Third grade students at the Fostertown Elementary School in the Newburgh Enlarged City School District presented “The Legend of Mulan” in a series of performances in November.
The young students performed on stage while also working behind the scenes as stage crew under the guidance of Director and Creative Academic Specialist, Amy Kosturik. The third graders managed the lights, sound, video, and other aspects of coordinating the show.
“The importance of collaboration and the development of a cast and crew ‘team’ is encouraged and nurtured throughout small group rehearsals and full rehearsals,” the playbill read. “The goal is to have our students practiced and prepared to insure a feeling of confidence when speaking to an audience.”
In addition to directing the production, Kosturik also managed the choreography, costuming, and sets. Numerous other teachers chipped in to fulfill various roles. Joan Oldale-LaPoint was in charge of the musical compositions while Selena Petrilli supervised the music. Ashley McGuire managed the stage crew. Lisa Hawes managed the props; Kathy Guzman supervised Martial Arts; and Kathy Coffey and Milagros Loayza served as the backstage managers.
The roles of the students were equally as important in putting on the production. The crew consisted of Student Director Evan Hannigan, Student Stage Manager Ethan Iturralde, Music Assistant Haamee Rehman, Prop Assistants Christian Gomez and Alexander Garcia, Curtain Operator Quinlan Watford, Lighting Operator Zyair Coleman, and Curtain Pagers Jayden Oliva and Valayja Frazier.
The five scenes consisted of multiple students from different third grade classes. The starring role of Mulan was divvied up between scenes by Lillie Hinds, Camila Pena, Ella Morales and Cadence Fuentes.
The show additionally featured a “Dancing Ladies” ensemble and an “Imperial Soldiers” ensemble.
