Area youth shine on stage in 'Alice in Wonderland Jr.'

E.L. Hubbard/Contributing photographer Faith Meece, as Alice, and Hunter and Noah Cornelius, as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, rehearse for "Alice In Wonderland, Jr." at Miami University Hamilton's Parrish Auditorium on Monday, Nov. 7, 2011.

ENLARGE PHOTO

E. L. Hubbard/Contributing photographer Tyler Moore, as the White Rabbit, and Faith Meece, as Alice, rehearse for "Alice In Wonderland, Jr." at Miami University Hamilton's Parrish Auditorium Monday, Nov. 7, 2011.

ENLARGE PHOTO

E.L. Hubbard/Contributing photographer Cassidy Bruns, as Dodo, and fellow cast members rehearse for "Alice In Wonderland, Jr." at Miami University Hamilton's Parrish Auditorium Monday, Nov. 7, 2011.

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By Ted Cox, Staff Writer 1:31 PM Thursday, November 10, 2011

HAMILTON — Encore Youth Theatre business manager Lynn Huff estimates that slightly more than half of the third- through sixth-graders that audition each year haven’t performed on a theater stage before.

But once they get the acting bug, it often never leaves them.

“I think we do something right, because they do want to come back the next year,” said Huff, who’s also a producer for this year’s show, Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland Jr.” “Kids have a lot of choices nowadays. But the kids who try out seem pretty committed to being here.”

The third annual production for Encore’s younger set will have four shows today through Sunday at Miami University Hamilton’s Parrish Auditorium.

The show features 60 kids from Butler County, 21 of them with speaking parts.

“I love that there are so many parts and a lot kids got to get into this,” said Maddie Lail, a sixth-grader from Hamilton who will play the Queen.

Tyler Moore, a sixth-grader from Fairfield Twp. who will play White Rabbit, also thought the play was a good choice for this group.

“There are a lot of leads this time,” he said. “Everybody has a chance to be in the spotlight, not just Alice.”

Even the Alice character has three actresses since there also is a Tall Alice and a Small Alice.

The kids have devoted eight weeks to the production, usually rehearsing three days a week.

The time together has established many new friendships.

“They become friends with kids from other schools that they would never otherwise meet,” Huff said. “And they go and support them and things that they do. ... They have cellphones and Facebook, and they text each other or they’ll send little emails back and forth. It’s really neat.”

Encore does have a Facebook page, which can be accessed through the group’s website, www.encoreyouththeatre.net.

The technology also helped Moore decide what role he wanted to play this year.

“I saw other people on YouTube” playing White Rabbit, Moore said. “I told my mom, this is the part I want. He’s very energetic, so it’s fun to hop around on stage.”

The play is directed by Ben Schneider, who was an Encore actor himself when he was younger and went on to receive his master’s degree in music education from Miami University.

Many of the show’s sixth-graders are already looking forward to the summer when they can join the seventh-grade through 12th-grade production, which has been putting together annual summer shows since 1994.

Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5245 or Ted.Cox@coxinc.com.