SLEEPING BEAUTY'S PAGEANT Comes to St. Dunstan's Theatre Guild of Cranbrook

Sleeping Beauty's Pageant, written and directed by St. Dunstan's member, Heather Clement (Royal Oak), is a delightful tale of Sleeping Beauty and her forest friends!

The play centers around Sleeping Beauty played by Kara McGahey (Rochester Hills), who is hosting a pageant for her woodland creatures. While each animal competes to show who is the grandest and most beautiful, Sleeping Beauty will learn what is far more precious than outward beauty: the beautiful heart of a mother who makes sacrifices to clothe and feed her children.

With a cast of both children and adults and lasting about 40 minutes, this show is perfect for very young children. The show is filled with fun and interaction for the children, as they learn to appreciate the joys of a live theater performance.

Director and author, Heather Clement (Royal Oak) has been a member of St. Dunstan's Theatre since 2009 when she was in a production of The Producers. This is Clements first time writing and directing, but she has been involved with some of the previous children's shows at St. Dunstan's. When asked what inspired her to write this play, Clement responded, "I shared a short story I had written with fellow member, Jake Zinke (West Bloomfield), and he encouraged me to turn it into a play!" Zinke has written and directed several of the other children's theatre shows produced by St. Dunstan's over the years, and he is providing support as Assistant Director for this show. Clement is thrilled to be directing this play and says, "Working with all of the kids has been a wonderful experience and it has been magical watching my short story come to life!"

The cast is filled with Sleeping Beauty's friends from the forest including Olivia Bartoi (Franklin) as Stacie Skunk, Manda Walters (Oak Park) as Penny Possum, Cecilia Carcamo (Royal Oak) as Mick Nugget, Daniel Upton (Bloomfield Hills) as Roary the Lion / Prince Phillip, Luca Bartoi (Franklin) as Nutty the Squirrel, Katie Kezelian (Royal Oak) as Matt the Turtle, Leo Nikolavsky (West Bloomfield) as Petie Possum, Zachary Bartoi (Franklin) as Paul Possum, Simone Carcamo (Royal Oak) as Hanna the Monkey, Emelia Babcock (Bloomfield) as Puff the Dragon & Echo the Parrot, Blair Fris (Troy) as Blair Bear, Noah McGahey (Rochester Hills) as Jerry Beary, Brian Babcock (Bloomfield) as Oliver Owl and Ari Niolavsky (West Bloomfield) as Roofus Raccoon.

St. Dunstan's is very lucky to have an extremely talented group of volunteers working behind the scenes to bring this magical children's tale to life. Katie Kezelian is producing, Linda Watson and Kathy Shapero are heading up all of the costumes, Mike Kezelian is designing and building the set, Peggy Lee is in charge of props, Chuck Goddeeris will be doing the sound, Paul Dorset is designing lights, and Drew Fris and Ari Nikolavsky will be stage managing.

Performance dates are Friday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays December 1, 2, 8 and 9 at 1 pm and 3 pm. Book your tickets by calling 1-844-DUNSTAN, or at www.stdunstanstheatre.com. Tickets are general admission and cost $8 each.

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