Three. Two. One. Action.
The spring production of The Miracle Worker is under way, and the cast and tech crew have hit the ground running.
Leslie Coats, director, said every play is different in how they approach it. For this play, the set won’t be realistic. A new face is popping up around the stage as Kailey Johnson, fourth grader, will play the role of Helen Keller. Bailey Barney, junior, will play Kate Keller, the mother and Issac Scroggie, senior, will play Captain Keller, the father.
“Younger students are fun to work with,” Coats said. “I’ve done it before in previous plays put on at the high school.”
 Coats said that she’s used younger students before in plays such as The Seussical, Rags, and All My Sons. Coats worked with Kailey Johnson once before in a workshop several years back.
“I remembered her from the workshop, so I think right there I knew she’d be a good role in the play.” Coats said.
This is the reason Coats chose Kailey, and also because she is the right age for the part.
“I think it’s good she has the responsibility and it’s good for the family,” said her mother, Rebecca Johnson, math teacher.
Johnson, trying to keep her excitement to a limit, said she expects her daughter to stay committed, learn from the high school students, not give up when it gets tough and listen and follow directions from Coats. Johnson describes the preparations Kailey is going through to get her ready for the play.
“We have watched the movie and we also tell her to act like her 2-year-old brother, but not talk,” Johnson said.
Johnson said she feels it’s good for the whole family, with her son sitting on the sidelines watching his older sister. Johnson also said she feels her daughter is maturing with the responsibility she has been given and she is proud of the work Kailey is doing.
Libby McCormack, freshman, is also taking action in preparing to play Annie Sullivan in the upcoming play. Playing alongside a younger student is nerve-racking, she said.
“I have to go about man-handling Kailey. She’s a smart, obedient girl, though she does what she needs to do to get it done,” McCormack said. McCormack said she prepares herself for the part by reading, rereading and rereading the play over and over again and by watching the film. She said doing this helps her understand the role of Annie.