STRATFORD — Students of Stratford Academy Elementary School are putting on a junior production of The Lion King this weekend, participating in the school’s annual musical, a tradition with more than 30 years of history.
The production is headed by three women — Director Kathy Signore, Assistant Director Liz Litchfield and Choreographer Megan McCool — who have volunteered to put together the performances for the past six years.
“You work with kids on a show like this once and you’re hooked,” McCool said. “They all grow in the process to know about theater and come out with so much more confidence than when they started.”
This year, 50 students of all experience levels in grades four through six are participating in the production.
Fifth grader Max Romero, a first-time participant, said he was inspired to audition because after watching the movie, he wanted to be in the show himself. Sixth grader Genavieve Rivera, on the other hand, has been involved in past musicals and was excited to perform in a main role for her last one, she said.
In addition to the current students, about 70 former middle and high school students were invited back to sing in an alumni chorus.
When going through the music, the lyric “remember your pride” stuck out to Signore: “We thought ‘wouldn’t it be fabulous to add extra voices to this and to invite students to come back to their home?’”
Alumni chorus members also serve as mentors to the younger students. Though Elijah Young admitted that the very first year he participated in the musical he “only tried out for the pizza,” he now acts as a guide to his peers, helping them to run lines and go over music during rehearsals.
...from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Stratford-Academy-Elementary-School-presents-The-13904328.php
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