Students gather in the theater. Some freshmen and sophomores are sitting on the ground in a circle as upperclassmen girls socialize on the stage and the few guys converse in legitimate seats. People are a combination of nervous and excited. While the very thought of getting to be part of another production is definitely exciting, the choice in show may not be so popular among cast members.

Now that everyone has recovered from Crazy for You, GHS actors are ready to jump back into the next production. People were skeptical when they heard that the spring production would be a show that was meant for younger kids in the 80s, known as “How to Eat Like a Child.” Even the side notes written in the margins of the script, such as telling kids to learn the violin or making it seem as though a range of more than an octave is rare, were a little unnerving. As high schoolers, no one really wanted to pretend to be a ten year old. While the energetic and odd auditions, which involved a lot of improv, did help settle some nerves, the first rehearsal was filled with everyone bad-mouthing the show until the director (Ann Davison) and the choreographer (Jessica Davison) walked in and they got to work. The first order of business? Jump rope. Ms. Davison pulled a long rope out of her bag and the actors began to jump rope, with a person on each end.

“I thought she was a little bit crazy,” Anna Mullins, a member of the cast, recalled. “Like, she actually brought in a rope that we were going to jump with but I trusted her creative genius.”

The jump rope was just one piece in the show that’s slowly coming together. Excitement filled the eyes of all of the student actors (ranging from freshmen to seniors) when Ms. Davison shared her idea to put a slide on stage for one of the most interesting entrances some of the actors have ever experienced. Between that, the jump roping, the Newsies-like mesh to be placed upstage, and being told about the possibility of a swing on stage, the student actors were suddenly ecstatic at the thought of an onstage playground.

“I want a slide on stage, that’d be awesome!” Anna exclaimed. Everyone got a little bit brighter and a lot less anxious upon hearing all of the marvelous ideas existing in the director’s mind.

Although what Ms. Davison and Miss Jessie are putting together alone is astonishing, they are not the only people taking on the group of actors. Victoria Alvarado, who directed the fall production of Peter Pan here, is also part of the crew as the music director. The three of them all are part of BYPC (Bedford Youth Performance Company) where they teach students, ranging from two-year-olds to seniors in high school, theater every day.

“Everyone’s really nice and Victoria’s awesome, she doesn’t talk down to us like we’re children and laughs at our jokes,” Anna spoke of Victoria, who she regularly takes classes with on Thursdays.

The show will be put on the stage on Friday, May 4th and is bound to be loads of fun to watch. This is one show that is not worth missing, so get ready for the trip to childhood. With enjoyable music, laughable lessons, and relatable scenes, attending this show would not be a mistake. “It’s going to be exciting,” Anna commented. “You get to relive your childhood, it’ll be fun to watch.”