With a cast larger than that of most high school productions, Village Voices, a local faith-based performance group, has been entertaining crowds at area venues for more than three years. The group, which consists of 23 children ranging in age from 5 to 14 years old, formed in 2005 when United Methodist Church of Gales Ferry members Kara McLaughlin and Cassey Farrel started the group as a fun outreach program for the younger members of the church.
Now under the leadership of director Peggy Boyd, the group is once again getting rave reviews from local citizens for its performances of We Are United, a jungle theme musical, which stresses the strength and importance of unity. Boyd briefly described the core concept of the play.
“We’re really a ministry out of United Methodist but we practice at St. Luke’s, so it’s a truly ecumenical group,” Boyd explained. “A lot of the kids are from different churches, so it’s a faith-based group but it’s not one set denomination, which makes it fun for everyone. In We Are United they are on Henotes Island, and it’s based on 1st Corinthians 12 verses 12 to 27, ‘one body many parts.’ We have seven castaways and they are competing on the island to win a grand prize. They eventually discover that the only real way to win is to work together. It has jungle-feel type songs and it’s really kind of based off the Survivor series on television.”
The musical, arranged by Pam Andrews, Johnathan Crumpton, and Meredith Graham, sees the castaways—Jack and Jill Hammer, played by Lyiam Mathis and Julianna Beaver, Leigh Bonappetite, played by Lillie Kuhn, Dr. I.C. Stars, played by Maddie Rusk, Sam Stryder, played by Sam Boyd, B Sharp, played by Angelie Rusk, and Senator Speaks, played by Alex Davies—compete in a series of challenges to win a grand prize.
One after another, the group loses challenge after challenge and in turn loses their “community stars,” which determine how many of them can stay on the island. Finally when they are down to their last challenge the group pulls together and works as a team to preserve their final community star, meaning only one person will win the grand prize.
Voting among themselves to see who will win, the castaways decide that they’ll stay united as one and not choose an individual. The choice, as it turns out, is wise as the hostesses of the island, Jenni and Judy United and Concordia, played by Jenni Disco, Amanda Throop, and Xochi Degrutolla, respectively, announce that their choice is the right one and they are all welcomed into the community.
Practicing for around two months before they ever hit the stage, the Village Voices have concluded all of their six “road shows” at various churches and community buildings, such as Fairview Nursing Home and the Ledyard Senior Center. The group is now ready for its final performance, one which Boyd said should be great given their previous shows.
“They are doing really good so far,” Boyd said. “The first performance is always the toughest, because everyone is still settling into their roles. They are really amazing and some of them are really young, but they are quick to adapt and they are quick to pick up on their lines, I’m usually really amazed.”
The Village Voices will perform We Are United at the United Methodist Church in Gales Ferry on Friday, May 30 at 7 p.m. Boyd said the final performance is generally the most impressive and well-attended and offers many elements such as lighting, additional props and set items, and a fine-tuned sound system—features not usually found in traveling performances.
Aside from the hard work put in by the performers, Boyd credited a large amount of the group’s success to a few special volunteers.
“Charles Garthwait does our sound, and there are a ton of moms and parents that help out. He doesn’t have any kids in the group but he comes to every practice and rehearsal, and he comes to all the performances and sets up all the sound and all the microphones and he does an amazing job,” Boyd said. “We also have an amazing parent who is really talented, so she does all the backdrops and...she’s really phenomenal. Her name is Maureen Beaver, and she paints all of our backdrops and any little prop you need she comes up with it; she’s really amazing.”
Boyd said Village Voices puts on two productions each year, with each show performed at least seven times, totaling around 14 or 15 performances every year. In addition Boyd also runs a summer camp for Village Voices where the group also practices and performs a small production at the camp. In its short span together, the group has already gained a reputation for being quite entertaining and very talented and has performed at Westerly’s First Night celebration as well as at a Connecticut Defenders game.
For her part, Boyd said she just really enjoys being with such a fun and talented group of kids.
“I’m just amazed at what a great job they do every show and how talented they are,” Boyd said. “And if you watch the audiences and see their reactions, it’s really evident that they really do minister to the people that come to see the shows. That kind of gives me goose bumps, because every show I’m kind of fascinated at what a good job they do.”