“Share. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Don’t take things that don’t belong to you. If you hurt someone, say you’re sorry. ...”
These are just a few of the lessons imparted in the opening song of “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” the opening show of Ardmore Little Theatre’s 2008-09 season.
But cast members — especially first-timers — have learned their own set of lessons from participating in the show, which director Nick Sweet describes as “chicken soup for the stage.”
Based on Robert Fulghum’s best-selling books, “Kindergarten” takes a light-hearted look at adulthood and how and why each of us has changed from that innocent, eager young child willing to do anything that was asked of him or her.
The show draws a thread through a person’s growing-up year and reveals how along the way we all lose the “Yes” in us — the willingness to take a chance. And it urges us all to take back that “Yes” and reapply it to our lives.
That principle is nowhere applied more appropriately than in the attitudes and risk-taking shown by the cast members who had never auditioned for a show before, or who are stepping onto the ALT stage for the first time in “Kindergarten.”
In audition notices, the show was billed as a good opportunity for theater novices to get their feet wet. “Kindergarten” is unusual in that it is being staged in a series of vignettes that are played by a cast of 25 people. There are songs in the show, but they don’t require Broadway-caliber voices, so some people who might not have a chance in the spotlight as either an actor or singer are finding themselves doing both.
“This gives people a chance who would have been in a chorus and not have a line in the show to be able to be a lead in a segment,” Sweet said. “This show is full of very positive, life-affirming stories. It’s not particularly hip or edgy or anything like that. But it celebrates the positive qualities that we have, but have forgotten that we have. It’s a ‘can-do’ show.”
And those qualities are part of what attracted new actors to participate in auditions.
Jackie Hill said she read the audition notice in the newspaper and was encouraged by the fact this show called for novice actors to participate. In the process of rehearsing for the show, Hill has learned something about ALT and about herself.
She learned “that I have more nerve than I though I had. It was on my ‘bucket list.’ And the story lends itself to the actors being able to do some things and having some free time. That way, you don’t have the stress of carrying a whole monologue by yourself.”
Toni Hignight is another first-timer and said she was encouraged to come to auditions by fellow cast member Jeanne Balcerak, who has participated in previous ALT shows.
“So, I decided to come to auditions because late in life I decided that you should do some things to step out of your box,” she said.
Chasity Strebeck had never been on stage before. She also saw the audition notice that called for “newbies,” so she took a chance and was cast in the show.
“It’s everything I expected it to be,” she said. “The people are really cool and I know I’m going to do it again. I should have done it a long time ago.”
Nathanael Durbin is no stranger to the stage. He performed two shows this summer at The Brass Ring and has done “a million” shows at Dickson, where he is a senior, and at his church. But this is his first ALT venture.
“I wanted to do a bunch of shows here, but I never had the time until now,” he said. “Now that I’m a senior, I don’t have that many classes, and I can stay out later, so it was perfect.”
The other newcomer, Lonnie White, has an impressive resume — performing in a little theater in high school, and having several movie roles throughout his youth, including walk-on roles in John Wayne flicks.
He attended the University of Arizona on a theater scholarship and was in an off-Broadway production of “South Pacific.” But “Kindergarten” has allowed him to get back into acting now that he’s older. And he still has plenty to learn from the experience.
“I think the show is grounded in truth,” he said. “If you stop to think about it, the way that we treat people, if you go right back to your kindergarten years, the world would be a much better place.”
Although she has plenty of acting, singing, directing and costuming experience, this is Gina Quary’s first time as a music director for ALT. She decided to take a chance and do something outside what people at ALT expect from her. And she has gained personal insight from the experience.
“I’ve done everything else there is to do down here except direct,” Quary said. “I have directed outside of this theater, and I’m always looking for a challenge and a way to expand my creativity.
“By doing this, I’ve learned to trust myself and to trust my own instincts,” she said.
'Kindergarten' Cast List
Brian Alexander
Taloa Alexander
Jeanne Balcerak
Steve Brandenburg
Carl Clark
Fred Collins
Lisa Cowan
Nathanael Durbin
Aaron Edge
Brian Edge
Anna Flatt
Jackie Hill
Toni Hignight
Mary Ann Keester
Sharon Postoak
Mike Quary
Peggy Ritter
Jon Scott
Leah Simmons
Chasity Strebeck
Chuck Watterson
Lonnie White
Director — Nick Sweet
Musical Director — Gina Quary
Stage Manager — Chemane Scott
Performance Dates — Sept. 18-21 at the Charles B. Goddard Center
Tickets — $10 for adults and $6 for students
