The cast of the student-directed play, Charlotte’s Web, is preparing for performances at Whitehall High School on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 1 and 2. The character of Wilbur, the pig, is played by Kaitlyn Skoglund (kneeling center stage). Directing and pro

Curtain time for the student-led production will be 7 p.m. both dates.

Directing and producing the play are seniors, Libby Gillhespy and Patrick Gilland. They have assembled a cast of veterans and rookies filling human and animal roles.

“Charlotte’s Web” is the memorable tale of a little pig named Wilbur who becomes famous, thanks to a web stringing spider named Charlotte, in order to avoid the butcher knife.

Kaitlyn Skoglund has been selected to play Wilbur, with Kara Potter, who played Belle in last Fall’s performance of Beauty and the Beast, as Charlotte.

The Zuckerman barn is the setting for a great deal of action, and the barn is filled with animated, talking animals - Goose and Gander played by Clare Beaman and Ryan Shields, the little lamb played by Hannah Uithoven, the old sheep played by Mitch Boyce and the gluttonous rat Templeton played by Tim Hiemstra.

The only human who can understand the animals is Fern, played by Maegen Myers.

The human characters who join Fern include her parents, John and Martha, played by Sky Chrisianson and Lauren Throne, and her brother, Avery, played by Windsor Marechek. Homer and Edith Zuckerman provide a home for Wilbur and are played by Scott Murphy and Zoey Elliott. The hired hand, Lurvy, provides comic relief and is played by Jake Gillhespy.

The play moves along through many scenes led by three narrators. Filling these roles are Hannah Moulds, Leah Thompson and Allison Donahue.