Kids get educated in the theater
Group of home-schoolers explore drama as they stage ‘Mary Poppins’
A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down, but it takes practice, practice, practice to bring “Disney’s Mary Poppins” to life.
Just days before their opening performance, 16 actors gathered on stage at the Drama Learning Center in Columbia to learn blocking, go over their lines and work with props.
Since the end of January, the group of third- through eighth-graders — from all over the county and as far away as Annapolis — have come together to participate in the center’s production of the classic story.
The group will perform the show Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in Columbia.
“‘Mary Poppins’ is a monster of a show,” said Kara Leonard, assistant director. “The kids have worked so hard and want to do so well.” For more than 20 years, the center has offered classes and summer camps in drama, Broadway dance and theater for all ages at its facility on Red Branch Road.
While this will be the center’s fifth production of “Mary Poppins” this season —all of the winter classes are performing it —it is the first for its new home-school musical theater program.
“We had some inquiries,” said Tiffany Holmes, resident music director and arts administrator for the center, about the decision to host a home-school class. “We reached out to some home-school communities and the response was great.”
After doing some market research, DLC could not find anything else offered in the area for home-schoolers that was similar to what they had planned, Holmes said.
“Some home school co-ops put on a play but we couldn’t find anything,” Holmes said, that provided a production on a professional stage.
“It provides a great experience for a lot of these kids,” Holmes said. “A lot of homeschoolers ... do not have the opportunity to perform with a group.”
Kaelyn Jolly, 11, travels from Annapolis to participate. She has three roles: Ms. Smythe, Katie Nana and a statue.
“I really want to be an actress so I started taking acting lessons,” Kaelyn said. “It’s really fun.”
While he has worked behind the scenes in the past, Ethan Thomas is excited to make his stage debut in this show.
“It feels really good,” Ethan,13, said with a smile. “You have to memorize,but I carry on pretty good with that.”
The class rehearsed Fridays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Rehearsals became daily the week before the show. As it is a class, parts were issued after the first session in January, Leonard said. Many of the participants have several parts.
“Almost all of them have two or three parts,” Leonard said. “They all have a lot to See THEATER, page 6
Just days before their opening performance, 16 actors gathered on stage at the Drama Learning Center in Columbia to learn blocking, go over their lines and work with props.
Since the end of January, the group of third- through eighth-graders — from all over the county and as far away as Annapolis — have come together to participate in the center’s production of the classic story.
The group will perform the show Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in Columbia.
“‘Mary Poppins’ is a monster of a show,” said Kara Leonard, assistant director. “The kids have worked so hard and want to do so well.” For more than 20 years, the center has offered classes and summer camps in drama, Broadway dance and theater for all ages at its facility on Red Branch Road.
While this will be the center’s fifth production of “Mary Poppins” this season —all of the winter classes are performing it —it is the first for its new home-school musical theater program.
“We had some inquiries,” said Tiffany Holmes, resident music director and arts administrator for the center, about the decision to host a home-school class. “We reached out to some home-school communities and the response was great.”
After doing some market research, DLC could not find anything else offered in the area for home-schoolers that was similar to what they had planned, Holmes said.
“Some home school co-ops put on a play but we couldn’t find anything,” Holmes said, that provided a production on a professional stage.
“It provides a great experience for a lot of these kids,” Holmes said. “A lot of homeschoolers ... do not have the opportunity to perform with a group.”
Kaelyn Jolly, 11, travels from Annapolis to participate. She has three roles: Ms. Smythe, Katie Nana and a statue.
“I really want to be an actress so I started taking acting lessons,” Kaelyn said. “It’s really fun.”
While he has worked behind the scenes in the past, Ethan Thomas is excited to make his stage debut in this show.
“It feels really good,” Ethan,13, said with a smile. “You have to memorize,but I carry on pretty good with that.”
The class rehearsed Fridays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Rehearsals became daily the week before the show. As it is a class, parts were issued after the first session in January, Leonard said. Many of the participants have several parts.
“Almost all of them have two or three parts,” Leonard said. “They all have a lot to See THEATER, page 6
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