Monday also was the first time the Evergreen Forest Elementary School students had ever stepped onto a big stage.
“I felt a little scared, because it was pretty big,” said Jasmine Jones, 8, who plays a stinkbug in the musical “Bugz.”
“I thought the stage would be smaller.”
“I wasn’t scared, because my mom works here,” said Willie Dean, 8, whose mom is North Thurston High School physical education teacher Erika Dean.
“I’m excited about performing all the music,” added the second-grader, who plays the army ant sergeant.
All three second-grade classes of Evergreen Forest did a dress rehearsal of “Bugz,” which they will perform at the North Thurston Performing Arts Center at 7 tonight.
Eddy, who retired from teaching fourth-graders at Evergreen Forest three years ago, said the elementary school didn’t have a space large enough for 70 students and their families. She also said the lighting in the school’s gym wouldn’t work for some of the lighting effects she wanted.
When she called the district’s performing arts center to see if she could use the center’s equipment, the theater manager offered to rent the stage to the school.
“What an opportunity,” Eddy said. The school’s PTSO, which raises money for school programs, paid to rent the stage, for high school student technical crew, and for the buses for dress rehearsal. Several parents made the costumes, Eddy said.
She said second-grade teacher Mark Rue asked her to direct his class in a musical, but the project soon grew to include the other second-grade classes and also involved the art classes.
Rue said his class also learned about insects and connected the lessons with some characteristics of the insects that students portray onstage.
Eddy said that, along with learning about music and art, the students gained confidence in class by learning how to deliver their lines onstage.
“The teachers can see the value of this in education,” she said.
Jasmine said that after her initial reaction to the stage, she was having fun at the dress rehearsal.
“I like the costume,” she said. “It’s funny. It has a diaper stuck on it.”
Devin Simmer, 8, who plays the dragonfly, said he was looking forward to performing in front of an audience.
“I’m excited about all the people who are going to go see it,” he said.
Venice Buhain: 360-754-5445
www.theolympian.com/edblog
