'Say It, Play It' is a Hit with Jonas Salk Elementary Students

in Bolingbrook may be many miles from the bright lights of Broadway, but you’d never know it from the enthusiastic performance by students Wednesday in the annual Say It, Play It production.

Performing twice during the school day for fellow students and again in the evening for members of the community, 56 students in third through fifth grades (and one talented second-grader) sang, danced and acted their way through 22 rollicking skits.  

Themed “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow,” this year’s performance included versions of popular songs including “Right Round,” “Firework,” several “School House Rock” arrangements and a rocking rendition of “Gotta Keep Reading” to the tune of a Black-Eyed Peas’ song.

Shelley Vargas, a reading lab teacher and creator/director of the after-school club, began the endeavor five years ago in an effort to help students hone their skills.  But there is much more to Say It, Play It than just reading.

“ I wanted to help students have fun while learning, but the other element was to develop confidence in them by having the stage production side to it,” Vargas said.

The club, which began in 2007 with only 20 students, has become so popular that Vargas has had to cut off the number of participants at 50.

“When I first started the club, it was open to any student in first through fifth grades,” Vargas said. “The past three years, I have limited it to third through fifth grade, because I was getting such an overwhelming number of students applying to be in the club.”

Students began rehearsing at the end of January and met twice a week for nearly two hours.  But before rehearsals even began,  Vargas and her team spent about six months planning and developing themes for the production.

“ I try to design a theme before selecting any poems,” Vargas said. “This year, I wanted to have more interaction between [the] two students  in the poems – and used nursery rhymes.”

But this year’s production featured much more than a clever poem about Humpty Dumpty, which was clearly a hit with the younger audience members.

“We also built in the songs and dancing, just to highlight the other talents of the students,” Vargas said. “For those I try to use current musical pieces that are on the market.”

Vargas credits the success of Wednesday’s production not only to the student performers but also to assistant directors/parent assistants Karen Millan and Jean Maves and teachers Nicki Fagust and Katie Donivan.

The director also praised assistants Nick Millan and Brandon Fagust from , Will Vargas, Jasmine Vargas and Shelby Legion of and BHS senior Malika Kelly, who choreographed the dance routines for “Right Round” and “Firework” and taught students the moves for “Gotta Keep Reading.”

Year after year, after the applause has died down and the props and costumes are all packed away, Vargas knows a far greater goal has been reached for students in the after-school club.

“[The program] has built up the confidence of many who were virtually non-talkers before," she said. "It has also increased the reading levels of quite a few of the students who participated – not to mention how special they feel on the day of their performances to their peers, parents and friends.

"It has a tremendous impact on all the students.”