Children get to act like kids

While singing an aria Tuesday, 7-year-old Katelyn Blood reflected on her life and how she would miss her friends after she had moved on to greener pastures.

She lamented about the pleasant sound of the bumblebees she would leave behind, and the lovely sight of the butterflies she had grown up with.

But she knew she had to leave her home — the grass that she ate for sustenance was growing thin — so she ventured across a nearby bridge, even though she had already been warned that a mean and hungry troll lived below it.

Katelyn’s solo was part of her role as Fanny Goat, one of three title characters in an opera called the “Three Nanny Goats Gruff,” which first-graders performed Tuesday at Monte Vista Elementary School.

First-grade teachers Shirley Sycamore and Sharon McCutcheon have been putting on mini operas with their two classes for the last four years.

Through the opera, students work on their reading comprehension skills while gaining exposure to the arts, McCutcheon said.

“It’s just another strategy to use,” she said.

This year’s production was a variation of the folk story, “The Three Billy Goats Gruff.” In the show, three “nanny” goats — Fanny, Annie and Big Bertha Lee — cross the dangerous bridge with their three “kid” brothers in search of better grazing.

Fanny and Annie fend off the fearsome troll who lives below the bridge with promises of the bigger, tastier Big Bertha Lee, who promptly knocks the troll off the bridge with her horns.

The story is told by a student “goat chorus” that narrates the events through spoken word and rhyming songs, with the help of recorded music and the direction of the two teachers. Other students act as rabbits, butterflies and bumblebees — animals who are friends of the goats.

The students get a kick out of memorizing their lines and singing on stage, Sycamore said.

“It’s got cute, quick, catchy songs,” she said.

For instance, before the goats cross the bridge, the rabbits and butterflies sing, “Watch out, watch out, there’s a troll under there. He’s big, he’s mean, he’s hungry as a bear.”

Parents assisted with everything from choreography to sound production. Nina Avanessian, who has a degree in fashion design, put together all the children’s costumes, including fluffy white jumpsuits for the goats, and delicate transparent wings for the butterflies.

Monte Vista student Mary Simonyan, 9, was impressed with the quality of the show, especially considering how young the actors and actresses were.

“The first-graders — I can’t believe it. They were amazing,” she said.

The funniest part of the play, said 7-year-old Noah Ford, who played the troll in the mid-morning production, is the end, when the troll is knocked over and then stung on the nose by a bee.

“He lives, but he learns his lesson,” Noah said.

 ANGELA HOKANSON covers education. She may be reached at (818) 637-3238 or by e-mail at angelahokanson@latimes.com.