UNION — The Foster Park Elementary School Drama Club — which consists of fourth- and fifth-graders — wowed audiences on Thursday with three different shows of “Treasure Island.”
The drama club’s production was a collaborative effort on the part of art teacher Amy Truitt and music teacher T.J. Tyler. They selected Kathryn Schultz Miller’s adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” because the play is geared toward young children, allowing for the main characters to be split into parts.
“For example, we have five Jims and three Long John Silvers,” Tyler said, explaining that the arrangement gives the children less lines to memorize.
Tyler also said that with the rage over Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, he and Truitt thought the students would be eager to play swashbucklers, and they were right.
“We tried to give them dramatic freedom,” Tyler said, explaining that the script allows for suggestions. “We added so much. The students would add things during practice as a joke, and it went well so we kept it. They really made it their own.”
The club began rehearsals for the play in January, utilizing their academy time from 7:50-8:40 a.m. each day. Tyler said the rehearsals made for quite a few interesting stories.
“While we were rehearsing on Tuesday afternoon, Ivy (Hatcher) was practicing with her sword,” Tyler said, adding that he and Truitt had just told the students they should keep going if anything unexpected happened. “The sword caught something, and pieces went flying past me and Ms. Truitt. They kept going, and Ivy added her own dramatic presence to it.”
Tyler said the fourth and fifth graders who make up the drama club choose to participate, bu they also have to meet certain expectations such as showing good conduct during the school day and being proficient in standardized test scores.
The production cast was as follows:
Jim #1: Jaylin Booker
Jim #2: Ivy Hatcher
Jim #3: Nicholas Williams
Jim #4: Alexis Bradley
Jim #5: Brianna Bailey
Black Dog: Abby Goodfellow
Sea Legs Sarah: Ashanti Young
One Eyed Tess: Olivia Ouzts
Scurvy Pat: Carmen Sliwa
Hurricane Hattie: Danielle Reid
Coral Caley: Caley Brown
Mom: Iriana Foster
Billy Bones: Arianna Whitmire
Blind Pew: Milton Moton
Doctor Livesey: Omarion Jeter
Squire Trelawney: Haley Jackson
Captain Smollett: Alexis Cribbs
Moby Dixie: Alaina Snyder
Crooked Arrow: Kendele Sullivan
Tattoo Carla: Madeline Gilstrap
Dancin Dan: Jacob Byrd
Honest Abby: Sarah Phillips
Sailing Shanya: Shanya Smith
Long John Silver #1: Cheyenne Champion
Long John Silver #2: Tykasia Davis
Long John Silver #3: Aaron Root
Ben Gunn: Jasmine Jones
Bimini: Zarria Smith
Callaloo: Ryan Thomas
Junkanoo: Leah Cody
Picadillo: Trevor Owensby
Mango: Anna Rose Sawyer
Tataloo: Madisen Brewington
Cananoo: Amber Gilliam
Palmini: Katelyn Dos Santos
Chorus and Sound Effects: Alysia Johnson, Shanya Jeter, Kentaysha Norman, LaChristian Salter, Kaitlin Davis, Keonna Smith, Brooke McPherson, Jasmine Gault, Keltsey Thomason
Sound Tech and Stage Crew: Jaylon Edwards, Jaquarius Norman, Cain Foster, Tamirez Salter
Staff Writer Derik Vanderford can be reached at 864-427-1234, ext. 29, or by email at dvanderford@civitasmedia.com.
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