Show notes
They took the audience back in time to the 1940’s with period costumes, a creative set design, and delightful music. On this episode of the Supercast, listen as Midas Creek Elementary School students take the stage in a lively and uplifting performance of the musical “Don’t Say No to the USO.” It is a family-friendly production with a focus on humor, suspense, and nostalgia, combined with a student performance which had everyone clapping and doing some toe tapping. Audio Transcription Anthony Godfrey:You’re the total package, you can create the costume, direct it, pull the kids together, bring out the best in them. Robin Michelsen:Not alone. Anthony Godfrey:Singing, dancing, and acting. Robin Michelsen:Not alone, not alone. Brynn:She is incredible, you guys. She is amazing. You know what she did? She hand-sewed my entire dress. And she is just, she's amazing. It's incredible how much thought she put into this play. (upbeat music) (bell ringing) Anthony Godfrey:Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They took the audience back in time to the 1940s with period costumes, a creative set design, and delightful music. On this episode of the Supercast, listen as Midas Creek Elementary School students take the stage in a lively and uplifting performance of the musical, "Don't Say No to the USO”. It is a family-friendly production with a focus on humor, suspense, and nostalgia. It was a spectacular student performance that had everyone clapping and doing some toe tapping. We're here with Robin Michelsen at Midas Creek Elementary talking about the performances of "Don't Say No to the USO” that just completed last night. I was able to see it on opening night. What a wonderful performance. Tell us a little bit about what happened. Robin Michelsen:Well, I've been at the school for 15 years. We've done a play, we've tried to do a play every year. Of course, COVID came in, we had a couple of other years that got skipped that we didn't do it. We try to do something that correlates to the sixth-grade curriculum, but I will have to say this is my favorite play of all the plays we do. We do one in Egypt, we do one in the Middle Ages, but this is the one. Anthony Godfrey:It was really impactful for me. First of all, it really transports you to the 40s, takes place during World War II, and the hairstyles, the costumes, and the dialogue. It was just really cool to go back in time, and some sixth graders really pulled off looking like they were from the 40s. Robin Michelsen:They did. Anthony Godfrey:Tell me about the costumes and the hair. I know that you made the costumes, so let's hear about that. Robin Michelsen:Well, this is the second time we've done this play. We did this play also in 2017. So I had some of the costumes, I had a lot of the military costumes. I didn't make those, I went to military, what do they call them? Anthony Godfrey:Surplus Robin Michelsen:Surplus stores. I went to some surplus stores and took them in and stuff, so I didn't make those from scratch. But a lot of the dresses I had, some of those dresses are actually authentic. They're actually 1940s, '50s dresses. Anthony Godfrey:That doesn't surprise me. Not that I was there, but it looks like what you imagine the 40s to be. Robin Michelsen:Yeah, some of them are authentic. Actually, a funny story that the girls don't wear those kinds of dresses. So I would ask them to wear something that they could change into, and then they come out and it doesn't fit or whatever, and they realize they didn't know how to undo the zipper or the buttons. I had to show them how to put it on. There was one that zips up the back, and she's trying to zip it up the front. It was just kinda cute. They just don't have dresses like that anymore. Anthony Godfrey:How did you figure out how to show these girls and their families how to do their hair? Robin Michelsen:I took pictures. Anthony Godfrey:40s hair for the boys is pretty easy. Robin Michelsen:It is. Anthony Godfrey:40s hair for the girls is complex. That is sculpture. Robin Michelsen:I found some videos on YouTube and sent them to the moms. Sent videos and some pictures, and stuff. Didn't they do an awesome job? Anthony Godfrey:They did so good. Robin Michelsen:I don't know how much hairspray that took. (laughing) Anthony Godfrey:It really was amazing, and I understand that you involved more kids than ever in this one. This was a ton of kids to be part of the cast and part of the stage crew. Robin Michelsen:It was quite a few. In a previous time we did it, we actually had more, which turns out to be really hard when you have so many. And that time we double cast. We had two people for each part. Anthony Godfrey:Well, that just shows how many people want to be part of this. Robin Michelsen:Yeah, so that was really hard. We've kind of said we'll never do that again. (laughing) Not with two for each part. But yeah, there were a lot of kids. You know, and they were so good about coming every morning. For the kids that committed from the beginning just stuck with it. We had only one kid move out from the signups in December. Anthony Godfrey:Really? That's incredible. And they had