The last showing of "The Diary Of Anne Frank" was on Saturday Dec. 10. The performance given by the Venice High actors was remarkable. The play is adapted from the diary of a real Jewish girl that lived in the time of the Holocaust, Anne Frank. The Frank family and four Jewish friends hid in an attic for three years in an attempt to survive the genocide that the Nazi Regime was committing all throughout Europe.

Although this play is set during a time period in which horrific actions occurred, Anne’s youthful attitude allows a different view on this time in history. "The Diary of Anne Frank" is not just about growing up as a Jewish girl during the Holocaust, but about the turmoil of growing up.

The play begins in November 1945 when Mr. Otto Frank, played by sophomore Conner Carpenter, returns to the attic that he hid in with his family beginning in 1942. There, Miep, played by senior Christina Bayron, hands him Anne’s diary. The story of the Franks, Vann Daans, and Mr. Dussel is told to us through Anne’s diary.

Anne, played by senior Chelsea Garnett, is a vivacious and spirited 13 year old. Through her three-year stay in the attic, she grows up. Her relationship with her mother, played by sophomore Melinda Aguirre, goes from angry to understanding.

While she dislikes Peter Van Daan in the beginning, and even wishes he had been born a girl, she grows close to him. Peter, played by sophomore William Ramirez-Watson, and Anne begin a romantic relationship to the irritation of his parents but to the delight of the viewers. The emotion between Anne and Peter seems genuine.

Everything from Anne spending hours to get ready to just cross the hall and visit him in his room, to the nervousness that they seem to feel while alone and discussing every-day things could be an experience that any Venice student could go through.

While a somber story, the play did include comedic relief. The two funniest characters were Mr.Dussell, played by sophomore Dusty Bayers, and Mrs. Van Daan. As a stooped-over Bayers walked onto the stage, the crowd exploded with laughter. While all the characters were costumed and made over to look like the characters they were portraying, Bayer’s whole demeanor was that of an old dentist. Mrs. Van Daan’s flirtatiousness and stories of how things were "when she was young" also got the crowd laughing.

The play did retain its sobriety though, as the inhabitants of the attic were discovered. Although the viewers did not see the families being taken away, this is inferred by the sounding of marching and "Schnell" being screamed in German. The sadness and the fact that Anne and Peter finally kiss is evidence enough that this is the end.

After their discovery in early 1944, we see Mr. Frank again in 1945. He explains that he was the only one out to survive the Holocaust out of the eight people that hid in the attic. Mr. Frank’s last words come from Anne’s diary, "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." These leave us to ponder the situation that the world was in then and the one that it is in now.

The whole cast, including, Jade Castilla as Margot, Jonathon Ponce as Mr. Van Daan, Jesus Garcia as Mr. Kraler, and the cat who played Mouschi put on an amazing performance. The actors did not resemble themselves as they normally would walking the Venice campus, and this was thanks to Bayron, who as costume mistress transformed these students into people straight out of the 1940s.

The sets included three bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. These were all created so almost nothing was left out of the viewer’s sight. Teacher Fernando Orduna and his stage crew produced the sets. The play had a successful run due to the cast’s, crew’s, and play director Traci Thrasher’s hard work.

The cast of the Diary of Anne Frank has been invited to perform in the National Theatre Art Competition. If the cast can finance the trip at $1,300 dollars per person, they will be traveling to New York City in February 2006. The cast is accepting donations in attempt to fund money for the trip, because most of the students will be unable to pay for it on their own. There, the cast will have opportunity to perform and to watch other performances including a Broadway play. This would be the first time that Venice students will participate in this competition.