MONTICELLO, Maine — The tale of Merlin, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table was spun with a twist May 10 at Wellington Elementary School as students participated in the annual Children’s Stage Adventures production.
Performing the play “The Sword Called Excalibur,” elementary students injected heavy doses of comedy and song into the show, which was put on for a full house Friday evening in the school’s gymnasium. Earlier in the day, students from Houlton Elementary School came to Wellington to see the production.
Funded by the Wellington School and its Parent-Teacher Club, the group has appeared at the Monticello school for the past 12 years. Children’s Stage Adventures is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to enrich student’s lives through participation in a live theatre experience.
CSA staff members Courtney Lynn Pierchoski and Ben Regan choose the cast after auditions are performed at the school. The touring group spends one week with the students, teaching them their lines and rehearsing for two performances. Both Pierchoski and Regan have backgrounds in theatre.
Main characters for the production were Christopher Bouvier, young Arthur; Amanda Thorne, young Kay; Garett Harvey, teen Arthur; Robert Pelton, teen Kay; Cody Johnston, Cabal; and DaKoda Boyce, Sir Ector.
Other cast members include: Mariah Peterson, Abigail Cox, Jayden Swimm, Aiden Murdock, Damien Sullivan, Taylor Faulkner, Taylor Fitzpatrick, Logan Brown, Rustin Pooler, Dylan Woods, Gage Folsom, Jack Campagna, Cadence Kinney, Conner Smith, London Wotton, Lyman Allen, Ryan Wright, Abigail Cole, Braden Scott, Hannah Sutherland, Isabella Bonaparte, Laci Cummings, Paige Campagna, David Dahlk, Jordan Fitzpatrick, Olivia Drake, Zeke Schiller, Emma Foreman, Layla Burtt, Sophia Flewelling, Zhyon Wainwright-Cook, Hanna Foreman, Matthew Haney and Summer Violette.
Students relished their parts in the production.
“I was Maid Marion and the most exciting part of the play was working with the directors, Ben and Courtney. I think the hardest thing was being loud,” said Abby Cole.
“My favorite part of being in the play was my costume,” added Robert Pelton. “It was hard learning my lines, but it was fun going out on this mini adventure. It was also hard making it look like I was pulling the sword out of the rock.”
Olivia Drake played Pokey Porcupine and said she thought the best part was shaking her “booty.” “It made people laugh! I was happy getting ready to come and my dad and auntie were proud of me.”
For David Dahlk, the best part of the play was singing. “I was a skunk and I was really excited. The hardest part was shaking my bottom. I tried my best not to fall asleep, it was tiring.”
Abby Cox said it was “really cool” being in the play. “The hardest thing was remembering my lines. This was my third play and I want to be in it again next year. It was fun being with Ben and Courtney, the directors.”
Sofia Boutot said playing a villager and remembering her lines were challenging.
Zhyon Wainright-Cook said, “I was a groundhog and the best part was putting on my costume. It felt good. I had never been in a play before and it was mostly fun.”
Christopher Bouvier added, “The best part was doing the movements of the great big words and the worst part was I didn’t know what a play was. The most important part was saying my lines and I got a thumb’s up from my mom and dad.”
For more information about CSA, visit www.childrensstageadventures.org.
Karen Donato contributed to this story.
