“It starts, like so many wonderful stories do, with a discovery,” said Director, Mr. Tim Flay. “In a lost, almost forgotten corner of a room not often ventured into, a young, innocent little girl discovers a magical portal,” one that leads into a grand realm that nearly exceeds the imagination. Playing the leads were high school students, Christian Sjogren (Aslan), Kristen Jones (Jadis, the White Witch), Katherine Burklin (Susan), LJ Dutton (Peter), Matt Schieffer (Edmund) and Susanna Quinn (Lucy) as their respective roles, joined by a talented and creative cast and crew.

“It was absolutely amazing,” said an spectator from the audience. “Everything was tremendously professional, the sets were beautiful, and you could tell that the students worked hard to put this show together.”

Worth mentioning was the intricate set of the Beavers’ Dam, the forest including The Lamppost, and Mr. Tumnus’s Home. The characters were personified perfectly with the phenomenal makeup artistry by professional make up artist, Cliff Turner. He designed, airbrushed, and applied prosthetics to the main characters and forest creatures. With the capable actors and technicians—all CCA students—the Calvary Chapel Theatre was transformed into “a world full of adventure, peril, wonder, tragedy, hope, and victory. There were the villains, the unlikely heroes, the wise guides, and a large host of followers—both good and evil,” said Mr. Flay.

C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has profoundly influenced its audience since it was first released in October 1950. Not even Lewis had any idea how the story came about in his mind; it just did. “I don’t know where the Lion came from or why he came,” Lewis said in an interview. “But once he was there, he pulled the whole story together, and soon he pulled the six other Narnian stories in after him.” What’s even more remarkable about this tale is that it mirrors the “greatest story ever told,” about the most incredible Man that ever lived, who made the most incredible sacrifice for mankind.

At the end of each show, both cast and audience were seen leaving the building, and one could wonder if the picture in their minds was of the great Aslan still walking among us.

“The community will probably remember the play, but we can do it again now that we have our own space. It’ll be a completely different show,” says high school drama teacher, Lisa Flay, who will be directing the cast and crew along side secondary vice-principal, Tim Flay.

The show opens Friday, November 11 at 7:30pm, with a Saturday with a matinee showing at 1:30pm, and a final show at 8 that night. Tickets will soon be available for purchase! So bring your friends, bring your family, and get ready for what will be a spectacular production.

The curtain opened on a Sunday school class who received an incredible lesson on the life of Joseph. The narrators were actually dressed as Sunday school teachers who guided the class on an amazing journey. Through song, the cast of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat told the story of Joseph’s life, and how God was with him the whole time.

Michelle Mihalko, sophomore at CCA, said: “I thought that Johnny Jones did a tremendous job, he’s just so great vocally and choreographically. You can tell that God has really blessed him in this area.”

I agreed with remarks as people exited the theatre, like “I didn’t expect it to be a comedy.” Neither did I! But as I left my sides were still hurting from laughing so much at some over-the-top costumes and hilarious songs. There were songs of all genres, from “One More Angel in Heaven” which had a country twang to “Benjamin Calypso” with a Jamaican theme.

When I woke up the next day, the disco vibe song “Go, Go, Go, Joseph,” was stuck in my head. I was not alone.  “Joseph is a play that makes you want to get up and dance!” said Sarah Florio, a fourth grader at CCA.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat set out to impress, and the performance was spectacular. There was a new surprise in every scene, the vocals were impressive, and the lines were surprisingly funny. Mr. Tim Flay, the director of the show says, “I don’t know who had more fun during Joseph, us or the audience. It was a very difficult production, but we had a lot of fun as a family putting it together. It was also great fun working with such a talented creative team. I was very proud of the cast and crew.”

This past February 3rd through 5th, CCA showcased Beauty for Ashes, a dramatic dance with a mature theme, created to raise awareness for the present-day tragedy known as Human Trafficking. It was a powerful and captivating performance, and commanded much of the students who participated. As CCA high school science teacher, Laura Quinn said, “there was a certain loss of innocence,” whether it be playing the role of a Child Soldier or a young woman being trafficked into slavery.

But the students in no way took this on alone. CCA’s Fine Arts department and Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale’s Outreach Ministry fully supported the cast and crew through daily devotions, prayer meetings, and even encouraged parents to sit in on rehearsals in the Theatre to pray for them.

