Today's Tom Sawyer

Young actor finds connections across the centuries

Eric Pilkington and Abi Minor play Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher in the upcoming Arts Live Theatre production of “Tom Sawyer.”
Eric Pilkington and Abi Minor play Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher in the upcoming Arts Live Theatre production of “Tom Sawyer.”

A boy growing up in a college town in 2016 might not seem to have many things in common with a boy growing up in a river town in the late 1800s. Twelve-year-old Eric Pilkington says otherwise.

Eric, a seventh-grader at Woodland Junior High School in Fayetteville, stars as Tom Sawyer next weekend in the Arts Live Theatre production of the Mark Twain classic. He says he doesn't have to step too far out of his comfort zone to play the sometimes mischievous boy.

FAQ

‘Tom Sawyer’

WHEN — 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9 and Sept. 10 & 2 p.m. Sept. 10 and Sept. 11

WHERE — Arts Live Theatre in Fayetteville, 818 N. Sang Ave.

COST — $7-$9

INFO — 521-4932, artslivetheatre.com

"I'm kinda like him. Not in the 'trouble person' way," Eric quickly adds, "but I always want to be active and play with my friends. ... It's really my personality already."

Playing a character who lived nearly 150 years ago did come with some challenges, though.

"It was a little bit weird getting into how they talk -- using weird country words like 'ain't' and 'y'all' -- I don't really use those words," Eric says. "And the country accent. I keep going from a country accent to my normal no accent."

Eric wasn't the only actor who needed extra work on getting into the mindset of someone living in the 1870s.

"My biggest challenge has been the way they carry themselves, the way they sit," says director Natalie Lane. "In the school scene, I have to remind them, they've got to sit up, they can't cross their legs."

She says she also had to remind them that people probably didn't high-five each other during Tom Sawyer's days.

While the body language aspect is taking a little more work for everyone, Lane says she's been so impressed with this cast's abilities and their willingness to learn and try new things.

"They all are little pros," says Lane, a longtime contributor and instructor at Arts Live, who makes her solo directorial debut with this production.

On Eric as Tom, Lane says, "He's got really good instincts for the stage. The things he comes up with for the character are consistent with who the character is and what the character would do. He goes the extra mile."

The play opens Thursday.

-- Kelly Barnett

kbarnett@nwadg.com

NAN What's Up on 09/02/2016

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