Some days, after school lets out, I peek my head into the Rainbow Theater and watch the “Alice in Wonderland” rehearsals. It fills me with nostalgia as I reminisce on my time here as a student and the many plays and musicals that my classmates and I performed. My favorite part of Villa was music class and the after school theater program. When I was in 6th and 7th grade, Mr. Hagen was in charge of all things theater-related. He was eccentric and cool and middle schoolers were fascinated by him. He could dance well to many music types, had a breathtaking singing voice, and could do loads of different accents. In 6th grade, my music class and the 7th grade music class put on the “Mikado.” I was devastated when I didn’t get a leading role, but I remember the music being so lively and fun, and the costumes vibrant and beautiful. Later that year, ten other girls and I performed “Dolls of Poplar House,” which was short since it was only one act. There was no music in the performance, but it was an engaging story about young girls living at an orphanage. Since we were all females in the cast, as you can imagine there was a lot of giggling at rehearsals.

Some of the standout plays and musicals that I recall the most vividly are “Treasure Island” in the fall of my 7th grade, and “The Secret Garden” later that year in the spring. I played Jim Hawkins in “Treasure Island,” and I took the role so seriously at the time that I still remember a few of the songs by heart. In the “Secret Garden” I played Mrs. Sowerby, Dicken’s mother, and I had to speak in a somewhat Scottish accent for that part. According to my sister, however, at times I sounded more like a leprechaun. In one of the rehearsals, my friends and I discovered a secret staircase behind the Rainbow Theater that led up to the chapel via a fire escape. We shouldn’t have been sneaking around, but we were scared off anyways when we heard voices but didn’t actually see anyone in the chapel. From that point onwards, I truly believed the Villa ghost stories.

“Peter Pan” was another impressive play during my time at Villa. I wasn’t in this performance, but many of my friends had roles. The costumes, sets, and acting skill levels were remarkable for the age level. Mr. Hagen directed the performance, and he even brought in a company to do the flying effects. So when Peter, Wendy, and her brothers fly off to Neverland, they actually flew off on stage. They were, of course, attached to strings. A funny moment from that performance was when one of my good friends, Hayley Vanderwall (who was playing the part of a Lost Boy), drew back the string on a bow to shoot an arrow and snapped the bow in half. To this day, Hayley claims that to be her most embarrassing moment. It was entertaining nonetheless.

In my opinion, there’s something so empowering about stepping out on stage in the bright lights and performing in front of a crowd of people. Learning how to act, sing, and dance, then memorizing and performing those steps and lines helped me develop public speaking skills that I have carried on throughout life. Performing in front of people is no easy feat, but Villa gave me the confidence and charisma I needed. Teachers like Mr. Hagen taught me the importance of empathizing with characters in order to adequately reflect emotions theatrically. I’d like to say that I have good people skills now because of my experience with theater back in the day. I’m sure many Villa alumni can relate to feeling that theater in elementary school here was a positive and uplifting experience.

-Claire Smith ’03