Golden Valley High theater department, Hollywood makeup artist turn cult classic film into play
The Golden Valley High School Theater Department was recently able to work with a Hollywood makeup artist to help create a theatrical production of “An American Werewolf in London.”
Golden Valley drama club teacher Amber Kirby worked with Brian Sipe to adapt the 1980s John Landis movie into a play.
Sipe is a professional makeup and prosthetics artist who has worked on productions like “Avengers: Endgame,” “The Mandalorian” and “Terminator Salvation,” according to a news release.
“We are thrilled to not only collaborate with but to gain industry skill sets from an artist like Brian Sipe,” Kirby said.
The play will run Nov. 16-19 at the Golden Valley High Theater.
Kirby first met Sipe through Instagram. “I asked if he would come to do a demo for my theater kids,” Kirby said.
Through their conversation, Sipe had revealed his high school dream of being able to adapt Landis’ movie into a play. Sipe even reached out to the director for permission. “Landis said yes in a letter back,” Kirby said.
Kirby and Sipes continued collaborating long distance, wrote a script, and planned for a spring 2020 production, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the production.
Kirby recently took several of her students to Los Angeles to work on the prosthetics for their production in Sipe’s studio.
More than 50 Golden Valley students and five departments are involved in the production, including a live band with members from GV’s Cardinal Regime.
The play, which includes a live, on-stage human-to-werewolf transformation, opens on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.
Tickets, which are free, are available through gvdrama.org.
This story was originally published November 4, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
