The Circle

Issue date: 4/15/04 Section: Entertainment

Left to right, Stephen Cubbellotti, Beth Apfel, Eddie Grosskreuz, and Jessica Lane, read the Jabberwocky book during their performance of "Through the Loooking Glass."

Marist College Council on Theater Arts takes the local Poughkeepsie school children to Looking Glass Land in their annual children's theater production.

Throughout the week of March 29, 22 local schools and some day-care centers came to the Nelly Goletti Theater for the 35 year to watch Looking Glass Land. The play, written by James DeVita, combines Alice and Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and brings in more characters, such as The Responsibilities.

Mary Patterson, the play's producer, said children's theater is a great experience for the cast because they can be as crazy as they want and the children get a chance to go to a theater production.

"It is a different experience for them (the children)," said Patterson. "To be so interactive and be able to greet the cast afterwards is just so cool for them."

First grade teacher at Columbus Elementary School, Ada Operowsky, said they come every year and always try to incorporate the show into their classes.

"It gives our children the chance to see a college performance," Operowksy said. "We usually don't get buses so this is a nice walking trip for us."

Jessica Hovenstine, Psychology/Special Education major, said that she would take her classes to see MCCTA's children theater performance in the future.

"You can tell the actors are enthusiastic and students respond to that, but I would make sure my students were familiar with Alice in Wonderland," said Hovenstine.

The typical ages that attend the show are from three to nine years old. Amanda Nietzel, director along with Aimee Blackton, said that once the children are about seven or eight they start acting as if they are too cool to enjoy the show.

The show is open to the public on the weekend and Nietzel said many people will bring their children then. She said the shows are not any different, except they do not do the sing-alongs before the weekend shows begin.

Since the shows do run twice a day throughout the week, there are two casts to help accommodate everyone's schedule.

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