Make your way to Fort Frances High School this week as staff and students prepare to unveil this year’s Christmas play.
“The Gift” will be running this week from Thursday, December 11 through Saturday, December 13, 2025. The play, written by Lindsay Price, focuses on a teenage girl named Kymberdee as we see her in two different periods of her life, and learn about the how and why of who she was, and how she changed, all in a high school setting.
Kim is being played by two different actresses, one as her material, shallow 15-year-old version (Kymberdee), and another as her more mature 16-year-old self (Kim). Lucie Carpenter plays Kim as a 16-year-old, and Jameer Corneille plays her older brother “Bob,” who keeps an eye out for her as best he can.
Both actors shared that the play is a more grounded story than some of the past FFHS Plays have been, but that has allowed them to connect more to their characters, and they feel that sense of connection will extend to the audiences as well.
“It’s more of a grounded play,” Carpenter said.
“It has a lot of real experiences that people can connect with. I connect a lot with Kim, which is why I like acting as her. I am a very character-heavy person. If I’m reading a story, I need to see that growth, I need to connect with what’s happening, and that’s what I get out of this acting-wise.”
The show is a blend of humour and heart, and Corneille said it factors in the classic tale “The Gift of the Magi” as a play within a play that helps set the tone of the whole production. It also makes the play a perfect fit for the holiday season.
“The present day of the play is set around Christmas,” Corneille said.
“It is a Christmas play that is set at Christmas and they’re doing a Christmas play within this Christmas play. It’s a lot of Christmas. It’s really funny at certain points, but then it’s also really sad. It’s just incredible. This is my fifth play I’ve done here and I don’t even think anything comes close. We’ve done A Christmas Carol last year, and even a classic like that does not come close to this.”
Recognizing the status of an all-time classic Christmas story, Corneille said the more supernatural elements of A Christmas Carol can sometimes make it harder to connect to, where “The Gift” gives high school students a show featuring high school students and the many real life problems they can face as young adults. Many of the characters in the play face their own issues and experience growth, he said. Additionally, one of the characters of the show faces a cancer diagnosis, and Corneille said that aspect hits close to home for him as his father faced his own cancer battle in the past.
Corneille said the cast and crew have been working on the show in earnest since October, and are excited to bring the play in front of audiences this week. The show begins at 7:00 p.m. each night, with tickets available at the door for $10 general admission, or $8 for students and seniors. Corneille and Carpenter noted that $1 from each ticket sale is also being collected to go to supporting the United Native Friendship Centre (UNFC).
“I think it’s always great to give back,” Corneille said.
“I think that’s one of the best things you can do, is just give back.”
“It’s what the story is about,” added Carpenter.
