Fairy Tale productions to begin Thursday

Published 11:23 am Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Raegan David does his own makeup Monday morning before a dress rehearsal of Cinderella, or the Story of Bigfoot at Parkside Playhouse. The production is being done through the Vicksburg Theatre Guild’s Fairytale Theatre in which children build their own sets, make their own costumes and memorize their own lines. (Justin Sellers/The Vicksburg Post)

Archeologist Cathy Kenyan is beside herself.

The mummy that she discovered is missing from the museum — and it is up to the cast of characters to help her find it during the “The Mystifying Mystery of the Mysterious Missing Mummy,” one of four plays set to hit the stage this week during the annual Fairy Tale Theatre productions.

The play was written by Richard Van Den Akker and includes a cast and crew ranging in ages from 8 to 18, said Fawn Francis, the director of the show.

“We started rehearsing the last week of May and started doing read-throughs since there are a lot of Egyptian words used in the play,” she said.

The Fairy Tale Theatre was first established in 1986 by Don and Kathryn Resio and is open to children ages 7 through 18, offering them experience in many areas of theatre including acting, learning lines, making costumes, helping with set construction and helping backstage.

“All of the kids participate in making the scenery, to looking around the theater for props, and they have to come up with their own costumes,” said Francis, “They are involved in every aspect except lights and music.”

Francis said that college students who had previously been involved in Fairy Tale come back and run the lights and sound.

Working as the assistant director for “The Mystifying Mystery of the Mysterious Missing Mummy” is Van Den Akker’s son, Noah, who said he has been involved with the Fairy Tale Theatre his whole life.

“I’ve been in a play every year except last year,” he said. He was forced to skip last year’s summer season to participate in a mission trip to Honduras.

Noah will be a senior at Vicksburg High School this year and said it has been fun working as the assistant director for a play his father wrote.

“He tells me his vision, (for the play) but you still have to work around the personalities,” Noah said.

At the moment, Noah said he didn’t see himself following in his Dad’s footsteps as far as writing plays, but didn’t know what his future held.

“Dad didn’t start writing until he was in his 50’s, so I’m not sure what will happen.”

Three other plays will be shown at varying times through the weekend and they are “Cinderella or Story of Big Foot,” “Once Upon a Crime – The Trial of Goldilocks” and “The Quest — A Fairy Tale with Attitude.”

Performances will be held at the Parkside Playhouse Theatre, 101 Iowa Ave. and run from Thursday through Sunday. Admission is $6 and $4 for ages 12 and younger. For more information, call 601-618-5457.

About Terri Cowart Frazier

Terri Frazier was born in Cleveland. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Vicksburg. She is a part-time reporter at The Vicksburg Post and is the editor of the Vicksburg Living Magazine, which has been awarded First Place by the Mississippi Press Association. She has also been the recipient of a First Place award in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest’s editorial division for the “Best Feature Story.”

Terri graduated from Warren Central High School and Mississippi State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations.

Prior to coming to work at The Post a little more than 10 years ago, she did some freelancing at the Jackson Free Press. But for most of her life, she enjoyed being a full-time stay at home mom.

Terri is a member of the Crawford Street United Methodist Church. She is a lifetime member of the Vicksburg Junior Auxiliary and is a past member of the Sampler Antique Club and Town and Country Garden Club. She is married to Dr. Walter Frazier.

“From staying informed with local governmental issues to hearing the stories of its people, a hometown newspaper is vital to a community. I have felt privileged to be part of a dedicated team at The Post throughout my tenure and hope that with theirs and with local support, I will be able to continue to grow and hone in on my skills as I help share the stories in Vicksburg. When asked what I like most about my job, my answer is always ‘the people.’

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