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Pawling News Chronicle — November 15, 2007
 

Singing Sheep Hit Stage in Children’s Play
Local parent pens musical

By Weston Berg
11/15/2007

While it may be a while before pigs can fly, this weekend audiences will have the chance to see the next best thing when a cast of singing sheep take the stage in Kids Up Front’s production of “Shetland Valley Farm,” a musical written by Pawling’s own Aaron Emke.

The local software developer and father of 9-year-old son Noah — who’s among the cast of 19 youngsters who will take the stage this Friday and Saturday at Lakeside Park's Lathrop Building — penned both the comedy as well as all 12 of its songs in the tale of a sheep farm struggling.

“This is a play about sheep, which is a subject that’s been unjustly neglected in American musical theatre,” explained Emke. “Shetland Valley Farm” is his second musical. He wrote “The Hatmaker’s Daughters,” performed by the group in 2005, in an effort both to save money as well as to ensure everyone had a part to play.

“My wife (Amy) had been working with this group of kids as stage manager and director ... and she had been talking about how expensive the rights (to plays) were,” he said. Many times the number of boys and girls roles didn’t coincide with their needs.

“I thought if we just wrote something ourselves that would solve all our problems,” said Emke, who added that the story also gave his wife, who directs the musical, and producer Rachel Borsavage, an excuse to dress the children up in adorable sheep costumes.

The result is a 45-minute story about some very fashionable sheep and how they avoid almost certain doom at the hands of coyotes and an out-of-control fashion maven who wants to turn their farm into a wool-theme vacation resort.

Emke, who studied film at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where he met his wife, said he needed a little help from her before the play could be considered entirely family friendly. For example, they edited out a scene in which a socially conscious sheep, eager to end world hunger, donates to her cause in an unexpected way not all preschoolers might appreciate.

“My wife said that if any one of the beloved characters actually got killed it would be a bad idea,” said Emke. “In this version there's no longer any death.”

After composing a piano score for “Hatmaker’s Daughters” that he described as very simple, Emke said he took a more ambitious approach this time around, with more driving country and rock tunes with titles like “Shearing Day,” “Counting Sheep” and “Wool World.”

Although he says he’s not a musician, having composed all songs on the computer, the end result nonetheless makes for a hilarious experience.  Preproduction was quite involved.  In order to produce a rehearsal CD from which the children could learn the words and songs, the Emkes traveled back and forth to record in New York City, where Aaron’s brother, Devin Emke, a sound engineer for Saturday Night Live, helped them put everything together, playing guitar on tracks together with friends from “City Fritter,” a Los Angeles-based group on an East Coast tour, who agreed to contribute.

“I’m extremely excited,” said Emke. “It’s really coming together nicely. My parents are coming in from Kentucky to see it.”

In writing the play Emke said his goal was to create something that audiences of all ages would enjoy, and that would also challenge the young performers who range in age from 5 to 11.

“I find that in children’s literature, I think there’s a fear of making anything the slightest bit complicated,” he said. “I think children are sometimes smarter than they’re sometimes given credit for. I don't really dumb down the vocabulary.”

In the meantime he says he’s also in development of a play for older children called “The Wishing Scarf,” in which two friends discover a magical scarf, the power of which puts their friendship to the test. He’s also working on a non-musical work, called the “Quaker Lake Murders,” a comedy murder mystery set in Pawling. He says his work in Kids Up Front has provided him with an unexpected creative outlet.

“Obviously since I always went to film school, I thought I’d work in film,” he said. “Now this is something I’ve fallen into by fate. It's a lot of fun working with the whole family.”

After a couple of months of one day a week practices, Kids Up Front is now well into “Heck Week,” as Emke’s wife Amy, a teacher at Sunshine School and regular in the Pawling Theater Company, describes it.

“I’m thrilled about the play,” she said. “It’s very nice to do all these Disney shows but it’s so much more fun to do an original show.”

She said the uniqueness of the production also brings out the creativity in the children who become more bonded with their character, many offering advice and suggestions to help add to their character's personality.

“I can’t begin to tell how enthusiastic they are about their character,” she said. “You never know how kids are going to react but they loved it.”

“What comes out of their heads is completely new and original,” she said. “It’s really great to work with the kids in the creative process.”

The performance will take place this Friday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. and on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 2 p.m. at Lakeside Park. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youngsters. For more information, please call (845) 222-9204 or visit www.kidsupfront.org.

©Pawling News Chronicle 2007
Reproduced by permission
 

Pawling News Chronicle — November 17, 2005
 

Town Approves “Kids Up Front” at Lakeside Park

By John M. Benson
11/17/2005

 

“Kids Up Front,” the local non-profit children's theater group, received approval from the Pawling Town Board to host its workshops and productions in the auditorium in the Lathrop Center at Lakeside Park.

