Matilda Junior Show
Timothy Edwards Middle School Produces ‘Matilda’ the musical.
Timothy Edwards Middle School puts on its annual performance with the show Matilda Junior.
March 2nd, marked the first day of four performances for the annual musical at Timothy Edwards Middle School. This year, the students are performing the classic story of Matilda, a nine-year-old who uses her new-found powers to fight back against her inhumane parents and cruel principal.
Much like in the show “Matilda”, children in middle school are learning their own powers through participation in the show-making process. The hard work behind the scenes does not go unnoticed by the more than 50 audience members gathered to celebrate that hard work and the dedication that goes on behind the scenes prior to the big day. The room was booming with excitement as parents and children of all ages gathered to commemorate this incredible feat put on by the cast and crew.
Experienced crew member, eighth grader Isaac Lewis, worked in the control room to adjust lighting and sound during the show. As an experienced member, he mentioned last year’s musical “Oh Fair Maiden” motivated him to pursue the position again.
After the show, he expressed how grateful he was that everyone became closer after the annual show.
By cooperating and learning how to overcome obstacles together, kids form lasting friendships, as they are held responsible for ensuring that the show runs smoothly.
“I have learned how to use standalone spotlights and groups of spotlights. . . and yes, it would be cool to have my job as running a spotlight or even electronic spotlights in a professional setting,” said Lewis. In this way, working as a cast member challenges children to develop skills that they can use moving forward to potentially pursue similar careers. Even with challenges as the deadline was approaching, Lewis and the other cast members share the common approach of optimism to overcoming trials.
“I thought that it was really sweet of the families to support their kids in their musical endeavors because it’s really important for kids to have support from their family in regards to doing what they love”, 10th grader Taruni Pendiyala stated. As a former entertainer herself, Pendiyala believes that the importance of getting involved in these events is crucial for kids as they pursue other musical opportunities.
Before the show began, The Prowl was able to interview one of the crew members who were part of the student casting. From the show, she took away that, “it’s okay to mess up, never talk, and just be yourself”. In this way, children on the cast also learned valuable life lessons as they learned from their mistakes to overcome challenges during the show’s production. As well as showing problem-solving skills, middle school students have to manage their time properly in order to practice their parts for the show.
Though it’s been a wild adventure with unexpected challenges in the way, children were able to evolve through these challenges to become better problem solvers. As well as soft skills, they learned how to manage equipment for the show which could aid them in discovering what they would like to do outside of the the middle school production.
Finally, parents showed their support as dozens of parents and family members made an appearance to celebrate their child’s success in their performance.
Eshal Irfan is a sophomore at South Windsor High School who is writing for The Bobcat Prowl in Journalism I. Irfan particularly enjoys arts and crafts, creative projects, and reading historical fiction...
Greta Lewis is currently a sophomore at South Windsor High School and excited to join the writing team at The Bobcat Prowl. Lewis does gymnastics for the school and an outside club and is joining the track...
