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Putting on a play for families and friends is a familiar childhood rite.
However, few childhood plays approach the scope of Carmelita and the Pirates of the Seven Seas-- a production that attracted standing-room only audiences.
It started off as a simple antidote to summer boredom when 10-year-old Lila Stanners was visiting her Aunt Jane Macdonald.
"We didn't have anything to do, so I said, 'Let's write a play,' " Macdonald says.
Then, Lila wanted to get her friends to act it. Lila recalls initially thinking the plot was going to be a Cinderella story, but she didn't want the romance or dancing. There is a bit of Cinderella, though, in that Carmelita's parents are dead and she's living with a wicked aunt who expects her to scrub and clean all day long.
Except, unlike Cinderella, Carmelita isn't waiting for Prince Charming. She leaves her aunt's home, joins a pirate crew and rescues a new friend forced to walk the plank, rowing them both away to freedom.
After recruiting four friends and her younger sister, Lila started scheduling practices.
The all-female cast features Willow Glen resident Eden Griffen, 11, as Carmelita; 10-year-old Tori Bennett, who also lives in Willow Glen, as Aunt Hyacinth, a countryman on the road and the pirate Captain Cold Eye; Leah Nakashima, 10, as the young pirate Alice and a countrywoman on the road; and Lila as the young pirate Peggy. All four girls are fifth-graders at Hacienda School, a science magnet.
Tori's older sister Elle, 12, and a student at Willow Glen Middle School, served as stage manager. Lila's younger sister Fiona, 8, a Hacienda student, worked on the stage crew.
In September, the six girls started practicing at least once a week.
Macdonald turned her front porch into the stage, using the adjacent living room as backstage and for prop storage.
Elaborate and creative sets were constructed for the different scenes, including a country road and a pirate ship; costumes were created and practices continued.
"All our parents helped and made props," Tori says.
A show date was set and the girls started inviting family, friends, teachers, schoolmates and neighbors.
While professional tickets were printed for both the morning and afternoon shows, the girls didn't charge admission. Instead they asked for donations.
"We're giving the money to the Humane Society because we love animals, and to the Red Cross because they helped people during Hurricane Katrina," Tori says.
Some 50 chairs were set up on the front of Macdonald's lawn, on the one sunny day in a string of rainy ones in late February. The first performance was at 11 a.m., followed by lunch and then a 2 p.m. performance.
Peet's Coffee in Willow Glen donated coffee for both performances.
"It was fabulous. We made $420 in donations, and we had standing-room only for both shows. It was a great, beautiful day," Macdonald says.
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Photograph by Vicki Thompson
