Hampton Drama Club Presents "The Lion King Jr."

                                                              by The Hampton Herald Staff
The Hampton Drama Club is performing the “Lion King Jr.” March 1st and 8th at 7:00 p.m. and March 2nd and 9th at 3:00 p.m.
 
              The Drama Club at Hampton is made up of third-fifth graders.  Students auditioned in September.  For their auditions, students had to read some lines and sing a song.  All students who auditioned were cast in the play.
 
              Four teachers at Hampton are in charge of the drama club.  Mr. Willmore is the director, Mrs. Fletcher is the musical director, Mrs. Stock is in charge of props, and Ms. Patek is the choreographer. 
 
              Mr. Willmore brought the idea of a drama club to Hampton a few years ago.
 
              “When I was younger, my sister (who is an actress in Hollywood) got me into theatre, and it changed my life.  It made me more outgoing and I found something I’m very passionate about.  I want to provide the same opportunity for students at Hampton,” said Mr. Willmore.
 
              The passed few years, the Drama Club has performed several Disney plays including “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Mermaid.”  This year Mr. Willmore and Mrs. Fletcher decided to do “The Lion King.”
 
              “The Lion king is a great story with memorable songs.  We always like to pick something that the community will either know or enjoy.  This show is a good balance of funny and heartfelt,” Mr. Willmore said.
 
              The Drama Club students have been rehearsing in September.  They rehearse after school until 5:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  In the beginning, they were learning their dances, lines, and songs.  Now, they are running the show over and over to fix little things.
 
              Besides the four teachers in charge, lots of other people in the Hampton community also help.  Several fifth and sixth graders are helping with stage crew.  Parent volunteers are also helping.   For example, some parent volunteers made animal costumes, such a giraffes and the Pumba costume.  Mrs. Towner, one of the art teachers at Hampton, designed the sets and lots of props for the play.  The Art Club helped paint several of the sets white, used paper mâché for the elephant graveyard, and made the lion masks.  Working on these projects can take a lot of time.
 
              “Some projects can take a while, some can take two days,” said Mrs.  Towner.
 
              On Tuesday, February 22nd the whole school got to see a preview of the show.  There were two performances to accommodate everyone.  Students and staff got to see a lot of the musical numbers including “Circle of Life,” “Just Can’t Wait to Be king,” “Hakuna Matata,” Shadowland,” and “Be Prepared.”
 
“Hakuna Matata was my favorite because it’s funny and I like that part in the movie, and the dance is funny,” said Joey P., a fourth-grade student.
 
              On Tuesday, February 27th, the Hampton staff was invited to watch the performance.
 
              “It gives the staff who cannot attend a weekend performance an opportunity to support their students and it gives The Drama Club members one more chance to perform in front of an audience before opening night,” said Ms. Patek, the choreographer for the show.
 
Lots of people are excited for the show this weekend!  The performers have been working very hard and the school community is eager to see what they have done.
 
              “I am excited to perform in front of an audience,” said Calvin C., a fourth-grade student and member of The Drama Club.
 
              Tickets for the performance are sold out for both weekends!  Over 1,000 tickets were sold among the four shows.
 
 
The Hampton Herald Staff would like to say “Break a Leg” to our staff members who are performing: Julia, Calvin, Paige, and Sanjay.  We would also like to send congratulations to Calvin and Brady for helping with the sets and props with The Art Club!