Cinderella, Prince Charming, Fairy Godmother, Stepmother and Anastasia and Drizella, the royal court and the town criers and the mice who were Cinderella’s only friends, they were all on stage at the “Kids Up Front” production this past weekend at the United Methodist Church in the Village of Pawling.

Infinitely charming and charged with the captivating, exhilarating joy that is unique to their age, the characters were all portrayed by children aged 5 to 11.

The children sang, danced and thoroughly delighted the packed house of a very appreciative audience. The actors would spot a parent or a friend in the audience, smile and wave in that youthful glee, and turn back and play out the scene. It was simply charming beyond description.

This enchanting company will now have its own home and its own stage in the heart of Pawling, in the Lathrop Center at Lakeside Park.

Rachel Borsavage and Amy Emke are the founders and directors of “Kids Up Front,” and it was they who presented the proposal to the Town Board and the Pawling Recreation Department.

Recreation Director Melissa Smith recommended that the board accept the proposal from this children’s theater company, because Borsavage and Emke operate the venture as a beginning, learning experience in theater for children in the community from the age of 5 to the teenage years. It is an educational experience that mixes theater games and rehearsal, and concludes with a production that generally involves a large cast.

The turnout for “Cinderella” was so great that the organizers separated the children into three casts of about 20 each, with the casts rehearsing in Pawling, Carmel and Patterson.

“We call each session a workshop, and that just means that we give the kids a total theater experience,” Borsavage said. “We teach them about theater, rather than just put on a show. We do that by playing lots of theater games, and doing a variety of things at rehearsals beyond simply rehearsing for the show. We do the games so they get a lot of enjoyment out of the experience. They learn how to work together as a cast, and they learn the basics, such as stage directions and how to work with props and all of the fundamental aspects of singing, dancing and acting on stage.

“Our mission is to offer young people an opportunity to participate in theater programs that celebrate community, culture, and art. This is a supportive, non-competitive environment where participants are encouraged to develop their creativity both as individuals and by working cooperatively with others, which builds character and strengthens self-esteem.

“Our slogan is ‘Theater for kids, by kids.’ Our goal is for the children to always have fun and feel good about themselves. The focus is not to put on the best show but to have the best experience.”

Parents and children have showered the organizers with testimonials that reflect the joy they experience in the workshops.

Young Rebecca wrote, “Hi, my name is Rebecca. I'm 9 years old. I love singing and acting. I love Kids Up Front because at the casting we played games about theater. After that all the people who wanted solo singing parts tried out and I got the part as Price Vince, one of the leads. I love Kids Up Front!”

Matthew Feehan wrote of his daughter’s experience, “Jill and I wanted to let you know what an incredible experience Kids Up Front has provided our daughter Riley. We have watched Riley’s comfort level with performing improve with each show. It has been exciting for us to watch her and we know her accomplishments with the total group have contributed greatly to building her self-esteem. We all know how difficult it is to speak in front of an audience, and it was really a thrill to see her in front of over a hundred people speaking so comfortably. It was interesting to hear the comments of our friends and family and how lucky they felt we were to have this opportunity for our children, as this opportunity is not available in their areas. Thank you for this wonderful experience and we look forward to many more performances.”

The company’s proposal to the town includes four workshops in the year 2006.

The Winter Workshop will be “Grease: School Version’ for youngsters 12 and up, with casting call on Tuesday, Nov. 29, and rehearsals and performances in March of 2006. This version of “Grease” has been tailored to be suitable to the youngsters.

The Spring Workshop for ages 5-11 will be “101 Dalmatians” with a casting call on March 28, rehearsals and productions in May and June.

The Summer Workshop, titled “Let’s Go To Broadway” is for all ages and features a workshop that meets five hours a day for two weeks in August.

“That is a really fun camp,” Borsavage said. “It runs for two weeks, and we meet every day from about 10 to 3, which really enables us to work a lot with the kids. We do the workshop around a Broadway show, such as ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ last year. The rehearsals and performances are just scenes that are done for the parents, but we also take them into the city to see the show. They make their own props and scenery, and they really get involved in the artwork and the total experience. We have also done ‘42nd Street’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast.’”

The Fall Workshop for ages 5-11 will be “The Jungle Book” with casting call in September, and rehearsals and production dates to be announced.

The “Kids Up Front” board of directors includes Rachel Borsavage, Amy Emke, Valerie Kagan, Mary DeBellis, Linda Ferri and Carole Gajdosik.

For information about the company and the workshops, or about sponsorships or advertising in the programs, call Rachel Borsavage at 222-9204 or visit the Web site at www.kidsupfront.org.

“Kids Up Front” is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

“Cinderella” was made available to “Kids Up Front” by Music Theater International.

©Pawling News Chronicle 2005
Reproduced by permission