So, you think you can act? By NICOLE S. COLSON Keene Sentinel Staff Published: Thursday, October 22, 2009 Rob Gray of Children's Stage Adventures, Inc., of Sullivan, works with students at Marlborough Elementary School during a rehearsal of "The Princess and the Pea." Students, from left, Jason Nichols, Kevin Polifrone, Natalia Chiume and Zach Farhm. Sullivan company brings production, training, direction to schools "I need you to develop a king-like walk - pompous, slow and steady," said Rob Gray to 7th-grader Jason Nichols. Meanwhile, in another room, Lorrie Gray described another character in the script. "I call her the Paris Hilton princess," she said. The setting is Marlborough School, and the story is "The Princess and the Pea," a play that will culminate, after a week of rehearsals, in two performances Friday in the school's gymnasium. About 45 kids in grades K-8 - about one-third of the school's population - are participating in the production. The residency is led by Children's Stage Adventures, a nonprofit touring theater company founded by husband-and-wife team Rob and Lorrie Gray of Sullivan. It might seem that the feat of staging a play after only a week of rehearsals would be too difficult to pull off, but the Grays have been doing it since 1999. They've done more than 300 residencies, mostly in New England. The couple has more than 20 years of experience performing and working with children, their defining moment being when they directed a sold-out children's play as part of Keene's First Night celebration in 1995 that involved 12 children. Following the play, the couple decided they wanted to further their skills working with children in theater. They went on to become actors and directors for Missoula Children's Theatre in Montana for two years, stopping in more than 60 towns and cities in the United States and Canada on tour, and decided to start their own organization closer to home that would be more affordable to venues in the eastern states. While Rob completed his theater degree at Keene State College, Lorrie, who has a degree in music, wrote the company's first play, "The Sword Called Excalibur." Next came the musical comedy "The Fisherman and His Wife," based on a Grimm's Fairy Tale - one of the only two plays the Grays didn't write - the other is "The Princess and The Pea." The Grays commissioned those two scripts, which were both written by Don Kukla. Since then they have added "Androcles and The Lion," adapted from an Aesop's fable; a new version of "Oliver Twist," with music adapted from Beethoven; and "The Emperor's New Clothes." The pair is working on an eighth production to add to the company's repertoire. The Grays, who originally acted in productions with the children, design original costumes and sets for each production in addition to writing and directing. At each residency, work begins Monday with auditioning and casting approximately 50 performers ranging from kindergartners to high school seniors. Juniors and seniors have the added option of taking more challenging roles, serving as assistant directors, operating equipment and/or building sets. Rehearsal time, which starts once the play is cast, is about 16 hours spread throughout the week - at Marlborough School it's every morning and afternoon. Not every student has to attend each rehearsal, but those involved in other extracurricular activities are required to put them on hold for the week so they can be available when needed. The Grays also encourage actors to read their scripts for a half-hour each night at home. In five days, all the play's songs, lines, dances and staging are learned, and two public performances of the final production are staged at the end of the week. Actors don't see their costumes until the day of the show. The Grays read through the script with kids and help them learn both their lines and any music lyrics - the only things a school needs to provide are a rehearsal and performance space and an accompanist. This residency marks the third Children's Stage Adventures has conducted at Marlborough School - the last was "The Emperor's New Clothes" in 2005. For "The Princess and the Pea," which is a musical comedy, the set will be minimal, save for a painted backdrop and a bed that serves as the centerpiece of the story. For those who aren't familiar with the classic fairy tale, it follows a prince who is forced to marry and goes on a quest to find his princess with no luck. In "Cinderella" style, the "true" princess has to pass a test to prove she's worthy of the queen's son. Kevin Polifrone, a 5th-grader who will play The Prince, plans to use unconventional methods to remember his lines - he will write the ones that are tough to remember on the palm of his hand. Natalia Chiume, who will play The Princess, is a veteran with Children's Stage Adventures - she's done seven shows with the Grays, including four at a summer camp they lead in Keene. She will read "The Princess and the Pea" script over and over to commit her part to memory. "It gets stuck in my head," she said. Natalia, who plans to pursue acting professionally, said the Grays' personalities are what keep her coming back. "Rob and Lorrie are really funny," she said. "I like they put in a twist on classic stories everyone knows."