This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Beauty and the Beast Jr. Combines Entertainment, Outreach

The play will be held June 10 at Wentzville Christian Chuirch.

’s upcoming youth production of Beauty and the Beast Jr., like all the previous plays the church has produced, will combine entertainment with a chance to show the public what the church has to offer.

"It still falls under outreach, it’s just for a different age group," said church member Tammy Rodenbaugh, who is coordinating the play.

The play, which has "Jr." added to it because it is shorter with less dialogue and fewer songs than the original stage show, also has messages that are appropriate for a church setting.

Find out what's happening in Wentzvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"There are really good lessons and values--stay true to yourself, acceptance of others and not being judgmental," Rodenbaugh said. "There are some really nice lines between Belle and the Beast that speak to that."

The play, which will be performed at 7 p.m. June 10 at the church, has a cast of 54 youngsters from around the area. The cast members, all in eighth grade or younger, auditioned April 16 and have rehearsed just once since then. During that first three-hour rehearsal, they learned the songs "Gaston" and "Be Our Guest."

Find out what's happening in Wentzvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"That was pretty huge, but those are two of the biggest staging numbers," she said.

But the bulk of the rehearsal and fine-tuning will take place during an intensive weeklong Youth Summer Drama Camp held June 5-10 at the church.

"The kids are responsible for learning all of their lines and all of their music," Rodenbaugh said. "There’s very little harmony--most of it is melody. They will come to camp on June 5, and they will perform it on June 10."

That gives them six, four-hour days of camp, for a total of 27 hours of rehearsal from first meeting to first lines in front of a real audience.

"We have the extra rehearsal--we’ve done that every year to kind of get a jump start on the most difficult choreography and staging. So we hit the ground running on Sunday the fifth, and the kids work really hard," Rodenbaugh said. "It would never work with adults, but this works with kids. They blow our minds every year."

Rodenbaugh said youngsters have a singularity of focus that adults often lack, which makes it easier for the kids to learn a play in a short time span.

"Kids just absorb it," she said. "Their parents complain that they know the music now too, because it’s being played day and night. Kids are so much less cluttered. They’re just so excited about it. They’re living and breathing it. They get to camp, and hopefully by Wednesday afternoon we’ll be able to run the show. Then Thursday and Friday are fine-tuning and a dress rehearsal."

After some "get to know you" games, the cast works on staging, choreography and music.

"Part of the time they’re all together," she said. "Part of the time we split them up, so they’re not bored. There’s very little sitting around."

For instance, if Beast and Belle (played by seventh-graders Jenna Huftleiss and Thomas Fischer) are on stage rehearsing a scene, everyone else might be at the back of the auditorium reviewing the choreography for "Be Our Guest."

The music is all on a CD, which streamlines rehearsal.

"There’s not a live band playing, so that helps," she said.

High school and college students lend a hand with the instruction.

"Kind of like an internship," Rodenbaugh said. "It’s kids who are involved in the theater and/or pursuing a career in secondary education. So they learn the other side of the production that way."

Jimmy Cambron, the director of the play, is a senior heading to Missouri State in the fall to become a theater teacher.

"Jimmy just played Friedrich for us in The Sound of Music. I watched him grow up since he was a sixth-grader, doing shows at school. And he’s done all the shows at the church. So now it’s his turn to take the helm and try his hand at teaching."

High schoolers help with the lights, the costumes and all aspects of the on-stage production. The young cast members "love" getting direction from slightly older young people.

"They’re like, ‘Wow, it’s so cool because we’re with these big kids.’ They really look up to them, and they respond to them very well," Rodenbaugh said. "It’s very positive for the younger kids to see good role models, good Christian role models who are involved in positive things. They’re setting good examples for them. And the older kids get reminded why we like this so much too, from the enthusiasm of the (younger) kids."

The cast and crew represent many different denominations, but they still pray together during rehearsal breaks.

"Some of the older ones will actually talk about religious things," Rodenbaugh said.

Rodenbaugh, who does everything from help with choreography and fix costumes to prepare snacks, loves seeing the young cast become friends.

"It’s really great to see these kids come together, because they’re from all different backgrounds and areas...It’s very uplifting," she said.

Beauty and the Beast Jr. can be seen at 7 p.m. June 10 at Wentzville Christian Church, 1507 Highway Z. The show is free, but a free will offering will be taken.

For more information, call the church at 636-327-6622.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Wentzville