Clear Stream Avenue play a real team effort

Richard Mansfield’s students are learning that there is so much more to a play than just the people on stage. Someone has to write the script, design the set, make the costumes, get people to come to the play and keep the cast and crew on task.

Each of Mansfield’s students has a responsibility in the play, “March in My Shoes,” which will hit the Clear Stream Avenue School stage next Friday. The children have been working for months on the production.

Before any of the work began, students brainstormed ideas for what the play should be about, and what kind of theme it should have. They decided that the play should send a positive message about peace, love and working together. The play begins at a military camp, where the commander is mean to the soldiers and only wants to kill the opposition. But the soldiers go into an underground world, meet their enemies and learn they really aren’t that different after all.

The students say the play is not against members of the military, but rather a comment on foreign policy that encourages war. “These kids were born shortly before 9/11,” Mansfield said, “so all they know is the country at war.”

Once the theme and basic plot were decided, the four writers began crafting a script and developing characters. John Sandoval, one of the writers, said his classmates seemed happy with the finished product. “We couldn’t incorporate everything,” he said, “but we tried to make everybody as happy as possible.”

Over the winter, the actors started to memorize their lines. The costume and set designers began their work. The public relations team started making up fliers to encourage people to come see the show. And the managers visited every group to make sure that all work was being done.

Natasha Dhanraj, one of the managers, said she has learned how to be strict and honest about the work of her peers, even she has to be critical of one of her best friends.

Daniel Jean-Baptiste, another manager, said he feels he has made a difference. He said he has learned how to make sure that his classmates stay on task without being mean about it.

He predicts that the audience will enjoy the play. “I think it’s going to be fantastic,” he said, “since everybody’s doing such a great job. I know it’s going to be perfect, the way we wanted it.”

Mansfield said this play is a “well-earned” creative outlet for students after the state English and math tests. He said in the two weeks between the assessments and the play, students now have extra time to get ready, and put the finishing touches on the play which debuts June 3.

He also is pleased with how well his students have worked together. “They depend on each other and respond to each other so respectfully,” he said. “They motivate each other. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”