Magic Christmas: 200 young entertainers put on spirited performance

OREM — There's been a flurry of activity lately at the SCERA Center for the Arts with hundreds of entertainers making preparations for Christmas pageants, ballet presentations, "Messiah" concerts and holiday displays and activities. Among the programs was last week's SCERA Youth Theater's annual "One Magic Christmas."

"One Magic Christmas" showcased more than 200 children from ages 5-18 performing musical numbers like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," complimented by a rendition of the play "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever." From the youngest Alpha Actors, Show Team, General Ruckus and Stage Crazy groups to the teenage touring ambassadors Acting Up!, these kids poured their heart, souls and talent into their production.

However, it's behind the scenes that one really needs to look to find some of the extra Christmas spirit that goes into these productions. Shows like "One Magic Christmas" have several directors, choreographers and stage hands, but it's also the parents and guardians who get the production onstage.

That's where the spirit of the holiday is really felt — or not. This is where we find parents and leaders pouring their time and energy and, in most cases, their pocketbooks into making their children's show a success.

Take "One Magic Christmas," for instance. The support behind the stage seemed as big as the cast itself. That meant that 400 socks and shoes had to be ready, 200 Santa and elf hats had to be dispersed to the right heads. Lips, eyes and cheeks were made up, costumes were gathered, 200 white shirts, 200 pairs of pants or skirts were ironed and hung. And like a scene from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," oh the noise, noise, noise, noise!

It will all be the same for "The Nutcracker" performance — all those leotards, pointe shoes and head pieces, let alone the sets. Whether it's finding the right pair of glasses for Ebenezer Scrooge, making sure the blades are sharpened for the ice skating program at the Peaks Ice Arena, or making sure the cast of the live outdoor Nativity at the Provo Tabernacle has heated socks and gloves, the sweat and tears in the preparation is all a part of the Christmas pageantry we seem to live and watch for every year.

If SCERA's "One Magic Christmas" is typical of other youth productions, the audiences will leave with a better feeling for the season, a sense of accomplishment in their child, and most likely a very big sigh of relief when it's over.

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Editor's note: Genelle Pugmire's daughters, Linnea and Laura, 14 and 11, respectively, have performed with the SCERA Youth Theater program for the past five years.

E-mail: pugmire@desnews.com