The play featured the reading of fairy tales and then their hilarious enactment with characters like Cinderella and Snow White interacting with one another.  The costumes and sets were built and the play itself was rehearsed during the week before as part of a program Southwest Arkansas Arts Council puts on every year on the campus of University of Arkansas-Hope Texarkana. Followers of SWAAC's Facebook page could follow the progress of the play with posts that tracked it from Monday to Friday.

This year, the play was built in the Rapert Library Auditorium under the direction of Chris Espinosa, who also wrote the play.  He has been coming to UAHT to provide kids who register with an educational experience with theater.  

SWAAC Executive Director Rachel Pendergraft after the play said, “Chris is really the creative force behind this production. He does a great job. He's been here with us for six years, and we hope that he keeps coming back.”

Espinosa himself said he does indeed plan to return so that kids in our area can continue to benefit from the lessons taking part in theater can provide. “You can see how much fun we had. I enjoyed every bit of it.  I plan my summer around this. I’d like to be back here. I like this community. I want all the kids in this cast back next year,” he said.

As for what those lessons include, Espinosa said, “Confidence. Snow White. Last year she was in a show. I gave her a part, and she did something with it. And this year, she took on all the parts.  I could see that she had ideas. And they suggested ideas, and I used them.”

In addition, the kids participate in exercises and learn to collaborate to design and build the set and then perform the show.  “We play some theater games, and they really listen and develop self awareness of their bodies and of themselves and how to control their body. And then also the camaraderie of working together in the cast. They work really well together.”

The applause of the audience in Rapert Library Auditorium was ample testimony to this.