Budding writers enjoy own double play

A group of professional actors acted out two pupils' stories.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- There are some budding playwrights at Paul C. Bunn Elementary School, and Wednesday, two of them saw their scripts come to life.
The Magical Theatre Co. of Barberton came to the school in October to conduct a "Writing Rally" for third- and fourth- graders, focusing on writing stories and turning them into scripts.
Members of the troupe came back Wednesday to perform two 10-minute plays written by Bunn pupils.
Craig Gibbons and Joey Meiroff, both fourth-graders, didn't know their scripts had been selected until just before each was performed.
They were called to the front of the room and given seats of honor in a director's chair set up in front of the stage as their individual shows were acted out.
Their families were invited to watch the performance with all the third- and fourth-graders.
Their reactions
"Good," is the word Craig used to describe his feelings when asked his reaction to seeing his words come to life on the stage. "Great" is the way Joey described it.
Both boys said the plays unfolded just the way they had written them.
Craig, who aspires to be an actor himself one day, penned "The Boy Who Thought There Were Monsters," a story about a first-grader named Jason who thought he saw monsters everywhere.
Joey's piece was titled, "The Great Pumpkin Patch," the story of a little pumpkin continually bullied by his older brother.
Principal Maria Pappas said she set up the writing and production arrangements with Magical Theatre Co. five years ago to bring its KidScripts program to the school.
The children have been creative, she said.
"It's one of my favorite programs," Pappas said. "The kids look forward to it each year. It's become part of the school."
The troupe has come back each year to conduct a fall writing workshop and a spring performance. The goal is to encourage children to write, and they get to pick their own topics and story lines, Pappas said.
The troupe takes all the scripts from October and picks two deemed to be the best to perform in the spring, she said.
Theater company
Magical Theatre is a professional theater company funded in part by the Barberton Community Family Foundation. It provides theater for young audiences and families.
Four troupe members came to Bunn to perform, telling the children that they think Craig's script is so good that they have been performing it at other schools across Northeast Ohio.
gwin@vindy.com