to sing, they had to dance. There was, of course, acting and dialogue. And it went so smoothly. They worked really hard, as did you. Their efforts were apparent in the outcome. It was so well done. Robin Michelsen:One of my favorite things about these plays is a lot of times you give a part to a child and they act like, “Oh, I don't know if I can do that. I don't know if I want a speaking part or I can sing.” And they just find something within themselves that they didn't know they had. It's like wonderful to watch. It's wonderful to watch them blossom, to find that within themselves. Anthony Godfrey:That's the beauty of this is that students may not come into this thinking, “Oh yeah, I'm going to be able to act, dance, and sing.” Robin Michelsen:That's right. Anthony Godfrey:And you help them discover something that they didn't realize was there. Robin Michelsen:Yes, yes. Anthony Godfrey:And I heard that there are high school students who look back on their experience with you. Robin Michelsen:That has happened, yes. Anthony Godfrey:And they are in theater in one way or another because of their experiences here. Tell me about some of those students. Robin Michelsen:I do, I have students. If I know, if they let me know that they're performing at middle school, I'll go watch them. I go let them know that I am still interested in their performing. And I do, I have them come back and say, “Oh, I was the lead in this part.” Yeah, it's really awesome to watch them grow into that. Anthony Godfrey:It's a lasting impact. Robin Michelsen:It is a lasting impact. Anthony Godfrey:You can even just see it when the kids are on stage, how much they love being able to do that and being a part of something like that. Now, for those of you who have not seen “Don't Say No to the USO”, there's something special that you do at the end of the performance that makes it very personal for all of the families involved. Tell everyone about that. Robin Michelsen:We do a salute to the military. So we have all the flags in there. We have the Navy and the Air Force, and the kids have learned a little bit of each of their songs. So as they're making a tribute to each of the branches of the military, we are showing pictures, their family donates pictures to us, and we've made a slideshow that is up on the wall that is going in a slideshow as they're singing the song. It really is moving. Anthony Godfrey:Yeah, I also love the song about uniting, and we are one. I don't remember the exact-- Robin Michelsen:That is it, you remember that is it. We are one, yes. Anthony Godfrey:It was so well done, as everyone kind of comes together literally as they sing about that. It was very moving for me to see that, and it's a great message. I would think that students are impacted not only because they've discovered talents within themselves, but they connect to history, and they connect to a sense of patriotism. Robin Michelsen:They do, and so I did something different this year. I actually put together an assembly for this. Just the sixth graders this year. Because they kept asking what certain things were. What's the USO, or what's this line mean? So we put together an assembly and we talked about the history this time 'cause so they would know what they were doing. So I did a slide show, it was an hour, and they were really interested. They really were. We talked about World War I a little bit and how that led to World War II, and the USO and how it was created, and when did the United States entered into the war, and all of that. And I think it just, it really honed it in for them. Between finding their ancestors' pictures and hearing about the history. I think that's what really connected for them 'cause I did have students come and say, I didn't know, I didn't know I had veterans in my family. Because it's not something most parents are gonna talk about, really, right? It just over dinner table. So that was really amazing. Anthony Godfrey;Now we just stepped out, we pulled you away from the cast party at the end of the performances, and there were kids crying at the loss of not being able to continue to work on this show. Tell me about the impact on you and on the students. Robin Michelsen:Well, first of all, they asked if they could put their costumes on for the cast party. I was like, no, we are done with that part. It was a lot of work to get them dressed before the rehearsals. Yeah, it's a lot of work. It's a lot of work, but I don't obviously do all the work. It's so many people helped. If I start naming names, I'm gonna leave somebody out. But we have teachers, we have a teacher who was, someone here who was a teacher who's retired now 10 years, who's always liked theater, and she came. She is the one who helped a lot in the mornings and-- Anthony Godfrey:I think I saw her in the media center when I went to see the cast before the performance. Robin Michelsen:Yes, she hasn't taught in 10 years, and she still just loves, just wants to be a part of it. Yeah, and so we have parents that step up and teachers who aren't sixth-grade teachers. It really is a community endeavor, and it brings the community together. Anthony