Area’s youngest thespians find the perfect fit in 10th anniversary YES Kidettes show

If the shoe fits, wear it on stage.

For 10 years the YES Kidettes have followed that simple credo while staging productions for and by the region’s youngest thespians. The offshoot group of the Youth Entertainment Stage Company (nicknamed YES Company) has catered to area students in first through fifth grades.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the group is staging a production of Disney’s “Cinderella, Kids.” The abbreviated take on the classic Disney princess film opens Friday and will run through the weekend at Gallo Center for the Arts.

The show will be a reprisal of the company’s first-ever production, which was also “Cinderella, Kids,” 10 years ago. It will also be YES Kidettes’ first production in the Gallo Center, where the group’s older sibling YES Company performs all its shows as a resident company.

“This was our first show, and now we’re doing it again,” said Melanee Wyatt, YES Company founding artistic and theatrical director and choreographer. “It’s the Disney production with all the familiar songs and 20 adorable mice.”

The famous story follows a girl forced to live and work in rags by her wicked stepmother and sisters, who finds her prince at a royal ball. Along the way she gets help from a Fairy Godmother, some friendly mice and one perfectly fitting glass slipper.

The YES Kidettes production features a cast of 80 from more than 40 schools across the county. Like its elder counterpart, the company teaches theatrical basics as well as cooperation and communication essentials.

“What is really special is there are some really young cast (members) in this. And they learn through the process about being responsible for having their props and where to be with staging,” Wyatt said. “It’s very fun to see them all grow. They learn to get along and work together and be kind to one another.”

Wyatt said since its inception a decade ago, YES Kidettes has become the starting point for many students. Now it’s common for her actors to have graduated through all the levels starting with Kidettes and going through YES Kids (for fourth- through eighth-graders) up through YES Company (for seventh- through 12th-graders).

One of the YES Company alumni crew members working behind the scenes on the new production was a member of the first-ever class of YES Kidettes and its inaugural “Cinderella, Kids” show. In fact, about 10 YES alumni are working on the show, helping with rehearsal and performances.

“So many of our students have gone through all the phases of YES Company now – starting with Kidettes,” Wyatt said.

This story was originally published November 15, 2016 at 8:10 PM with the headline "Area’s youngest thespians find the perfect fit in 10th anniversary YES Kidettes show."