We have lots of teams practicing every afternoon, and we have lots of teams that know the satisfaction of winning. I would count Children's Theatre as one. Over each of the past ten winters, Proctor students have conceptualized a play for a specific audience: first through fifth graders at local elementary schools.

This year, they significantly adapted an ancient, Japanese fable into a 30-minute production entitled "The Two Orphan Girls Who Made Withered Trees to Blossom." With minimal set and no props, the students, themselves, chose motions to evoke everything from trees and huts to water and vegetation....in the minds of boys and girls between 6 and 10 years of age.

The actors refined the story to capture the minds of little kids. Through extensive improvisation, they chose the motions and gestures that would stimulate the imagination.

For children from Webster, Danbury, Salisbury and Andover, the effect of the show is pure magic. Many have never seen a dramatic production before.

The actors fashioned the story to be rich with moral lessons, but with no condescension. The show moves quickly, with wit and wisdom. The generous prevail over the selfish, and then forgive. The audience is enraptured.

A third grade teacher said to me, "When have you seen 8-year-olds sit so still....their eyes so wide?"

In fact, as an adult observer at two recent performances, I found the faces and the behavior of the kids in the audience to be as fascinating as the actors'.

If Proctor Children's Theatre is a kind of community service--and it is--let's not undervalue the educational experience our student/actors gain. Six weeks of work...leaning on improv to explore possibilities...to capture the minds and attention of kids who are ten years younger....Wow! When the show is over, the cast lines up across the stage and invites questions. They come without end, until it's time to go back to spelling and arithmetic.

And consider the value of the answers they receive! "Yes, it's a little scary to act in front of a big crowd..." "I like the beginning of the play best, because we teach you to concentrate on our motions..." "We've been working on this since Christmas, and it's been the hardest, most fun thing I've ever done..."

Children's Theatres final production of "The Two Orphan Girls Who Made Withered Trees to Blossom" is Saturday at 11:00 AM in the Norris Theatre. You're invited.