The Children’s Plays
By Gianna Maltbie, Around the Horn Editor (2024)
Image Courtesy of Bayani Medina, Junior
Lana DeLeon, Natalie Berkowitz, Melody Beron, Aydin Bacharach
The day before break, Cue & Curtain was busy with its performances of the Children’s Plays for Clarkstown’s elementary schools, bringing elementary school students great joy right before the beginning of winter break. Students loved the two performances, which hopefully have made a lasting impression on these children.
The two different productions were “The Enchanted Chronicle,” written by Zach Degen and directed by Pedro Aguilar, and “Be Nice Mr. McBee,” written by Alec Burstein and directed by Aster Barry. “The Enchanted Chronicle” taught the importance of asking others for help and “Be Nice Mr. McBee” taught the importance of being nice and respectful to those around you.
“Be Nice Mr. McBee” features fairies and Mr. McBee, a middle-aged man with quite the attitude. He disrespects baristas, an elderly man, and even his own co-workers. That night, he is visited by fairies Mrs. Nicely, Joy Goodness, and Kiera Kindly who teach him about patience and respect for others. The next day, he changes his ways, becoming a nice man that respects and cares about the feelings of others.
Image Courtesy of Bayani Medina, Junior
Gabby Chazan, Alec Burstein
The Children’s Plays took place at New City Elementary School, Little Tor Elementary School, Lakewood Elementary School, and ended at Woodglen Elementary School. The performances took place in gyms and cafetoriums, forcing performers to adapt to a variety of changes from school to school.
“The Enchanted Chronicle” features two elementary school students, Haylie and Leah, who discover a magical book that turns fairytale characters into real life characters. These characters include Sir Gallaghan, Fairy Felicity, Squirrel Sammy, Wizard Wally, and Frank the Fox, discovering the mysteries of the elementary school library. They wreak absolute havoc on the school, leaving Haylie and Leah to ask Mrs. Henderson, the school librarian, for help. With the help of Mrs. Henderson, the characters are sent back to the book, demonstrating the importance of friendship and teamwork, even in times of adversity.
Image Courtesy of Bayani Medina, Junior
Aster Barry, Gabby Chazan, Bayani Medina, Taylor McAstocker, Lana Deleon, Alexandria Brewer, Celeste Thompson
Image Courtesy of Bayani Medina, Junior
Gianna Maltbie, Emilie Salcedo-Lugo, Rio Kamali
Between the last two performances, the cast got to stop at Rocco’s to enjoy delicious pizza and garlic knots.
Image Courtesy of Bayani Medina, Junior
Alec Burstein, Bayani Medina, Aster Barry
All the North students involved with Cue and Curtain are so excited that the elementary schoolers had such a great time seeing the performances while learning valuable life lessons along the way. Furthermore, we are so proud of all the work that the North student performers put into making this such a memorable experience at each elementary school. This would not be possible without the help of Mr. Reid and the amazing student directors and writers.
Who knows, Maybe one day, students who watched the performances will get to perform in or direct their own Children’s Play?
Image Courtesy of Bayani Medina, Junior