“There was definitely a sense of lost innocence in this production,” explained Theatre Production Manager, Sheri Hecocks. “From the very beginning the students and their parents were communicated with about the content.  They were asked to prayerfully make a choice to participate.  Pastor Chet Lowe and his Outreach staff came and talked to the students and the parents on several occasions, and they studied and researched the reality of the issue.  No one was caught off guard, but all were deeply affected.”

Although many of the actors and dancers agonized over the role they needed to play, Fine Arts teacher, Mr.  Tim Flay, came and offered them acting techniques for distancing themselves from the reality.

“Pastor Chet came and administered communion to the cast and crew.  We took this as an opportunity for the blood of Christ to wash us clean from the abomination that we all had to rub up against,” added Mrs. Hecocks.

The audience’s reactions were also a bit mixed. According to Pastor Chet, most of them were positive, since many people were not aware of Human Trafficking. He felt it accomplished their goal to “make them aware so that they will help begin the prayer process of involvement.” He was absolutely right. Lines to the info booths outside the Theatre stretched impossibly long after each show, and it seemed like there were never enough info packets to give. It was amazing to see how many people saw the need, and decided to make a difference by doing something about it. The words of Edmund Burke never rung so true, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Evil definitely did not win this time.

Though many people would admit that the performance was a hard one to watch, it was unforgettable, and will forever be remembered as one of the most powerful productions CCA has ever produced.

A CCA parent whose children were in the show said, “It was uncomfortable, compelling, dark, and devoid of a happy ending. As I worked front of house, I heard these sentiments expressed over and over in many ways. But the words of one person stick with me who said, as she left, ‘That is hands down the very best production I have ever seen.’”

Annie Jr. is a heartwarming story, set in the 1930s, about an orphaned girl who finds a “forever family,” and was performed November 12-13, 2010 in the Calvary Chapel Theatre. Annie (Alyssa Wiles) longs to be with her birth parents who promised to come back for her some day, but has been stuck in an orphanage with the mean caretaker, Miss Hannigan (Coral Eakins), for years. Annie gets her lucky break when Oliver Warbucks’ assistant, Grace (Blesi Tchividjian), comes to the orphanage looking for an orphan to spend Christmas with the millionaire (Kyle Lackore). Although surprised that Grace returns with a girl instead of a boy, Warbucks falls in love with Annie, and starts planning to adopt her, until Annie explains that her family promised to come back for her.

When Warbucks spares no expense in a massive search for Annie’s parents, Miss Hannigan, her sleazy brother, Rooster (Alex Joyel), and his girlfriend, Lily (Mary Contini), conspire to claim Annie as their daughter to get the reward money. When their identities are discovered and it’s revealed that Annie’s real parents are dead, Warbucks adopts Annie and she finally gets the “forever family” she’d always wanted.

The show was a huge success, but don’t take the words of this reporter. Here’s what some of the cast and director had to say…

“Everyone worked so hard to do their parts and really brought the show together. I’m really thankful for the directors who worked day and night to help us work our best and bring the glory to the Lord!” — Alyssa Wiles.

“I think that the play went really well. We had a few difficulties, but in the end a lot of people came to know Christ.” –Coral Eakins

“My favorite part of the show was the audience’s reaction to the adoptive families. It just confirmed what we were talking about, how adoptive families really were the heroes.” –Mrs. Sheri Hecocks

The play used a number of special effects and props to build up some of its eerie settings, such as the “graveyard” scenes that were used multiple times throughout. Jagged looking trees, tombstones, and a great amount of smoke from fog machines successfully captured the creepy and suspenseful sensations of being at a graveyard in the dead of night. Mr. Flay even admits that the most challenging thing about working on the production was how they had to change scenes so often, and how they had to work to keep the audience’s attention.

Also, the use of makeup and costumes greatly contrived to the different settings and characters. Mrs. Havisham’s (Erika Todric) character, as well as many others, used carefully sketched makeup lines to create the picture of an elderly woman, and from far away it was somewhat hard to tell that she was only wearing makeup.
The students gave a spectacular performance, but it was obvious to most that Mrs. Havisham played by Erika Todric, and Pip played by Jordan Glindomrong stole the show with their acting skills, especially Jordan, with the memorization of his many lines and monologues.

