“What’s the first Disney movie you ever saw?” Blake McGready asked the kids in his theater camp.
The youngsters were sitting on the floor of a kindergarten room, where they had just rehearsed “The Little Mermaid.” The room was still cluttered with decorations from the school year.
The cast members are between 10 and 16 years old. Their hands shot up when Blake asked his question, and they started shouting out their answers. They didn’t have to think hard to remember their first Disney movie.
A 2010 Cornwall graduate, Blake eventually mentioned his first experience with Disney. “I cried at that movie,” a girl admitted.
“I didn’t cry,” the director responded (in case anyone was going to question his manhood) “but I never forgot it. I want you to remember the way you felt, and carry that excitement and enthusiasm into next Thursday night’s performance.”
On July 8, the group started meeting on weekday afternoons at Lee Road School. By the time Blake asked his question, the cast had just a week to go before its Aug.1 performance at the high school.
It’s an unusual group. The age range is wider than you would see in a school production, and there are many more girls than boys. Most of the girls appear to be older than their male counterparts. But that doesn’t affect the chemistry of the group.
During the Thursday afternoon practice, a young sailor delivers his line like a true Limey. “I’ll give it all I’ve got, captain,” he says to the skipper.
The entire cast laughs and claps. Blake likes the reaction, but he wants the line repeated and he tells the others not to applaud. The idea is to keep the dialogue moving, so the timing is right for the actual performance.
Attendance at the rehearsal is good, but not perfect. Occasionally, Blake or Sophie Rice (one of the counselors) join the action to read somebody’s lines. They move in and out of the scene quickly. Everything is fast-paced — even the instructions.
When a youngster giggles over a part of the script, Blake pretends to be offended. “I didn’t put that line in there for you to laugh it out,” he squawks. “Deliver it like Ricardo Montalban.!”
Apparently, the young actor is familiar with Mr. Montalban, because he nails the line on the second try. Later, Blake interrupts a dance scene to remind the kids that, since Ariel is a mermaid, she’s dancing for the first time and needs to be led.
After running through the show, the cast splits in three. One group goes with Sophie to paint sets. Another follows Blake onto the Lee Road stage. And a third group gathers around the piano, where John Hines (a returning counselor) helps them practice their songs. During the rehearsal, the harmonies sounded just right.
It’s apparent that this Theatre Camp cast is filled with the enthusiasm the director wants.
