April2016NCNpart2_NCN new template 4/3/16 5:21 PM Page 30
Middle School Students Will Present ‘A Pirate’s Life for Me’
Somers
SOMERS - Students at Mabelle B. Avery Middle School will be traveling back in time, to a world where pirates ruled the seas and plundered islands in search of the sweet trade. Since October, dozens of students have been building sets, choreographing dance numbers, and constructing oversized anchors, cannons, and ship wheels. The award-winning playwright, Bill Francoeur, wrote “A Pirate’s Life for Me,” and it showcases some of the best musical lyrics in modern young adult drama. This year, the audience will also get a chance to understand what it takes to build sets and props through the use of interactive technology that will be introduced in the program for the very first time. Theatre enthusiasts will be able to witness, step by step, what it takes to put on a theatre production by having access to dozens of photographs and video from early rehearsals. What makes this show incredibly unique is that every musical number has been created and choreographed by students. One student is sixth grader Allison Carra. “I’m having a great time,” Allison said, in between teaching male lead, Patrick Connors (Roger Goodman) and female lead, Alexandra McLellan (Sarah Huffington), dance steps.
Choreographers work very hard to pull everything together. The extra effort pays off, however, because once the actors learn the routine, everything seems to come to life. The process takes a while, but the choreographers find a way to teach the students so they can fully understand and master the routine. The song that everyone enjoyed learning was “I'll Marry the Wench.” Gabby Tullock, Kiera Clark, and Carra worked with the song that had to do with the lead roles getting married. At first, everyone was bashful, but soon realized that they must pull through and listen to the students that were trying to make the number reach its full potential. With every actor on stage, Carra, Emily Brayton, and Angelina Chapman took small steps to get the opening number to look fantastic and make the audience not want to move from its seats. “Livin’ the Good Life” is one of the funniest numbers, with great choreography done by Clark and Alana Sweat. The two did a fantastic job teaching the students in that particular group because it was challenging for them at first, but eventually things fell into place. “Anchors Aweigh” is a song that involves all three groups. Tullock and Carra worked hard to find choreography for every group.
Long John Silver, with sword, played by Sheridan Speight, is joined by members of Bluebeard’s Crew: Gabby, Claire, Allison, and Lily. Not only is the dance hard for the actors, but it had challenging vocals as well. “The Sweet Trade” was without choreography until Olivia Suter stepped up to the plate and made a fantastic routine so everyone will enjoy the thrill of the sweet trade. Amari O’Conner and Lily Saunders worked on a song that was fit for a queen. “The Pirate Queen” has
beautiful choreography that demonstrates and tells the story of the girls becoming pirates. “Captain Blood” has choreography done by Izzy Munson and Alexandra McLellan. This number not only involves Captain Blood’s crew, but the ensemble as well. All of the chore-
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