Brookwood to get its hooks into ‘Peter Pan’
Brookwood students of all ages will take a trip to the second star to the right when the school’s musical production of Peter Pan opens this February The show is a familiar classic, with music and a script that are very much unchanged from its original Broadway release in 1954.
Who can forget Tinkerbell, the Lost Boys and Captain Hook? We often remember the storyline, said show director Jimmy Kontos, “but we kind of forget the vegetables — the kind of stuff we sneak in for the kids when they’re not looking,” he said. “All the stuff about growth, maturation and responsibility.”
New to Brookwood this year, Kontos is a Tallahassee native with more than 20 years of experience teaching and developing theatrical curriculum in universities, public schools and private conservatories. He has directed and produced over 40 productions in the regional and academic arenas and has taught performance classes at institutions such as Florida State University, Ringling College of Art and Design and the University of Alabama.
Peter Pan is still done worldwide at an unbelievably high rate, Kontos said.
“The music is good and the script is strong, but truthfully, it’s about the magic of the story,” he said.
That magic, of course, will include flying for some of the characters. Brookwood has hired an international group called Flying by Foy, known as the industry standard for creating aerial effects sequences in performances across the world. Foy’s trained flying directors work in close collaboration with directors, choreographers, designers and performers to ensure safety and a realistic effect.
“It takes a lot of hands and a lot of bodies to do a show well,” Kontos said. “This is a collaborative art form.”The school’s annual musical is one of the few activities that includes students from Junior Kindergarten through the 12th grade.
“We don’t have a lot of activities that have as wide a swath of impact,” said David Grooms, Upper School Director and the show’s producer. “It promotes a sense of community — of family Just like any team, you become a family during the production process.”
To be able to use such a wide range of children in the production is really going to help bring it to life, Kontos added.
“They’re going to help create the story,” he said. “It’s going to be fascinating to see it from their point of view.”
Aside from a magical performing experience, students will garner skills that can only be learned in the performing arts.
“We teach the theatrical skills they need to achieve to put on a good production, but predominantly we get to work on the person,” Kontos said. ‘We get to build things like confidence. We get to build things like self-awareness.”
Peter Pan will be shown at the Thomasville Municipal Auditorium Feb. 8,9, 10,2019. The community is invited and encouraged to attend.
Students will audition for the show on Saturday, Oct. 6, on Brookwood’s campus. Those auditioning should remember this: all you need is faith, trust and a little bit of pixie dust.
Brookwood School
Located in Thomasville, GA, Brookwood School is a private school for grades JK-12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.