Ah, ye good olde days
from Loesche!

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

The fifth-graders in the mentally gifted program at the William Loesche Elementary School have a good reason for spending every day focused on their upcoming play.
They want to put on an excellent performance of A Masked Ball on Wednesday, March 28, in the auditorium of the Somerton school.
"Practice makes perfect," said Mina Savanarola.
The 26 students have a big stake in the outcome of the show. Besides starring in the play, they wrote the script, designed the costumes and created the scenery.
Two weeks from show time, the youngsters think they have something good in store for the audience.
"I’m pretty sure it’s going to be very, very good," said Michael Vicario, the stage manager.
Gloria Sherman, the teacher in the fifth-grade mentally gifted program, believes she made the right decision by giving so much authority to the students. Sherman described the children as good listeners who have become comfortable with the material. They’ve developed a stage presence and strengthened their voices to help them enunciate their lines.
"They’ve worked very hard," she said. "They’ve done it themselves. I just oversee. They’re doing a fabulous job. They’re very talented children who can express themselves in different ways."
In September, the students began learning about the Renaissance — the great revival of art, literature and learning in Europe in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.
By November, they were working on their play. To prepare, they read textbooks, searched the computer and watched Young Bess, a classic film about England’s Queen Elizabeth I, whose reign coincided with the Renaissance years.
"It was hard sometimes, but we’ve had fun and learned a lot," said Ryan McArdle, who plays Leonardo da Vinci.
Added Edward Ta, who plays Lorenzo de Medici: "It takes a lot of practice."
Making sure that preparation for the show is running smoothly has taken precedence over recess and other fun activities.
"We’ve been working every day," said Haley Lipschutz, who plays a ballerina and serves as mistress of ceremonies.
The students play the roles of famous explorers, artists, astronomers, inventors, writers and others in the show. It takes place in the palace of Lorenzo de Medici, an Italian statesman and ruler.
The characters, who wear masks to a ball, include Machiavelli, Romeo and Juliet, Nicolaus Copernicus, Sir Isaac Newton, Galileo, Michelangelo, Joan of Arc, Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo, Leonardo da Vinci and Queen Isabella of Spain.
"We learned a lot about famous people during the Renaissance," said Adam Tartaglia, who plays Copernicus.
The centerpiece of the production is a series of two-minute conversations about the characters. Sherman told the students to write their pieces in a witty, fun, interesting and informative manner.
The show also includes acting, ballet, singing and the sounds of a violin, flute and trumpet.
"There are a lot of exciting parts," said fourth-grader Yana Matkivsky.
As an added bonus, Matkivsky will entertain the crowd with an acrobatics and gymnastics performance that Sherman and fellow students say has to be seen to be believed.
"She’s awesome," Mina Savanarola said.
The students have designed posters promoting the show, sent personalized invitations and created drawings of their characters that will hang in the auditorium during the show.
The 90-minute show will start at 9:30 a.m. Fourth- and fifth-graders, along with the parents of the performers, will fill the seats of the auditorium. Jacqueline Barnett, the city’s secretary of education, will be in attendance as well.
The community also is invited free of charge to watch the production. The school is at 595 Tomlinson Road (at Bustleton Avenue) in Somerton.
"It’s been fun," said Stepan Orlovskiy, who will play Machiavelli. "We get to draw and learn about the Renaissance." ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com