About 45 students at Everson Elementary worked together for over three months to prepare a performance of the play “The Fairy Tale Network” for fellow students. 
 
“This is something that I’ve been really dreaming about doing for many years,” says Sarah Jane Adkins, kindergarten teacher. “I previously went to a private preforming arts college for theater and grew up on stage. I found that theater gave me a sense of belonging I was desperate for as a child and that is one of the many reasons I wanted to bring it to our school.” 
 
Bring it, Adkins did. The third through fifth grade students are all part of an after-school program and while many have roles as actors, others have worked on stage management, sound design and set design. Adkins says reading and fluency provide positive byproducts of play practices. 
 
“Over the past few years, we’ve been doing talent shows,” she says. “These are great opportunities for those outgoing kids who love to perform and be in front of an audience, but the thing I love about plays is there is a bigger opportunity for those kids who do not want to be on stage.”
 
The play included nine students who remained behind the scenes. “These kids are truly running the show,” she says, “one who has been helping with sound design, three who designed our sets and five who are managing the actors.” 
 
The play features three mice tasked to come up with a new hit television show to save the fledgling Fairy Tale Network. The play features cameos from classic fairytales, such as Goldilocks, the Three Pigs and Little Yellow Riding Hood (because red is so last season). 
 
“I have been most proud of the way these students came together to make this production happen,” Adkins says. “Kids who jump in to help read lines, paint the sets, go on stage to fill in for absent kids, come up with ideas for scenes to make them even better and take on leadership roles. These kids have taken ownership of this play. It feels community driven because these kids care so much about making it the best it can be.”