Being on stage is nothing new for fifth grader William Espinoza. However, this year’s school play at Patrick M. Villano School was his favorite so far because it was a musical.
“I felt really good because at the beginning I didn’t know how to do harmonies … it was just really frustrating, but we kept on practicing, and I kept on practicing at my house, and finally on the last closing show I got a perfect harmony …” Espinoza said.
A harmony is when two people sing together and their voices match smoothly. Espinoza played the part of Mr. Mayor in Seussical, Jr. which is a musical based on Dr. Seuss’s stories and characters.
Another fifth grader, Demi Paradis, played one of the Bird Girls in the cast. Both Paradis and Espinoza have attended the summer theater camp run by Emerson Jr. – Sr. High School director, Bill Ullman.
“I like theater because I love to sing, and I love to dance, and I think it’s really fun especially when you meet new people and you get to know them really well,” Paradis said.
It was the first play for fifth-grader Layla Robayo. She played a green Bird Girl.
“Being my first time in a musical was actually pretty cool because I’m not really in the singing business, so I’m not used to acting and singing, but it just felt fun, and I felt like expressing myself to the world,” Robayo said.
Stage fright happens, but Espinoza has some advice for newbies on stage.
“It’s exciting when you first get on stage, and then you get butterflies in your stomach, and you start to feel the excitement rising as you keep on going on in the play. Then once it’s over, you feel really happy, and if you did really well you’re just like, I know I can do a play now, and I can sing and I can dance, and you just believe that you can do most other stuff,” Espinoza said.
“A lot of times I have stage fright before I get on stage, but then when the curtains open I turn into my character, and I’m not afraid anymore, but I know it’s not like that for everyone, so my technique is to take deep breaths and focus on one thing,” Leila Donnellon explained.
Donnellon played a Who family character. Although she has danced on stage before, this was her first musical. Now that the play is over, these fifth-graders feel a bit sad.
“I met a lot of people and especially 6th graders that I’ve got really close to … but then it feels good that you’ve got it over with. You don’t have to practice anymore lines and you’re just done and you can relax,” Espinoza said.
Students practiced for three months. During the first month, the cast and crew met once a week. During the second month, they met twice a week. During the last month, they met three times a week, and the last week before the show, students met every day after school until 6 p.m.
“I feel sad but also happy because the play was taking out a lot of time out of my day, and sometimes I babysit, so that took a lot of time, and I’m sad because I like hanging out with my friends after school too, and I love to sing and dance,” Paradis added.
