Tuck Everlasting Performed for Cluster Elementary Students

(photo courtesy of TROUPE7763 Instagram)

Tuck Everlasting cast and crew performed their play for the Walnut Grove Elementary schoolers (WGES) during second block on April 11th and 17th. 
​by Malachi Lovett and Cheyenne Seagraves

​Tuck Everlasting cast and crew performed their play for the Walnut Grove Elementary schoolers (WGES) during second block on April 11. 

Bran Johnson (junior), says the play was pretty good, “We did most of act 1 and it was, by standards, better than most. We hadn’t done a full run through until that performance, and I didn’t have any cues as the sound guy, so I kind of winged it...”

He’s pretty good at guessing the timing and can definitely improve on getting his cues down by Thursday's performance (April 18). “I’d say everyone could always use a little work, we just gotta stay on top of our cues and make sure we know all of our lines.” Bran continues, “[The elementary schoolers] definitely enjoyed the play, but understood the play might be a stretch. They laughed a lot, and I think they enjoyed [the songs].”

Bran thinks they will continue to perform for the elementary schoolers, “It seemed pretty easy for them to come and watch for an hour, but we will definitely have to prepare for that earlier than, you know, a week before.”

Bran is the head of sound, controlling everything heard during the performance. “Everything that comes through the speaker starts with me. I start the music, mute mics, make sure they are leveled, and put on correctly since I showed them mic belts and told them where to put it, our other sound person is no longer on the production, so now Light Montanez is helping me.”
 
Hayden Ross (junior) also explained that it was their first time running the production. She says there were a lot of bumps and mess ups, but by the time they performed the second time, it was a lot smoother. “The kids loved both shows, so we all loved performing, even through the mistakes.”

Hayden thinks choreography needs to be freshened up in places, “We all need to be on the same beat, so that we look uniform... Only 4th and 5th graders came to see the show, a lot of them have read the book already so they understood what was going on. I think they really enjoyed watching, they were really interactive audiences.”

She’s a perfectionist when it comes to fine arts related things, reiterating she thinks they still have much to improve on. “Everyone can be putting in more work, but I think that if we all put in a lot of hard work during tech week, we can get ready and have great home performances. I am very proud of how much we have accomplished so far…”

“The audience was amazing. They laughed in all the right places, which really helped bring our energy up on stage. They were the cutest, and one of them absolutely adored Mae Tuck, and it was so cute to see,” Hayden stated.

​She will continue doing theater in the future; she’s going to go to school for theater and education to hopefully become a high school theater teacher. 

Natalie Helms (senior) says performing for the elementary schoolers was a great way to hit the ground running with their show. “It helped us pinpoint areas we needed to work on and also recognize things that the audience loved.”

She says this show is amazing for elementary schoolers because the music is based off of a children’s book. She thinks they were able to understand and engage with the show better than they would any other show we have put on because of the music.

Natalie finished, “I think we should definitely keep doing shows for elementary schoolers, and maybe if the show themes are a little more serious we should invite middle schoolers, as well, so that we can reach all different kinds of audiences.”

Tuck Everlasting will be performed on April 18th, 19th at 7pm, as well as April 20th, at 2pm and 7pm. Tickets for this production can be purchased through GoFan.

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