LOGAN SQUARE — The hottest ticket in Logan Square is for Avondale-Logandale Elementary School's student-run show this weekend, with the young crew of performers pulling double duty as showrunners.
It’s a learning experience for the cast of nearly 40 students — kindergarten through eighth grade — who perform a range of stage duties from spotlight, soundtrack, stage, costume and makeup direction to acting, singing and dancing.
(DNAinfo/Darryl Holliday)
The dress rehearsal for “Shrek Jr.” Wednesday night revealed a sort of organized chaos that came neatly together in a downright impressive performance.
You can still score tickets to the weekend event, which is open to the public April 30 to May 2 at the school auditorium, 2945 N. Sawyer Ave.
The theater program at Avondale-Logandale Elementary and Middle School “is where all of my imagination starts,” said 13-year-old Cynthia Juarez, who performs a range of on-set duties including makeup, wigs, props and an on-stage role as the play’s wicked witch. The seventh grader is absorbing her school lessons in hopes of becoming a choreographer, writer or photographer — or maybe a doctor.
“I love the fact that you get to be who you want on stage,” she said Wednesday. “If you want to be a wicked witch, you can be that here and not out on the street.”
"I want people to come to the show because little kids are giving up their time to perform for people — and if more kids got into theater maybe there would be less violence on the street,” she added.
At the Wednesday dress rehearsal, 12-year-old Brenna Hurtado explained her process for sewing and designing costumes, eighth-grader Antonio Martinez discussed the finer points of dragon-head operation as a backstage operator for one of the show’s main props, seventh-grader Shey Brown reprised his role as lead antagonist Lord Farquaad and 9-year-old Manuel Marron kept cool despite being draped head-to-toe in a Gingy the Gingerbread costume.
But the play is more than community entertainment — though it succeeds on that front as well — according to head director and Avondale-Logandale music teacher Michael Jones.
“I have no doubt in my mind that this show is going to be incredible,” he told the full cast, who gathered for a preshow sing-along circle and warm-up ahead of the dry run. “Over the last nine weeks many of you have stayed late doing costumes, memorizing your lines and practicing your dance moves. Most things in life are not 100 percent fun, but now is the fun part.”
All of it was possible because the students worked hard to be responsible and on-time for practice, said Avondale-Logandale kindergarten teacher Liz Dyrst.
(DNAinfo/Darryl Holliday)
Students may not miss more than two practices to remain in the program. Dyrst says that pushes shy students and kids who often require in-school discipline to work at their full potential and come out of their shells.
The school’s theater program is in its fourth year, with several plays under its belt, including renditions of "The Hobbit," "Seussical the Musical" and "A Charlie Brown Christmas" — a holiday performance Dyrst hopes to make into an annual community tradition at the school. The program has garnered sold-out shows, the support of the school’s administration and has major improvements each year.
With near-professional-grade sets, lights and grant-funded sound equipment, the quality of the productions are top notch, as are the performances of the students, 96 percent of whom come from low-income households.
Last year, the school was awarded a “Level 1+” rating from CPS, the highest possible.
“Gosh, well, it’s just so much fun,” Dyrst said. “It’s another way to enrich [students'] experience, by making the story come to life. And it takes them to a whole other level — by actually becoming it.”
Performances of "Shrek Jr." are Thursday, April 30, and Friday, May 1, at 6:30 p.m. and on Saturday, May 2, at 2 p.m. at the Avondale Auditorium at 2945 N. Sawyer. Tickets are $5 each, $12 for a “family pack” of four, or $100 for a VIP table that seats eight and includes free soft drinks and appetizers.
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