Forget everything you know about King Arthur and his Round Table. The story of the legendary leader is turned upside down in the Mettawee Community School (MCS) production of the musical “Joust!” Instead of damsels in distress, daring rescues and sword fights under the banner of “might makes right,” musical instruments are wielded with the mantra “right makes might.”
The December 14 MCS production included acting, singing, and dancing by all 120 students from PreK through 6th grade, with an able assist from school staff and parents. “There’s no way we could have pulled this off without everyone working as a team and being flexible with our daily schedule,” says MCS Principal Brooke DeBonis. “This really is an all-school, all-family performance. We only had three and a half weeks to get ready, and everyone delivered.”
One of the biggest challenges was creating time period costumes for all the players, be they kings, magicians, diplomats, knights, soldiers, townspeople or a band of jesters in pointy hats.
“All the costuming came out of our storage closet, no need to really buy much of anything,” says music teacher and co-director Lisa Hoyt. “We had fabric, yarn, cardboard, and other good stuff that we used to make shirts with designs, hats, robes, shields, swords, horses and musical instruments.”
And those musical instruments were an essential piece for this production. In this story a young Arthur serves as a squire who is sent on a last minute mission to bring back Knight Hector’s forgotten weapon to be used in a joust.
In the town square sits a stone embedded with both a sword and a musical device called a "boomwhacker" that looks like a colorful hollow tube. Arthur’s attention is drawn to the vibrant percussion instrument and when he pulls it out, he passes the test to be the next King. As per the legend, the one who can draw a weapon from the stone is the rightful heir to the throne. Everyone assumed it would be the sword, but hey, this is show business.
Arthur swiftly reveals his kinder, gentler vision for running the kingdom:
All I ever wanted was music
All I ever wanted was song
All I ever wanted was harmony
And all to get along.
While the knights initially resisted the idea of giving up their swordplay for music, the townspeople had had enough of their violent ways. They threatened to quit feeding, cleaning and nursing back to health the rowdy fighters. The knights turned in their swords for "boomwhackers" and everyone gave peace a chance.
This story of King Arthur is told by a cast with several moving parts. Students in costumes circulate constantly on and off the stage in dance and song. Teachers and the older students took the lead in guiding the young actors to their appointed marks. Hoyt’s co-director Janna Webb played a key role in orchestrating the logistics in real time.
Mettawee art teacher Amy Harris co-ordinated the costuming and set design challenge with help from students, teachers, and moms and dads. The set design, for example, was built and painted at the last moment by the sixth graders and parent volunteers.
A cast of featured characters, led by Arthur and Merlin, paced the main story with a dash of wit, comedic timing and a sense of irony. They were supported by an ensemble troupe of players that added voice, energy and aplomb to the production.
As the curtain closed the show, a charmed audience broke out into applause with smiling faces. One grandparent summed up their feelings, “I can’t think of any place I would rather be than right here, right now at Mettawee.”
Merlin tells the story of young King Arthur.
Colorful costumes filled the stage of the Mettawee Community School production of "Joust."
KIng Arthur in wonder at his coronation.
The townspeople line up in support of the new King Arthur's musical vision.