“Great Expectations is a well known work, and trying to do the character justice was tough, especially since each individual audience member who has read the book came with a preconceived idea of who the character was,” said Glindomrong.  “Finding the characterization was pretty challenging, as well as memorizing all the lines. At first, I was intimidated, but then I remembered that God will never give you more than you can handle.”

Many of the students felt how this production stretched them as actors, emotionally, and most importantly, spiritually. Playing a Londoner, ninth grader Alexa Kinssies also expressed how she grew closer to the Lord just by being in the Christian atmosphere of her fellow actors and actresses.
“Every day we would just sit and pray, and you really just got to see the heart of the actors and that they really do love God. It encouraged me to really get into my devotions and read my Bible on a daily basis,” Kinsies said.

The production’s technical director, Mike Hornsby, shared how he felt that he grew spiritually throughout Great Expectations just by learning about Pip’s story.
“Just the story of Great Expectations is a story for all of us. Pip was a boy coming from a small town working for her sister’s husband, and that was it. He didn’t know anything more than that, and what the world had to offer him.  Similarly, we know nothing of God’s blessings for us. He has His own ‘Great Expectations’ for us, and the blessing of eternal life.”

The play in and of itself showed a spiritual message: The Lord knows what he has planned for you, and if you choose to accept Him, He will do great things within you. You don’t have to turn to the world for answers, because God is right in front of you ready to give you an awesome future, if you’re willing to follow Him and have faith.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” —Jeremiah 29:11

This year, CCA’s winter musical, The Wizard of Oz, was entered into the Cappies and received six different nominations! The nominees were: senior Kim Kelly for best supporting actress in a musical, junior Erika Toderic for best female vocalist, senior Shannon Anderson for best female dancer, senior Ben Sturman for best featured actor in a musical, Mike Hornsby, Kyle Lackore, and Pierce Gainey for lighting, and Robert diScipio, Esteban Dager, Mike Hornsby, and Cameron Kostoff for stage crew.

The gala took place on Tuesday, May 18, at the Broward Center for Performing Arts. The evening consisted of nominated performances for best musicals and the announcement of awards to winning nominees. “It was a great way to experience and appreciate all the hard work from other high schools,” said Oz’s Director, Mrs. Lisa Flay.

Next Monday, May 17, the Middle School Chorus and Band, together with the High School Band will be presenting songs from the past with changed lyrics that glorify God and present the gospel message of Jesus Christ to tunes such as Rockin’ Robin and Under the Boardwalk.

The singers and players will also perform music pieces that were adjudicated at the ACSI Music Festival and the District 15 Music Performance Assessment that earned both their departments a Superior ratings.  Finally, we will lift up new songs before our God as a fragrant offering to the One who is worthy of all honor and praise.  It will be a concert you and your family won’t want to miss!

The Fine Arts Endorsement Track is very artistically rigorous in nature, but it provides students with an extended course structure not offered to the average CCA student, and helps them to prepare for specialized studies in the area of interest. Increased potential for school to career course exploration, college admission, and scholarship opportunities are only some of the benefits.

The CCA Fine Arts Endorsement was created to do “a combination of three things,” says the Fine Arts Director Tim Flay. “When we looked at how God blessed CCA with outstanding facilities, talented faculty, and incredible gifted students, it seemed obvious that God was calling us to do more with what He had given us.”

“Dance is my way of giving back to the Lord and worshipping Him for the talents that He’s blessed me with. It brings me so much joy to be able to use my gifts to glorify Him and share that joy with other people,” says dancer Kelsey Thomas.

She, as well as other dancers who are coming back, have a different perspective of the show.  “I am now an experienced dancer , but more than that, I can truly understand the meaning behind the dances and the power of the story it portrays about the creation of the world. We are a part of that creation,” says Thomas.

Creation is a breathtaking adventure through the book of Genesis that an audience of all ages will be able to enjoy! Come witness the excitement of a concert in dance at the Calvary Chapel Theater on Friday, March 19 at 7:30pm, Saturday, March 20 at 1:30pm and 8:00pm, and Sunday, March 21 at 3:00pm. Tickets range form $10, $15, and $20 and are on sale now at http://www.ccaeagles.org under Fine Arts.