LEWISTON — Students at Bates College showcased their talents in the premiere of “Marie and the Nutcracker,” the fall 2015 mainstage theater performance, which ran Nov. 5-9 at the college’s Schaeffer Theatre. The play was written and directed by Martin Andrucki, the college’s Charles A. Dana Professor of Theater, who put a modern twist on German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann’s original story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.”

Students involved in the production include:

Chesterville native, Addie Cullenberg, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arvid B. Cullenberg. of Chesterville, assisted with the production of “Marie and the Nutcracker.” Cullenberg is a 2012 graduate of Mount Blue High School. She is majoring in psychology at Bates.

Topsham native, Audrey Burns, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. Jay Burns, of Topsham, played the role of Louise in “Marie and the Nutcracker.” Burns is a 2013 graduate of Mt. Ararat High School. She is majoring in rhetoric and theater at Bates.

The production gave students a firsthand glimpse into the playwriting process. “They learn something about how a play evolves during production, and how someone who’s a playwright changes or revises the script in order to make it work on stage,” Andrucki said. “And how important it is to have a sense of stagecraft as part of your equipment as a writer.”

Bates is internationally recognized as a leading college of the liberal arts, attracting 2,000 students from across the U.S. and around the world. Since 1855, Bates has been dedicated to educating the whole person through creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community.

With a commitment to affordability, Bates has always admitted students without regard to gender, race, religion or national origin. Cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action, Bates prepares leaders sustained by a love of learning and zeal for responsible stewardship of the wider world.