Young Actors Bring 'Aladdin' to Life

Behind the metal doors of the Westchase Elementary cafeteria is a group of dedicated actors. They range in age from kindergarteners to high school students, and their passion and talent rival many seasoned professionals.

Though their YouTube video of their 2011 production of Cinderella has well over 1,000 hits, the Westchase Community Theater has remained one of the area's best-kept secrets.

Randi Mitchell, a volunteer theather mom, hopes it won’t stay a secret for long.

Mitchell and Vanessa Lewis, a Westchase Elementary music teacher, formed Westchase Community Theatre in 2008.

Several students who performed for Westchase Elementary, including Mitchell‘s daughter, were moving from elementary school to middle school where there was no theater program.

“The kids really wanted to act," Mitchell said. "They loved it. So I talked to Vanessa and said 'why don’t we do this.'"

Their first show was The Sound of Music.

Fast forward four years, a couple of locations and many dedicated volunteers later, and Westchase Community Theater found a home on the stage in the cafeteria at Westchase Elementary.

“We rent out this space,” Mitchell said. “Parents pay $100 (monthly) tuition and we rely on the advertising we sell in the program to support our theater to pay for things like our costumes and the rights to the musicals. We are self-supported by the community. We are always looking for advertisers and sponsors.”

Westchase Community Theater has successfully produced two other beloved musicals, Beauty and the Beast and Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella.

This weekend, the theater company will unveil its newest production Aladdin. The show runs April 20-22 and features 25 students ages 5 to 15.

Gabriel Jackson, 13, is playing both Aladdin and the sultan.

“I like to express myself using the lines; I like to change my voice on stage – different voices for Aladdin and the sultan," Gabriel said, explaining why he liked being part of the theater group. "I have three songs in this play and I enjoy singing.”

Westchase Community Theater is open to all local public, private and home-schooled students and every child gets the opportunity to be part of the musical, whether on stage or behind the scenes.

"There are no special requirements to join the theater. That was really, really important to me,” Mitchell said. “Anyone who wants to join can.”

Auditions and casting are done by Lisa Vorreiter, Alonso High School's director of drama.

While Mitchell is the co-producer of the current show, she maintains it's teamwork that keeps the theater going.

She credits her “partner in crime and best organizer in the world” co-producer Debbie Steinfeld, a Westchase Elementary fourth-grade Teacher of the Year for doing all the organizational hard work.

She also has a list of volunteers she says are the heart of the theater.

“Vanessa is our musical director; Lisa Moore, our set builder, and our choreographer is Marianne Banales," she said. "And our costumes are phenomenal. They are hand made by Carmen Conrad."

What Mitchell likes best about creating the theater is the kids’ reaction to performing.

“It’s amazing to watch the shy quiet kids blossom on-stage, belting out a tune. We are a non-pressure theater. We do this for fun. And we do put on a good show,” she said.

The live performances bring out the "star" in each child.

“The kids have no clue what they are capable of until they are on that stage. When the kids get out and there’s an audience in front of them, they shine,” said Mitchell. “They really shine.”

Want to go see the Westchase Community Theater's production of Aladin?

Upcoming performances at Westchase Elementary School, 9517 W. Linebaugh Ave. on Friday, April 20, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, April 21, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, April 22, at 2 p.m. Regular seating is $8 and VIP early entry front seating includes dessert and coffee for $16.

For tickets, information or to sponsor the theater, email: WestchaseTheater@yahoo.com. Student registration for Westchase Community Theater begins in August.