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A community of 100 students, 20 parent volunteers, a dozen alumni, countless staff members and one very committed music instructor combined to populate the “village” that brought Belle’s provincial town to life in St. Theresa Catholic Schools’ production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast during May.
For nearly nine months, students in grades 2-8 came together weekly to build sets, handle costumes, learn choreography, focus lights and transform themselves into beloved characters for the school’s annual musical production. And for nine months, they were cheered on and supported by the school faculty, the Carmelite Sisters who serve St. Theresa and the parish pastor, Father Manny Alvarez.
Spearheaded by St. Theresa music instructor Rosa Fiol, who also directed the play, Beauty and the Beast is the third full-scale musical production put on by the school, located in Coral Gables. It was a year-long process that began with auditions in September and included rehearsals twice a week after school from September through the show’s premiere, May 6 and 7, in Comber Hall, just across the street from the school campus.
While the cast and crew of students developed deep bond throughout rehearsals, more than a dozen parent volunteers also got in the mix to support their children and their school, corralling students at practices, managing organized chaos backstage and offering their own professional skills.
The Asturias family, with a father in the architecture industry, worked together to imagine, build and then donate a three-dimensional set that transformed the stage from a French village to Beast’s enchanted castle and back again.
“Theater and music always go beyond the technical. It builds community,” Fiol said. “It’s been beautiful to see the students forge new friendships, learn how to collaborate and, in some cases, spend extra time with their own families working toward a common artistic goal.”
Behind the scenes, students created digital art and hand-drawn set pieces. On stage, aspiring actors — some who performed for the first time — danced, sang and acted their way through the most magical moments. Parents, often with multiple children in the cast, such as Ivette Suarez and Susan Fior, were ever present, overseeing sets, props and so much more.
Seventh-grader Daniel Linares, who performs as the butler-turned-clock, Cogsworth, said the process can be “stressful and nerve-wracking. In the end, it’s really worth it. Being able to see the whole thing come together makes it all worthwhile.”
Fiol sees what the students call “nerves” as excitement paired with a desire to succeed.
“I tell them when they feel nervous, they could call it passion instead,” she said.
She sees this experience of working under pressure as one of the many long-term benefits of musical theater.
“You see students grow from very shy to embodying a character fully on stage. They learn discipline, self-confidence, collaboration, problem-solving and, of course, working through nerves,” Fiol said.
“You can’t mess around. You have a one-minute period to do everything. But I love it. I love hanging out here. I have made a bunch of new friends,” said Juan Herrera, a sixth grader new to theater who was in charge of backdrops.
“Little by little, you see this grow and build. You see this little community come together — and then it’s just an explosion or art and talent,” Fiol said. “Every child should have the arts in their lives. The experience is priceless.”
