Performers of A Midsummer Night’s Dream including youngsters from Dignity for Children Foundation in a group picture.
PETALING Jaya Performing Arts Centre (PJPAC) was the venue for the staging of four plays by an all-child cast.
The children from The Story Book Academy, some of whom were as young as five, stole the hearts of many with their performances.
Alongside them were youngsters from Dignity for Children Foundation who were earlier this year made recipients of the academy’s inaugural performing arts scholarship.
The day’s schedule started with a combined performance of Alice in Wonderland Junior and The Wizard of Oz in the morning.
(Above, from right) Dorothy and her friends Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion following the yellow brick road in Oz.
The children, aged between five and nine, skilfully brought these stories to life.
Five-year-olds Taika and Agnes charmed as the Mad Hatter and March Hare, and later as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the very well known characters that help Alice on her Wonderland journey.
Another five-year-old, Dya Kaur, shone as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz.
In the afternoon, the stage came alive with song and dance as the young cast of Aladdin enchanted the audience with a spirited performance of Arabian Nights and Prince Ali Parade.
Kaajal and Arianna, who played Aladdin and Jasmine, respectively, charmed with their rendition of A Whole New World, while the youngest actor, four-year-old Oliver, impressed in his role as Aladdin’s sidekick, Iago the parrot.
The day concluded with Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with the cast including the six performers from Dignity for Children, a non-governmental organisation that provides holistic care and education for urban poor youngsters.
“We are incredibly proud of our young performers and thrilled by the enthusiastic response to the plays,” said The Story Book Academy director Jeanisha Wan.
Auditions for the academy’s next performances of The Velveteen Rabbit, Shrek and A Christmas Carol in December, will be held on July 13.
Established as an offshoot of The Story Book which holds interactive and roleplay-based storytelling events, The Story Book Academy has been conducting acting and roleplay classes since 2020 catering to children as young as three.