Godfrey:Oh, absolutely. Robin Michelsen:Which I think is really important 'cause that goes over into everything else. Into school, into academics, to have a close community. Anthony Godfrey:Absolutely, it's a huge impact. I'm sure there are students looking forward to being a sixth grader and trying out. Robin Michelsen:I've heard that a lot already. (laughs) Anthony Godfrey:It's a lot of pressure. Robin Michelsen:Especially, yeah, it's a lot of pressure, especially 'cause we haven't done it the last two years. So we skipped the last two years, and yeah, so now all of a sudden it's like, “You are doing this in three years, right? In four years, right?” I don't know. Let me catch my breath. (laughs) Anthony Godfrey:Everyone's staking their claim. Robin Michelsen:They are. Anthony Godfrey:What got you started in this? What got you started in theater? Robin Michelsen:The same teacher, Mrs. Goodman, that I'm talking about. So she taught here when I first started, and she started the play. Actually my background is, I'm a seamstress. It's what I did before I became a teacher: I sew. So she wanted some help with the costumes, and the next thing I know, that's what I was doing. So her and I are good friends, close, and that's just kinda how it developed. I would help with the background and all of that. Anthony Godfrey:So you're the total package. You can create the costume, direct it, pull the kids together, bring out the best in them. Singing, dancing, and acting. Robin Michelsen:Not alone, not alone. Anthony Godfrey:I know, I know, there's a lot, but it takes someone right at the center of it. Robin Michelsen:I don’t sing. (laughs) Anthony Godfrey:Well, I was very impressed, so I called our communications staff and said, "Can we get out there in the next couple of days?" Because I wanted to really talk with you and the students about it. Because I was just so blown away at the quality of the performance, how excited everybody was about it, and the impact of the message. So bravo. Robin Michelsen:Thank you so much. Anthony Godfrey:Well done and thanks for all the extra effort you put into this. Robin Michelsen:Thank you. Anthony Godfrey:It's obvious that it's paying off in big ways. Robin Michelsen:Oh, thank you so much. I have one last thing to say. I feel like I'd be remiss in saying, if the administration at our school wasn't supportive, it wouldn't happen. I mean, a lot of things have to be bent. And a lot of, when I say that, like we take this room or we'll take that room, or there's just a lot of adjusting. 'Cause we have band in the morning, and choir, and yeah, without a supportive administration, we just, we couldn't get it on. Anthony Godfrey:Well, I'm glad that combination is available here with your talents and their support. It's created a great opportunity for these students and a great connection for the community, like you said. So thank you for everything you've done. Robin Michelsen:Thank you, thank you. Anthony Godfrey:And I look forward to the next performance, whenever that is. Robin Michelsen:Oh, but they, do you know we already know what it is. Anthony Godfrey:Okay, all right. We won't– no spoilers. Robin Michelsen:No spoilers. Next year. Anthony Godfrey:Thank you very much. Robin Michelsen:All right, thank you. Students Singing: ♪ A country young and bright. ♪ Anthony Godfrey:Stay with us. When we come back, more from Midas Creek Elementary School. Students Singing:♪ Working hand in hand, together we must stand. ♪ Break:Never miss an episode of the Supercast by liking and subscribing on your favorite podcasting platform. Find transcripts for this episode and others at supercast.jordandistrict.org. (upbeat music) Break:In Jordan School District, we like to support students in and outside the classroom along with their families. That's where the Jordan Family Education Center comes in, offering support services and a wide variety of classes for students and their families, free of charge. You can take a class called Blues Busters for children feeling sad or worried. Just Breathe is a class that helps students reduce stress. Or how about a class that supports parents in helping their children make and keep good friends. There are also support groups and free counseling, all provided by Jordan School District school psychologists, counselors, and school psychology interns. To find out how you can benefit from free family support services offered by the Jordan Family Education Center, call 801-565-7442 or visit guidance.jordandistrict.org. (upbeat music) Anthony Godfrey:We're here with two students at Midas Creek who were in “Don't Say No to the USO”. I had such a great time seeing this two nights ago, but I had to come back and talk with you for the podcast. Introduce yourself and tell me a little bit about what it's meant for you to be in that production. Hank:I'm Hank, and I was Professor Sullivan, the hypnotist in this play. And I really liked how the play brought us together in this school, and what it meant to me was really amazing. Brynn:I'm Brynn, I was Ruth Taylor. I…
Full show notes at the publisher 
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
Stay Connected
