Elementary students see 'Alice'

Story and Photos by COLIN MURPHEY
Hundreds of young students from all across St. Mary Parish left their traditional classrooms Tuesday for a few hours and entered an entirely different type of educational setting.
As part of an ongoing effort by certain parish members versed in the thespian arts, over 600 elementary school students entered the world of theater Tuesday to take in one of three separate performances at the Teche Theatre of a version of “Alice in Wonderland” put on by an acting troupe from North Carolina.
Members of the Bright Star Touring Theatre company were on hand Tuesday to not just entertain, but to try and instill in the students an appreciation of the theatrical arts. At least that’s what Teche Theatre Board Member Tyra Yarber hoped they would get out of it.
“For the past twenty years that we have been open, we have regularly brought in shows to bring theater to local children,” Yarber said. “This is a group we have used for the past two years and it is a great production. We hope that kids that already love the arts continue to do the arts. I also hope it inspires them to fight for the arts. Because of the recession, we have seen money come out of the arts. We want politicians to realize that kids need this. It really is an inspiration for the kids.”
Yarber encouraged anyone who appreciated the local effort to expose students to theater and other forms of artistic expression to reach out and voice their opinion to the Louisiana Division of the Arts and the Acadiana Arts Council in Lafayette.