Student writes slapstick parody of Star Wars

Intermountain Catholic

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The cast members of Galaxy Wars gather after performing the play before students and parents in the Blessed Sacrament School's gymnasium Feb. 20. The play was written by Erik Tita, an eighth grade student. Family, friends, and classmates contributed with ideas in an effort to make the play fun and entertaining for children and adults. ?It reflects the funny and interesting side the class has,? said Tita about Galaxy Wars.IC photos by Priscilla Cabral

SANDY — Students and parents walked with anticipation toward the gymnasium in Blessed Sacrament Catholic School to watch the eighth grade class perform a play Feb. 20. This year, although the play includes a little bit of action, romance, and witty phrases, is not a Shakespeare comedy. Instead, the class performed a play written by one of their own, Erik Tita, which added to the excitement of the students.

"I was amazed when he approached me last November. He had a 33-page script with stage directions and music selection. And, he had the cast typed up with the number of lines for each person," said Kristi Oritt, Language Arts teacher.

The idea to write a play was born in the classroom. Students were trying to decide what to perform when a girl suggested they should do a spoof on Star Wars. Tita, who is a fan of the media franchise, decided to put his creativity to work and got everyone involved. He received tips and advice from his classmates and his father.

Once the script was finished and revised, Oritt was in charge of the casting. Tita was chosen to play Luke Spywalker, a brave fighter and one of the main characters.

Among the other characters were Princess Jade, who is a karate master with a weakness for mirrors (she is very vain); Obi-one-Rigatoni, Luke’s trainer, who does not fight on rainy days or Mondays; and Frans, a muscular man with an Austrian accent who reminded all of California’s governor.

Tita’s favorite creations for Galaxy Wars were Hon Hobo and Dark Vader.

"Hon is corky and he falls in love. Vader is a klutz. He is not very good and thinks out loud," said Tita.

Both Hon and Vader surprised the audience at the end of the play. Hon unexpectedly declared his love for Princess Jade and asked her to marry him; and Vader suddenly wasn’t so dark. He became a good person.

"It was the greatest feeling of accomplishment," said Tita about seeing his play come alive. This is a feeling he plans to have over and over again since he will continue to act and write science fiction and adventure stories.