By Brynn Mechem
Woodland creatures and fairy tale characters will soon take the stage at Muncie Civic Theatre. The twist? These creatures are all under the age of 12.
The Civic is hosting its Youth Education performances, “Rhyming Wind in the Willows” and “Peter Pan Jr.” Sept. 28 and 29.
“Rhyming Wind in the Willow” is based off the novel of the same name written by Kenneth Grahame. The story portrays characters like Frog, Toad, Rat and Mole as they try to navigate their lives in the Willows.
“The whole gist of the story is Toad is a menace to the Willows area and he finds a motorcar and about kills people and he doesn’t really care about anyone else, but through the story he ends up caring about others,” said Amy Ziuchkovski, the Civic’s education director.
Seventeen kids in the newest educational program at the Civic, the Prelude group, will perform this show. Prelude is for students in kindergarten through third grade and while it serves as an introduction to theater, it also functions as a way to build the children’s confidence, Ziuchkovski said.
“Every show, the kids automatically learn self-confidence because you’re throwing them out there and they have to take chances,” she said. “Once a director or another kid praises them for their work, because we’re very positive here, they feel more confident that they can do that.”
After the Prelude group finishes its performance, the Act I group, which is comprised of children in third through sixth grade, will perform “Peter Pan Jr.” The show follows the storyline of the classic “Peter Pan,” but it is shorter and contains illusions of flying rather than utilizing a harness system.
Act I is run more like a theater program, Ziuchkovski said, in that children learn lines, choreography, blocking and songs in preparation for the performance. The show has 63 students performing in costumes and sets that are made by the parents.
The Prelude kids practice for four hours while the Act I kids practice for six every Saturday. This amount of practice teaches the students teamwork, patience, empathy and character development, Ziuchkovski said.
And while the kids are young, she said the audience can still expect a quality production that showcases actors who are more than excited to be there.
“It’s definitely kids that are doing the show, but it’s darn cute,” Ziuchkovski said. “We are definitely focused on product, but we are more focused on process. So our process is more important to us and having happy kids who want to learn and grow than making the product perfect.”
Performances will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 28 and 29, as well as at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 29 and Sept. 30. Tickets are $6 for students and $8 for adults.
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