Unbridled enthusiasm might just be an understatement in describing the young thespians working under the guidance of Lisa Balogh to put the finishing touches on Jackson Avenue's upcoming Tuesday, March 31, 7:30 p.m. performance of The Pirates of Penzance.

While the actors portraying the characters of the pirates and the daughters were on stage diligently rehearsing, the "Klip-Klop" of the tap shoes of the actors playing the police could be heard as they themselves prepared for their scene.

It is constant motion for these energetic students and therefore for the teacher as well as she works with that energy in producing the musical.

Choosing a Gilbert and Sullivan musical for a group of children between the ages of 10 and 11 might seem a peculiar choice, but not to Balogh who last year had the children performing William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

According to Balogh, the choices for children this age are limited so with what is available she tries to fill the criteria of providing the participants with some fun.

Part of the fun this time around is Balogh teaching her students tap dancing, something new to the students and the teacher as well. "I am learning along with them," she commented.

Having only one day a week to work with the students, she teaches them through repetition. She began in October working with them on diction, annunciation, and projection and progressed all the way up into the realm of creative imagery and performing with the audience in mind.

When encountering something new, such as the aforementioned tap dancing, then the teacher utilizes a style of teaching she describes as "Kamikaze Theater." In other words she has the children jump right into it.

Over the course of time, the director has seen more smiles, more confidence and more self esteem.

"It is a tremendous gift to see them at the end of a performance," commented Balogh, "They are lit-up."

This is all the result of painstaking efforts to put together a sophisticated performance in a limited amount of time and with a limited amount of materials.

This is accomplished with the help of a talented teacher/director, generous parents and student thespians up to the task at hand.

"This experience is a tremendous exercise in discipline and cooperating with one another," said Balogh.

It would seem the cooperation was contagious as this story's reporter took time during the interviews to fix tap shoes. In turn, the children grabbed his pad and pen and raced over to the stage to check on the spellings of names.

And what do these young performers think of the whole experience?

"I think it is very nice to have this opportunity for young kids like us," said Trisha Hahn. Added Jennifer Costa,"It is a pleasure being part of the play," and Shannon Winters said, "I love this program."

Timothy Palma commented that the play was very professional, and Shakira Hoursey said, "It is interesting to do a lot of cool things."

Olivia McCauley said, "I like the play because I like to sing and dance," and Lauren Portela agreed. Filipe Rodrigues said, "I like being in the play because I never tap danced before."

Lauren Raffeto, Kelly Conway, Melissa Stotzky, Sara Curly, Nihaarika Minnaganti and Madeline Leno agreed that the whole play experience is "fun."

Lynn Franciotti and Emily Vedric said it was tiring work. Victoria Baston agreed, "It is a lot of hard work, but it is worth it."

Rosa Pasculli said, "It is a wonderful experience." Nicole Lapin commented, "I think it is a great experience because when you meet new people it is a wonderful feeling." Sarah Lasorsa and Michael Skaliotis concurred that it was a "great experience."

Julianne Saitta and Cindy Sepulveda hope that they and their classmates do their best and have a great show. "I predict that it will go great," commented Corinne Marrow. "I think people will really enjoy this play because it is funny and interesting," said Alyssa Ortiz.

Mary Goggins, Stefanie Cuevedo, Lauren Portelo, Mary Deas, Anthony Cobb, Tierney Farrell, Jessica Ruggiero, Victoria Daza, Alexis Sandler, Ameilia Hill, Jennifer Preston, Cynthia Ganarra, Mallory Caolnita, Jessica Lopez, Nicole Saks, Sreeya Yalamanchali, Mary Deas, Edgar Galindo and Anthony Ricciardi round out the talented cast.

To see these dynamos in action, attend their free (though donations will be accepted) performance of The Pirates of Penzance on Tuesday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. in the Jackson Avenue Gymnasium.