Click to enlarge photos.

Click to enlarge photos.

EAST COBB - The curtain won't be rising at Dickerson Middle School - at least not this afternoon. The curtain is broken as dress rehearsal starts. Once the lights go down, the children in Honk!, a musical Dickerson students are putting on this year, will just have to improvise.

But parents and organizers say ad-libbing is just one of the skills students learn by participating in plays. Being in a performance builds confidence and self-esteem, unites middle schoolers from different social and peer groups and gives a sense of community to a middle school that's not united by a school sports team or many campus-wide activities. They learn self-discipline, time management and responsibility.

For the seventh year, Dickerson students have produced a musical. This time, 70 students will be performing "Honk!: A Musical Tale of 'The Ugly Duckling,'" and 20 more will be behind the scenes doing technical work. A story of being different, of prejudice and bullying, and of inner beauty shining through, Honk! offers a message that strikes home at the middle-school level.

Director Patti Mactas is passionate about the arts. When her family moved to Marietta from Maryland 10 years ago, leaving a school where "arts were more important than cheerleading," she at first accepted the status quo when she heard that middle schools never had a play.

But soon, that excuse didn't hold water. Thanks to passionate and pushing parents, Dickerson began its journey into the performance world in 2001 with You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Ms. Mactas said they chose the musical thinking a small cast would be a good start.

"We had no idea-140 kids auditioned the fist year," Ms. Mactas said. "It is just the only thing this school offers that cuts across all school groups. These kids have hormones going crazy, their self-images are so fragile. You need to give them just enough (academic) stress, but make the school a fun place to be."

JoAnne Lengyel, whose seventh-grade daughter is in Honk!, agreed.

"Nowadays so much emphasis is put on accountability that there's a hidden cost with what we really want for our kids, and that's to be well-rounded," Ms. Lengyel said.

The arts are imperative for life in the Lengyel house, she said.

But the arts are suffering, across the state and in Cobb, they said. Teachers don't have the time to organize a play like the one Dickerson does. It takes a lot of work-parents have to be willing to sacrifice their time and talents.

Ms. Lengyel, a real estate agent, said arts sell. She's heard from parents looking to buy in the Dickerson district because they want a school that offers the performing arts, she said.

"It's the only community that provides this for kids," she said.

About 150 parent volunteers were a part of putting on Honk!, organizers said. Auditions were held at the beginning of the school year, and the kids have been meeting before school for practice since September.

As the play begins Monday afternoon, kids prance across the stage in yellow-billed hats and orange tights. There are ducks, cats, farm folk and lots of feathers. There's tap dancing, pirouettes and singing.

Mychael O'Brien, 13, plays a duck named Maureen. She's made new friends, and learned a lot about responsibility, she said. She does her homework at night, or wakes up early. But it's worth it, she said.

"I've learned always to be there for everybody, and to be responsible," Elizabeth Lengyel, 12, said. In the musical, she's one of the Duckling's little sisters.

And 12-year-old Evan Newsome, who plays the Cat, said he's learned that anything can happen.

"I definitely couldn't do a sport this year. But I'm OK," he said. "I love acting. The acting itself, that's my favorite hobby."

Ms. Mactas said she and some other parents have formed a non-profit group to apply for arts grants. They've also met with parents from other schools. This year, Hightower Trails Middle School is putting on Seussical, Jr. They've had some help-Ms. Mactas said Hightower Trail would use old costumes from Dickerson's performance of the musical.

"The kids are not quite getting the cause and effect of academics. They stress out when their grades are not going on their permanent record, or they say, 'I have so many years before college.' This (performance) brings a whole community together," Ms. Mactas said.

Honk! will open with a preview performance this afternoon at 4:15. There will be performances at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and a matinee performance at 2 p.m. Sunday. All shows are at the school's theater at 855 Woodlawn Drive, 30068. Tickets are $10.

efarnsworth@mdjonline.com

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