By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

RESERVE – Nearly three dozen children have been preparing all week to show the local community what they learned during the Children’s Drama Workshop at St. John Theatre.

The fruits of their labor will be a half-hour show called “Aladdin for Kids.” The musical is a condensed and child-friendly version of the Disney animated movie, which itself was based on a popular story from “The Book of One Thousand and One Nights.” The children will take to the stage first at 2:30 p.m. today and again at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $3 and are available at the box office 30 minutes prior to showtime.

Kristen Brooks, who took the reins as program director this year after spending nine years as musical director, is pleased with the way the week has gone.

“It’s gone good,” she said. “I’ve been nervous, but the kids have been amazing.”

Aside from preparing for today’s show, the program’s participants have had the chance to benefit from the knowledge of some of the area’s leading experts in the dramatic arts. For example, Tim Daley, the talented theater instructor for St. John Parish, led a mini-workshop on the finer points of pantomime.

These workshops within a workshop are new to the program this year as is the condensed, one-week time frame. The children began preparing for the show Monday.

St. John Theatre is located at 115 W. Fourth St. in Reserve.