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Walnut Grove Students Vacation on Mars (Well, Almost)

Teachers, parents and students cultivate creativity, resources and energy to present two co-curricular musical plays per year, including this fall's "Vacation On Mars."

Scientists may be years away from placing humans on the surface of Mars.

But Pleasanton's music specialist Sharolyn Borris and her students this week beat scientists to the punch.

When she began working as music specialist at Walnut Grove nine years ago, the school's PTA gave her the opportunity to run two annual musical plays on a parent-funded stipend.

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“It’s become huge,” said Borris. “We had 115 second and third graders in this show.”

Over the past few months, Borris has “traveled” musically throughout the entire Solar System with the students – hitting every planet but Mars.

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On Wed., Nov. 9, 2011, the students recounted their musical trip in two theatrical performances under Borris’s direction.

Starring second- and third-grade students, the musical play, “Vacation On Mars,” seamlessly combined elementary musical education, acting, public speaking, confidence-building and science curriculum into a 45-minute presentation.

The musical play chronicles the adventures of a family who want to spice up their vacation life. So the dad (played by Anirudh Adhikary) finds a deal on the Internet about a tour company going to Mars.

What the dad doesn’t know is that the tour group is made up of a bunch of crooks with no idea what they’re doing.

Moments of hilarity ensue when the family, led by a vivacious group of tour guides (Haley Lombardi, Corey Timby and Juniper Huneke), end up first on the moon:

“There’s polar ice caps, grab your sled!”

Then to the sun, followed by Venus:

“I’m hot!” (sings Annika McCarty, as Venus)

Then to Jupiter:

“They follow me everywhere” (sings Evan Black, as Jupiter, referring to his 16 crooning moons)

The family even reaches Saturn with its rings (Sabrina Bai, Norah Dooley, Isabelle Lai, Emily Lim and Jocelyn Min), and Neptune:

“With its twelve hundred mile-per-hour breezes” (the chorus sings)

All the while, poor lowly Pluto (Brian Glasco), laments his position as the last, smallest planet, and is sad that no one wants to visit him.

“You don’t wanna go to Uranus, it’s all sideways. It spins this way instead of this way, like all the other planets do...”

Also with some side-splitting cameo appearances was cardboard-air-guitar artist Spencer Oxe, who jammed along during the electric guitar portions of the CD soundtrack accompaniment.

In lively format, with costumes either handmade or purchased by parents at post-Halloween discount sales, Walnut Grove’s “Vacation on Mars” demonstrated how teachers and schools, when dedicated to providing children with a rich, meaningful education, can buck budget cuts and put creativity and resources to work.

The enthusiasm was evident in the smiles and energy emanating from every choral member or stage actor or soloist who participated.

Surreptitiously, each musical directly relates to the academic standards taught in the grade levels of the children performing.

Next spring, fourth and fifth graders at Walnut Grove will take their turn on stage.

“It’s a little bit more of a mature musical in the spring,” Borris said, explaining that last spring the school presented “The Music Man, Junior,” which she described as “The Music Man” "without all the kissing and swearing.”

Borris is continually amazed at how well children take to the stage.

“They’re doing a great job,” she said. “They’re really getting into it, and for some of these children, just singing in the chorus is a huge step.”

A voluntary activity, actors and singers audition for the plays during their music class period before the fall and spring plays. More than half of the second and third graders participated in "Vacation On Mars."

Although the two days that she announces casts are the only two days of the entire year that she does not love, Borris said that sometimes it’s out of love that she won’t select a child for a leading role.

“Sometimes they’re shaking and blotching skin and sweating in the audition,” she said.

In those instances, she’ll offer the children roles they will be more comfortable performing in front of a large crowd.

Although Borris and her cast may not have made it to Mars, the laughter and excitement of the actors, singers and audience proved that the experience put them on top of the world.

Perhaps singing and acting in front of schoolmates were, after all, the elements that made the trip “the best vacation ever.”

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