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<\/a>Through the use of puns, director Mark Arapostathis made sure to give every character a unique name. With characters named Lady Luck, Duke of Hazzard, Maid JaLook and Sir Upp, Arapostathis is trying be fun while ensuring no one will be cast as a tree or a nameless guard.<\/p>\n
The student cast performs on stage at the Kroc Center with professional scenery, costumes and a full orchestra, which is why each production costs about $50,000. However, acting plays more of a supporting role to the main program\u2019s main objective.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal set for the Peter Pan Junior Theater isn\u2019t to put on a show; it\u2019s character and leadership,\u201d Arapostathis said . \u201cWe\u2019re using theater as a mechanism to teach those qualities to children.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arapostathis, who has been the theater\u2019s director for 22 years, says the program teaches skills that go beyond the stage, with self-control being one of the first character traits taught to kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnstage, you\u2019re going to be playing the part. You\u2019re not going to be yourself, you\u2019re going to play someone else, so you have to have a lot of mental acuities and self-control,\u201d Arapostathis said. \u201cAlso, when you\u2019re onstage, you have to have self-control because if you break character, it\u2019s distracting to the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n Arapostathis says even if a student is unable to pursue a career in acting, the skills he or she learns will aid them for the rest of their life. He mentioned Jay Heiserman, a former alumnus, who participated in Peter Pan Junior Theater as a student and practiced set design for the program a few years later. Heiserman is now the Art Director for the Emmy-winning Ellen DeGeneres Show.<\/p>\n Robert Kuhne originally founded Peter Pan Junior Theater in 1970, and it has continued to thrive in part because the students love it and tell their friends about it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like you form a family,\u201d said seventh-grader Elaine Alfaro, who is playing Princess Winnifred. \u201cIt\u2019s really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI like theater because I get to be someone else for a while, then go home and be myself,\u201d said eighth-grader Katie Henry, who is playing Princess No. 12.<\/p>\n Both Katie and Elaine are participating for their third year, and as older kids, they\u2019re expected to set an example for the younger children.<\/p>\n \u201cWe expect that the older kids will act as leaders to the new kids who are coming into the theater,\u201d Arapostathis said. \u201cAnd what we teach them is \u2014 leadership is not simply bossing someone around. In fact, very rarely is true leadership about managing, it\u2019s about serving.\u201d<\/p>\n As a volunteer-run organization, parents are required to assist with the production by joining two of the 12 committees that help with everything from costumes to concessions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe new ones are wide-eyed at the first meeting, but at the end, they\u2019re eager to be involved,\u201d said Kelley McGue, production manager.<\/p>\n<\/a>
(Courtesy Peter Pan Junior Theater)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a>
1970. (Courtesy Peter Pan Junior Theater)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n