Don't Be Late for Date with 'Alice'

Three years ago, the Upper Elementary School principal approached Chuck Gill to start a theater program at the school.

“I’m told you can do this,” he said to Gill. And, if there was anyone at the UES who could do it, it was definitely Gill.

Gill, a fifth-grade teacher at the UES, has been an actor and director for more than 30 years. He is also the producing artistic director of Imagination Creation. Creating a theater program at the UES would put all those skills and talents to good use.

He created the Upper Elementary Children’s Theatre. In its first season the company staged Disney’s Jungle Book Kids. Last year, it was Disney’s Cinderella Kids. This year, they program has moved onto the Junior productions, which are longer than the Kids’ versions.

“(The program) gets bigger and better every year,” said Gill. “It’s very exciting.”

This year, 270 students came out for an interest meeting for the school’s production of Disney’s Alice In Wonderland Jr. About 180 returned permission slips to participate.

The hardest part of the whole process was hanging the cast list, said Gill.

“Hanging that list of 54 names, knowing 126 other kids pored their heart out and had the courage to get on stage, that was hard,” said Gill. “But it was a confidence builder to be able to walk out on a stage. They know not everyone is going to be picked.”

In addition to the 54 cast members, there are also 35 tech members.

The show will be held at 4:30 and 7 p.m. March 25 and 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. March 26 in the UES cafegymitorium, said Gill. Tickets are $8 each are availablefrom 3 to 5 p.m. March 23 and 25 in the UES lobby.

Teachers Michelle Buckelew, Regina Schmitt and Marissa Paglione are all part of the production team. “I would be lost without them,” said Gill.

The cast has been rehearsing three days a week since January. The students are involved at every level of the production. They run the lights and soundboard, there’s even a student director, middle school student Carrie Wagner.

The production is 75 minutes long, said Gill.

“Long enough for a 4-year-old to watch and be engrossed,” said Gill. “Theater for or with kids has always been important. You have to hook them watching the play. Then you get them to participate. There are kids that have been in the audience that are now trying out. That’s worth it all.”

The show will feature familiar characters from Disney’s version of Alice In Wonderland and wonderful Disney music, said Gill. But it will have its own unique qualities.

“It’s a wonderful show, it’s whimsical,” said Paglione. “We’re going to be giving it a fresh twist.”