When she’s in a bad mood, it ruins the entire house. What Morticia says goes.”
Morticia’s mood swings are the most difficult thing about playing her, Patterson said.
One challenge about playing Morticia is that her mood changes a lot.
“One moment she’s excited, then she’s suspicious. Then she’s angry or misunderstood,” Patterson said. “Her mood constantly changes.”
Same holds true for Wednesday Addams, played by sixth-grader Liv Keslin.
“What I love about Wednesday is one minute she’s really happy and excited about her love life and the next she’s super angry and hates her boyfriend or she’s nervous her family won’t like him,” she said. “It’s hilarious. The challenge I have about playing Wednesday is the fact I’m a pretty smiley person, around a bunch of theater kids, especially, so I have to learn to mostly at the beginning of the show have a deadpan face.”
The production is directed by Michele Boehm and Rebecca Osgood.
Tickets will be sold at the door. Admission is $5 for students, $8 for adults and $26 for a family.
