Arcola Intermediate Drama Reflects on ‘Into the Woods Jr.’

The Drama Program of Arcola Intermediate School held a successful run of its 2013 spring musical, “Into the Woods Jr.,” from March 7 – 9.

Although there were only four performances of the musical, over 70 seventh and eighth-grade students, as well as volunteer parents and school staff, enthusiastically worked to make each of those performances a memorable experience for both themselves and the audience.

“To Ms. Mullen and all who worked really hard, we want to thank them,” Shayan Farmand, Arcola eighth-grade student who played The Baker in the musical, said. “They’ve been really great through the show.”

Shaun was referring to Angela Mullen, who has been with the school’s drama department for over a decade, and its director for the last three years.

According to Shayan, who was sitting in between rehearsals with fellow cast members, Mullen had wanted to do a very special spring musical, as she plans on retiring at the end of the school year.

Shayan and his fellow cast members said that Mullen had her eye on tackling the acclaimed Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical for years, knowing that it would be perfect for her middle school students to be introduced to the world of theater.

“It’s really interesting, because it’s a bunch of fairy tale stories in one,” Anne Jacob, eighth-grade student who played the Step Mom, said. “It’s interesting because kids of all ages can see the show and enjoy the fairy tales.”

Work and the Play

Mullen also wanted to make this year’s musical special by creating two sets of casts for the four performances, as well as a larger chorus of characters. Students interested in theater would then have the opportunity to participate. This action is in keeping with Mullen’s approach to inspiring youth toward the performance arts.

“My main objective has always been to teach the kids something about acting, impart a love of theater and to see that in the end they enjoy the hard work as they watch it all come together and take away a sense of community along with the memories,” Mullen said in an e-mail. “Over the years, I have been privileged to work with some of the finest Middle School students on earth.”

Mullen, who will retire from her academic position at Arcola this year, said she has always been impressed with the effort the middle school students exhibit when working on a role, particularly when exposed to the nuances of the craft.

“I took lead characters out into the hallway and worked on lines, miming and anything else to help them understand what they were supposed to be doing on stage,” Mullen said.

Such work depended on that year’s production, and ranged from miming to accents, as well as learning how to use make-up and stage beards.  She would also work with the students with their stage-combat or use a rope, as was the case with Arcola’s production of “Oklahoma!”

“The first few lessons were actually hazardous, as they tangled themselves up in their ropes,” Mullen recalled. “When I easily swung my lariat over my head and robed a chair, they looked at me in amazement and asked, ‘How do you know how to do that?’”

She said she knew that this year’s spring musical would be a difficult project for the students, but was confident in their work ethic and abilities.

“I knew I had the kids who could handle Sondheim,” Mullen said.

Most of the students who performed are also members of the school’s Chorus club, which holds performances throughout the community.

In addition to the cast, Mullen said she was privileged to also work with the backstage crews, the students and parent volunteers who work equally as hard to create the sets and costumes.

“We have a great program,” Penny Beckers, costume mistress, said of the costumes the drama program uses each year.

Beckers, who is in her sixth year volunteering with the drama program, has a daughter, seventh-grade student Ashley, who performed in the musical as Florinda, a stepsister.

Working with fellow parent volunteer Sophie Withers, Beckers attests to the hard work and dedication of the students, whose rehearsals last for hours at a time.

According to Withers, after auditions, the students worked every day after school (and some Saturdays) for the production—not to mention the hours spent rehearsing lines at home.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s definitely a lot of fun, because I’m making new friends,” Tyler Kimble, eighth-grade student who played Jack in Jack in the Bean Stock, said.   

Mullen said that all the effort pays off when she gets to see the students’ faces light up at the sound of an audience’s applause.

“That’s the moment I wait for,” Mullen said. “And, those faces tell me that every rehearsal, every long Saturday with our wonderful set builders and artists, was worth it just to see them light up and know that now they have a special memory to carry with them forever.”