TOWNSHEND-At a Sunday rehearsal in October, a cluster of nearly three dozen theater folks from fourth-graders to grown-ups set to another rehearsal and crew session for the Leland and Gray (L&G) Players' production of the junior version of the musical Aladdin.
With sign painting in one corner, costuming in the backstage space, dance step review "center stage" (on the Dutton Gymnasium floor), sound techs doing checks, and directors conferring and leading, it was a microcosm of creative community - an intentional coming together to produce something good for the benefit of all involved and all who witness.
Such is live theater, a potent and invaluable growth vehicle for young people.
With music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, and Chad Beguelin, and book by Beguelin, the musical opens Thursday in the Dutton Theater space.
The show's plot finds Aladdin and his three friends, Babkak, Omar, and Kassim, all down on their luck in a faraway time and place where one could believe in magic and genies.
A Players' press release sets up the premise: "Aladdin discovers a magic lamp and the Genie who has the power to grant three wishes. Wanting to earn the respect of the princess, Jasmine, Aladdin embarks on an adventure that will test his will and his moral character."
The annual musical, a Players' tradition for nearly 30 years at the middle/high school in Townshend, this year's production features several elementary school performers to round out the cast.
Elementary schoolers first joined a Players' cast in 2006, when 40 appeared in The Wizard of Oz as Munchkins, poppies, monkeys, and the like. Many returned as street urchins in the Players' 2007 production of Oliver! A few joined in casts of musicals in later years, and nearly 30 signed on for the 2014 Players' reprise of The Wizard of Oz.
According to Ray Chapin, formerly director of Thetford Academy's theater program and now in his second year with the L&G troupe, more Players were needed for last year's production of Shrek "so that we could have a full show."
"This year, it was the same situation," he says. "We needed to fill some roles, so we have some repeat customers and a few new students from the elementary schools."
The six young actors this year represent a good turnout, given changing demographics and a decrease in school enrollments.
Chapin adds that involving the elementary schools in the sixth-to-12th grade middle/high school's production is a good vehicle for program development, in that it "generates some excitement there so that when they move into the sixth grade they're aware" of the Players as an after-school activity option.
Another tool for stirring enthusiasm, he notes, is inviting elementary school students to a special matinee of the annual musical.
A practice that started in 2003 when area elementary schoolers attended the Players' Peter Pan was revived last year when Townshend Elementary was invited to Shrek and continued this year when Townshend, NewBrook, and Wardsboro elementary schools were treated to an Aladdin matinee.
Among Chapin's assistants for this production is Kianelise "Kiki" Peña, a Players' alumna ('24).
Back in the area in a time of transition, Peña says that a part of what motivates her to assist is that theater meant "everything" to her at L&G.
"During the school day all I could think about was getting to rehearsal and just going over what I'd practiced the night before - just being with everyone, sharing that love," she says. "For me, that's always what it's been about, so coming back as an adult, I see it through a different lens: Now I can pass it on."
Building community
Peña notes the community-building she sees "when they're painting, when they're acting, [when] they're going over their lines."
"We can see the bond everywhere," she says. "It just makes it all worth it when showtime comes and everything's built and you just think about all those smaller moments of the painting or the acting and the costuming - how [that bond] made this beautiful thing."
Of the value of theater work for a young person, Peña reflects: "The way I view it and value it is that coming from having troubles at home or at school" and missing a sense of secure belonging, "you come to the theater and feel like 'I found my people.'"
"That's the great part about it," she continues. "I found myself in the characters I was playing and it felt right, it felt comfortable, and it gave me the confidence to just go out and talk to people, to connect."
When it comes to community, she says, "I think one thing we're trying to rebuild is just the support from the school, from the parents, and from just community members - seeing the theater program and all the hard work" that goes into mounting a production - well beyond the learning of lines and performing.
Peña adds that she and a few other Players alumni are interested in bringing back the low-cost Players' Summer Performing Arts Exploration (SPAE), which ran from 2009 to 2019 under the direction of Karlie Kauffeld ('09) and other alumni.
