'Down under' is site of 1st-grade musical
Theater » Students' fathers take charge of the production.
By Alicia Greenleigh, The Salt Lake Tribune (March 10, 2010)

Ronny Junkins performs with the first grade at the St. Vincent School's "The Magic Tree House Goes Down Under," an original opera. Ed Junkins, Ronny's father, directed the program.

Holladay » Movies and sitcoms always portray mom as the parent who helps with the school play. But in a refreshing turnabout, the dads at St. Vincent de Paul School were in charge of producing an educational musical about Australia.

Last week, students in Jeanne Pence's first-grade class performed "The Magic Tree House Goes Down Under," an original musical about the fascinating animals found in the outback.

It was based on an opera Pence wrote five years ago for a workshop funded by Utah Opera's education outreach program. The fathers reworked it for this production.

Pence suggested involving just the fathers, an idea she came up with when she saw how receptive students were to watching her grown son, Gregory, design sets for her opera five years ago.

"The kids were so excited to work with their dads," Pence said. "And, as a teacher, it was fascinating to see how they taught the kids. They were more relaxed, they played with the students, and I think [the students] were able to see males in a different light, being silly and hopping around on stage."

The musical, which took seven weeks to create, featured original songs and dances about platypuses, kangaroos, koala bears and dingoes. About 10 fathers were able to find time to practice with the students for two hours every Friday.

Ed Junkins, a pediatrician at Primary Children's Hospital and father to 7 year-old Ronny, who portrayed both a koala bear and a wandering traveler, was anointed the musical's main director. He and the other fathers helped students choreograph dance numbers and build and paint the sets.

"I loved the idea of dads being this involved in a school project. You see the stereotypes of fathers mostly involved in sports and coaching, but we need to remember that arts education is just as important," said Junkins, who also participated in theater in his youth.

When asked what they thought of working with their dads, Ronny Junkins and Nicholas Falkner, whose father was in charge of sound and music, said they thought it was really fun.

Sam Fedor, 6, who played central explorer Jack, said his favorite part was "getting the experience of being a main character." He plans on trying out for the lead in several more school plays.

Jed Bogenschutz, whose daughter Sophia was a koala bear, was the assistant director and said this was his first experience with theater arts.

"I was a little apprehensive at first because I didn't quite know what to do, but it was neat to get the chance to do this. The mothers at St. Vincent's are really involved, so it was great for the fathers to be as well," he said.

Paula Fowler, director of education and community outreach at Utah Opera, who sponsored Pence's opera five years ago, was impressed by how well the musical was executed.

"It's important for young children to create and perform because it helps them develop life skills [such as] confidence and self-awareness, and many, for the first time, can get a sense of pride and ownership for their performance," she said.

agreenleigh@sltrib.com

Photos courtesy of Thomas Nelson / The Salt Lake Tribune