Arts After 5 students stage 'Willy Wonka Jr.'

The students have been learning lines, song lyrics, stage cues and set changes all summer, and Saturday night, they gave a golden ticket performance.

The nonprofit Arts After 5, director Ke’Lee Pernell and her young protégés performed a lively rendition of “Willy Wonka Jr.” Saturday, Aug. 3, in the Maxey Elementary School cafetorium for parents and friends. The performers, mostly Winter Garden residents, ranged in age from 3 to 17. Some assisted in choreography and stage managing, too.

Twice weekly practices took place at the West Orange Dream Center, which was one of the program sponsors.

Pernell said she chose “Willy Wonka Jr.” because of the popularity of last year’s film “Wonka,” starring Timothée Chalamet, and she thought the students would get excited about it. She was right.

Saturday’s show was amazing, and the final show went without a hitch, she said.

“They looked great, they sounded great,” she said. “It was successful, and I was very proud.”

AFTER 5

Pernell is the energy behind Arts After 5, one of several programs under the Go Full STEAM umbrella.

Arts After 5 was started in 2015 at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church when members embarked on a community transformation project in east Winter Garden. It was a five-year arts program, and Pernell was asked to lead it because of her involvement in the church and the local theater community.

“We called it Arts After 5 because a lot of the kids were in the neighborhood and didn’t have anything to do after the 5 o’clock hour,” Pernell said.

The program originated during the school year, but when she realized the same students didn’t have anything productive to do in the summer after 5 p.m., she inquired about a summertime theater program.

“Thankfully everyone at the meeting said, ‘Let’s do it!’” Pernell said.

The first year was held at the Maxey Community Center since it sits in the middle of the targeted neighborhood, she said. The program continued to grow for several years, and then the pandemic put the program on pause.

When COVID-19 slowed down, all of the programs under the St. Luke's umbrella came together for form the nonprofit Go Full STEAM, which includes the arts but adds programs dedicated to science, technology, engineering and mathematics as well. It also concentrates on the youth in east Winter Garden.

The school year is about to start, but that doesn’t mean an end to the tuition-free program. Weekly Theater Expressions classes will continue at 5 p.m. each Thursday beginning Aug. 29. Youth participants can register ahead of time at gofullsteam.org or stop by the West Orange Dream Center.

Volunteers also are needed to keep the program running. Anyone interested in helping can visit the website to sign up.

‘WILLY WONKA JR.’ CAST AND CREW

Willy Wonka/Candy Man: Omari Pernell

Charlie Bucket: Keon Wallace

Grandpa Joe: Cyah Crawford

Grandma Georgina: Daishya Hicks

Grandma Josephina: Shontavia White

Mrs. Bucket: Willow Morris

Matilda: Milani Spence

James: Nova Arrington

Phineous Trout: Omari Pernell

Augustus Gloop: Torriah Rhodes

Mrs. Gloop: Layla Wanyoike

Veruca Salt: Z’ion Arrington

Mrs. Salt: Daishya Hicks

Violet Beauregarde: Milani Spence

Mrs. Beauregarde: Jada Reynolds

Ms. Teavee: Trinity Wallace

Mike Teavee: Ayden Brown

Oompa-Loompas/Candy Kids: Kashe Arrington, Nova Arrington, Z’ion Arrington, Ayden Brown, Cyah Crawford, Daishya Hicks, Willow Morris, Jada Reynolds, Torriah Rhodes, Logan Spence, Milani Spence, Maison Spence, Ailani Toussaint, Journei Toussaint, Trinity Wallace and Shontavia White

Director: Ke’Lee Pernell

Choreographer: Kendall Falana

Set Design: Natasha Carpenter

Stage Manager: Shuntel Rhodes

Stage Crew: Natasha Carpenter, Milka Rosado Ortiz, Lydia Johnson, Hannah Kifelew and Leira Spence