She notes that the SPAE "opened the door" for area youngsters who then move on to become Players.
Steven Shine, a Players' alumnus, has been on board, too, to help with sets and other aspects of production.
"I love it," he says. "It's just so fun seeing them grow up."
Chapin is a steady advocate for the program in which participants learn that every role - onstage and off - is integral and essential, and he notes the value of continuity and experiential learning.
He says he's grateful for Peña and Shine, as well as for Players' alumnus Peter Broussard ('22), who has been assisting with technical aspects of productions since graduating.
Learning the ropes
The Commons had a chance to talk with some of the fourth- and fifth-graders in the Aladdin cast.
Shannon Patnode said of the experience: "You learn how to project well, and you learn how to, like, trust people. You trust people who you are on stage with."
Madeline Jameson, daughter of one of the first Players, Katherine Jameson ('97), was preparing to rehearse with Teagan McFalls, who shared that her aunt is in the performing arts "and I really like singing and dancing."
"My grandma and my mom have been in shows, and in [Los Angeles, where her family had lived], there was an Aladdin show and I totally wanted to [be involved, but] it was $700 to get in and for like, half a part," Madeline said.
Reflecting on what she's learned, Madeline explained: "I used to not like being on stage [but now I am] comfortable on a stage, and I learned you have to understand what's going to happen. I'm learning about stage directions, too" and other theater terminology, "so it's kind of cool to learn all that stuff."
Fourth-grader Laila Payne said that "you get to kind of play with stuff and make believe. And you get to wear costumes."
As the youngsters move confidently into place to rehearse a dance number, performer and student choreographer Gianna "Gigi" Birri, a sophomore who is playing the Genie, takes a minute.
"I've been here since sixth-grade, from an ensemble part in Mamma Mia! to Gretchen Wieners in Mean Girls to Donkey in Shrek."
Saying she "would love to pursue theater - performing arts - after school, whether dancing, singing, or acting," she adds: "It's been a big part of my life, and I'd like to keep it that way."
Sophomore Mackson Wells, son of L&G alumna and current faculty member Beth Wells and grandson of retired NewBrook Elementary teacher Marcia Wells, is nephew to Players' alumnus Jeff Wells, now an architect in New York City.
Committed and focused as Birri, Wells recalls starting while in sixth grade.
"My first performance was in Mamma Mia," he says. "And just growing from being in the ensemble to being Pugsley [in The Addams Family] and then to Shrek and now to Aladdin has been just such an amazing process."
Wells adds that he's "learned new skills while making new friends and making a family out of people I don't really know."
"Obviously, I'm with them every day after school for three months in a row at a time," he says. "So you really just know how to make a family and make sure that everyone feels comfortable and safe."
Birri adds: "You learn how to work with people you don't really know - different ages, from fourth-graders all the way to seniors. So it's nice to have those [moments] where you can bond with people younger and older," and to have skills for adapting.
Like Birri, Wells hopes to pursue the performing arts after high school.
Of his time with the Players, he adds: "Seriously, I don't know what I would do without the people I did it with. I get the privilege to be with all these amazing people, the costume department, the tech, the lights, all of my directors: They're just so awesome."
Last week, several Leland and Gray Players were inducted into their newly formed chapter of the International Thespian Society, the pledge for which is "I promise to perform my part as well as I can; to accept praise and criticism with grace; to cooperate with my fellow Thespians and work for the good of the troupe; and to share my love of theatre."
One can see the pledge upheld this weekend at the Dutton Theater on Route 30, next to the Townshend Town Hall. Aladdin runs Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Nov. 13–15, at 7 p.m.; and the 15th at 2 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students at the door.
When asked about the involvement of younger Players in Leland and Gray productions, Wells said that "being the lead in these musicals and being able to teach little kids the way that the bigger kids [had] taught me really just makes me feel proud - that someday these kids will be doing what I'm doing."
"It feels like we're passing the torch to the elementary kids," Birri adds. "The older kids were showing us, and now we're the older kids showing them […], and seeing everyone grow as we have grown is incredible."
This Arts item by Annie Landenberger was written for The Commons.