Published Wednesday, December 05, 2007 10:59 PM
Updated Wednesday, December 05, 2007 10:59 PM

Travel time from Summerville to Neverland: one hour

Scores of students from nearby elementary schools will fill rows of seats and escape reality thanks to the Flowertown Players' Lee. A. Barrett Children's Theater production of  J.M. Barrie's classic creation, "Peter Pan."

The play is being brought to life by a 20-member cast made up almost entirely of child actors, some of whom are taking to the stage for the very first time.

With a no-frills blackbox staging, director Charmaine Wozniak and Flowertown artistic director Sean Lakey are relying on the audience's willingness to buy into their illusion.

"One thing I think is very important is not to underestimate the imagination of children...This show certainly doesn't talk down to them," Lakey says. "If anything, I think it asks them to take a leap of faith with us."

Wozniak says the story of "Peter Pan" resonates with her because of its boundless optimism.

"It's the belief in things that we as grown-ups think are not possible - flying, staying young forever, holding on to those magical kinds of moments that inspired us as children but were somehow lost along the way," she says.

"Sometimes our initial response is, 'Oh we can't do that. We don't have the money. We don't have the time. We don't have the whatever,'" says Wozniak. "I think with children's theater, we're reminded that a lot more is possible than we give ourselves credit for."

Wozniak looked to her young cast for troubleshooting during rehearsals. When the adults behind the scenes faced obstacles, they looked to the children for help.

"Sometimes we would get in a box and think how we could make it happen but we would talk to the kids and they would help us come up with a solution," Wozniak says.

More often, however, the children look to Wozniak for guidance. She emphasizes that Flowertown Players is a teaching theatre and for inexperienced cast members -- "Peter Pan" serves as an introduction to acting. Aside from learning their lines, they must also learn the fundamentals of theater.

"They don't have that wealth of experience that adult actors bring," she says.

Adult actor Darren Gray, who plays Mr. Darling and Captain Hook in the play, says he's impressed with his younger counterparts.

"The kids are amazing - they're like sponges," Gray says.

"We see exponential growth," Wozniak says of her novice cast members.

"People come in and say, 'Well, we couldn't hear Susie say her lines,' and I'm like, 'Yeah, but you should have heard her on day one of rehearsals," says Wozniak.

Sylvie Thompson and Kathleen Crotty - who play Peter Pan and Wendy, respectively - have both performed in previous Flowertown productions.

But the 10-year-old Thompson, who is starring in her fourth production, can still recall when she was new to the stage. Her father urged her to audition. "I tried out, got in and was like, 'This is awesome,'" she says.

Crotty, 12, sees some similarities between herself and Wendy but she's quick to make a distinction.

"Wendy's a little bit similar to me, but not really because she's more naãve," Crotty says. "She doesn't get it when her dad's being sarcastic."

Come Sunday, the young cast will have performed the hour-long play 19 times. It's a grueling schedule that takes the actors out of school for a week. Lakey says that by the end, they're more than ready to go back to the classroom.

Remaining shows are scheduled for today, Thursday and Friday at 9:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. with additional performances at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. A Sunday matinee is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Many shows are sold out because of the large number of seats reserved for elementary school classes. To learn more about ticket availability, visit the theatre at 133 S. Main St. or call (843) 875-9251. Tickets are $5.