In 1933, a teenage deHavilland made her debut in amateur theatre in "Alice in Wonderland", a production of the Saratoga Community Players based on the novel by Lewis Carroll. She also appeared in several school plays, including "The Merchant of Venice" and "Hansel and Gretel". Her passion for drama eventually led to a confrontation with her stepfather, who forbade her from participating in further extracurricular activities. When he learned that she had won the lead role of Elizabeth Bennet in a school fund-raising production of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", he told her that she had to choose between staying at home, or appearing in the production and not being allowed home. Not wanting to let her school and classmates down, she left home, moving in with a family friend.