BH-BL Middle School to perform
‘Cinderella’
By ALYSSA JUNG
Seventh and eighth graders in the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake middle school drama club are notorious for putting on plays with an aura of professionalism, far superior to what’s normally expected from a bunch of energetic and novice 11- to 13-year-olds, said Director Suzanne Rayome. This goes far beyond her own directing abilities, she’s quick to emphasize, and is more a reflection of how they’re eager to raise the bar each year.
We started with probably 20 kids in the cast and five backstage crew and this production has about 60 actors and a stage crew of 25, said Rayome, who has been directing for 35 years total, with nine at the middle school level. `One thing that consistently stands out is that this isn’t a typical middle school show. The trick is to maintain a sense of professionalism with the kids so we can have a professional looking production and I think the kids really appreciate that and latch on to it.`
This year the club is presenting `Cinderella,` which has lent itself to several professional touches`a fully functional clock tower that will move and chime when it strikes midnight and a miniature horse to draw the carriage. Rayome said she’s always felt it was important to engage the audience so she likes to make her sets as 3-D as possible. Vendors will sit on stage or in the audience with baskets and items to sell to diverge from the flatness of regular scenery. When the club presented `Peter Pan,` it rented a flying machine for that extra `wow` factor.
Rayome is going by the original Rogers and Hammerstein version, which is different than the Disney movie and more age appropriate.
`The script has some deleted lines that are inappropriate in content, we don’t have a kissing scene, we don’t curse and we changed the score so the music is more appropriate for middle school voices,` said Rayome. `We’ve tried to not make it so fantasy-like. Disney does a great job but in order for us to have it be somewhat believable on stage, we’re going to have it set in the late 1700s.`
Whoever tries out for the show gets to participate in some capacity. Rayome said part of what makes directing middle school plays her favorite is that she gets to give actors and actresses a chance to try something they’ve never done before.
`This is where you really see kids for the first time being on stage and to me, middle school is all about being given the opportunity to try new things. Once they move on to either high school or community theatre, it’s a more selective process,` said Rayome. `Here they get to be on stage and have fun without dealing with the disappointment of getting cut or ‘not being good enough’ because I think there’s always a part for everyone.`
Some cast members were so good, that Rayome adjusted the characters to accommodate two actresses she thought were perfect for one part.
`Originally, there was only one part written for the prince’s butler but we couldn’t decide and loved them both, so we picked them both and they’re now a package deal known as ‘the Harolds,’` said Rayome. `They get to muck around on stage together.`
Eighth graders Allie Rose Brenon and Ashlyn Giaquinto will be the prince’s right hand men. They’re friends off stage, and on stage, basically inseparable, both saying drama club is a way for them to express themselves.
`On stage you can show everyone who you really are,` said Giaquinto, who has been acting and singing since elementary school. She said her mom was always big into theatre and helps her prepare by buying the CDs, movies and books.
Brenon got into theatre all on her own and said her parents always joke that they’re not good at performing so if she is, she should.
`It’s just a way you can let all your emotions out because you have to express everything over the top and can let out what you’ve been holding in,` said Brenon. `Middle school drama is nice because you know you’re going to be part of the play and don’t have to feel any letdowns. If you go to Broadway or something, you can get cut!`
{q} What: ‘Cinderella’
When: Friday, March 19, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 20, at 2 and 7 p.m.
Where: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake middle school auditorium {q}
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