Elementary School Drama Club Puts On Beauty And The Beast

Scot Orser jumped up and down, clapped his hands and high-fived a few others in his vicinity, for he was about to get pushed off a balcony.

And Orser, 10, couldn’t have been more excited.

Sure, the balcony was at best a foot off the ground, and there would be someone there to spot him. But he was still looking forward to his first chance at rehearsing the scene he had been most looking forward to in the Congers Drama Club’s rendition of Beauty and the Beast. The Congers Drama Club is an after school group of fourth- and fifth-graders at Congers Elementary School that was started five years ago by Mindy Mosher, a local parent, and puts on one play a year. The group will put on their play May 19 and 20 at 7 p.m. at Congers Elementary, and tickets are on sale for $5.

Orser, one of the 50 kids in the show, plays Gaston, the hunter seeking Belle’s hand in marriage, and he just stabbed Beast in the shoulder with a blade. After a brief tussle, Orser is sent flying backward off the balcony, causing him to land on the ground on his side. He lay motionless for a brief second that was interrupted by a round of applause from his cast mates, and then hopped up with a large smile.

This is the second year Orser has taken part in the Congers Drama Club play, after playing Mongo in last year’s High School Musical. He said he returned this year because of how nice the directors, Mosher and Jane Provenzano, were and because he likes performing. 

“[Plays] are fun,” he said. “I like that we get to show the talent of being an actor or actress.”

Another thing Orser liked last year was that he also had a few lines in the show. This year he has a much bigger part, which requires a bit more memorization.

“I try to practice for about an hour a day,” he said. “My mom, dad and younger brother help me.”

Rosario Graziano, 10, also said he practices for about an hour each day, maybe a little more. Graziano is one of the two kids playing Beast, as Mosher said the roles of Beast and Belle are played by two kids each to give more a chance in the spotlight. This is Graziano’s first ever play.

“I saw the great job they did last year,” he said. “I wanted to try it and I like to sing.”

Not only has Isabella D’Amico, 11, been a part of the Congers Drama Club before, she’s even done Beauty and the Beast before as well. D’Amico, who plays Mrs. Potts, has acted in a number of plays with the Helen Hayes Youth Theater’s summer camp. The first time, she played Lady With A Cane, Fork and a wolf.

“I love singing and dancing,” she said. “And I really like getting to put on shows with other actors.”

Like Orser, Graziano was also excited to practice one of the more graphic scenes in the play. His favorite part of the show is when Belle leaves the castle only to be attacked by wolves in the forest, and when a stick she picks up doesn’t deter the oncoming wolves, Beast fends them off.

“I get to the throw people, and I save someone’s life,” he said. “It’s really fun.”

But to put on the show, the kids need a balcony to get pushed off and a stick to flail at the wolves. This is where Mosher, Provenzano as well as other parents and volunteers come into play. Mosher said the balcony was made by the dad of a kid in the play, and it was then painted by Provenzano. The stick, however, took less effort and was found in the Congers Elementary parking lot last week. This mix of professionalism and convenience is perhaps on no bigger display than with the costume for Chip, the teacup and Mrs. Potts’ son. The top portion of the costume is rented, with a teacup hat that covers the entire hear and round disc that is worn around the neck to make the actor look like a teacup. The bottom part is a drink cart and white cardboard box where Nicole Turnick, who plays Chip, can sit.

Mosher said the costumes are either rented or made by the volunteer parents, or some combination of them. When she started the Congers Drama Club five years ago, Mosher had kids in the group to work crew and help paint things, but that was a bit too hectic, she said. Instead, Provenzano handles most of the art for the shows now.

“Five years ago I came because my daughter was in the group, and she told Mindy that I was good artist, so Mindy grabbed me and told me to start painting,” Provenzano said. “And now I’m the co-director, and most of this stuff has been sitting in my garage for a few months while I paint it with my daughter.”

Mosher said she met Provenzano through the Drama Club, and they quickly became close friends. Provenzano’s daughter was in the first three year shows, but has since graduated on to middle school, yet Provenzano has stayed with the Drama Club, which she and Mosher said is the only drama club in the county for only elementary school students.

“It comes down to the moments when they absolutely nail it,” Provenzano said. “When they get it exactly right, and they run off stage, and they’re just so happy and proud, I just start to tear up.”

When Mosher started the group, her son was one of the actors in the show, and although he’s in high school now, he still helps put on the shows. Mosher’s two daughters are in second and third grade, but she gave them tiny parts in this year’s show.

“They have to come to rehearsals with my everyday, and they were just sitting there watching us,” Mosher said. “So I said, ‘This is ridiculous’ and gave them something to do.”

Karyn Reck also has two children in the show, Jessica, who’s in fourth grade, and Julianne, who is in kindergarten. Similar to Mosher’s children, Julianne was coming to rehearsal everyday and just sitting around while her mom helped get the show in order. So now Julianne will let the audience know when it’s time for an intermission by walking across the stage with a sign.

“The kids really love it,” said Reck, who helps out backsage with sets, props and facepainting. “For elementary school kids, they really put on a great show. It’s really fun to watch.”

The group has been rehearsing since October, when they met once a week. In February it jumped to twice and week and the two weeks leading up to the show, when everything really gets put into place, Mosher said, they meet five days a week.

“I started it to give kids something to do after school, because not all kids like sports,” Mosher said. “If you don’t play sports or dance, there’s not much else to do at such a young age.”

While the group has always been in the 40-50 kid range, Mosher said this year is the first they’ve had a big set piece, like the balcony, and a volunteer choreographer, Vicki Giannetti, the owner of Vicki’s Dance Studio on Maple Ave. in New City. Even with the growth, Mosher thinks the goal of the club will be the same.

“It gives kids a boost of self confidence to put on a show,” she said. “They get to feel good about themselves. And they get to pretend to be a prince or princess.”