MARSHALL, MI — “Are ya ready kids?” The ensemble cast of The Spongebob Musical performing in this show July 25-27 at the Franke Center for the Arts in Marshall says, “Aye Aye Captain.”
 
As youth theater programs go, this is among the smaller ones in the area, says Chris Fulbright, Director of the Spongebob show under the Marshall Civic Players umbrella.
 
Among his bigger challenges is letting residents in neighboring communities know that “different youth theaters out there” offer lower participation fees and don’t have waiting lists. The $75 charge per youth is put towards different workshops where they learn how to build props and the set for the production, make their own costume pieces, and learn the art of acting live on stage.
 
John GrapAurora Dangerfield, left, and Lincoln Weaver rehearse a scene for the Marshall Civic Players production of “The SpongeBob Musical-Youth Edition.”They also receive a t-shirt which they wear to rehearsals which has the logo for the musical on the front and the words “Hero is my middle name” in keeping with the premise that features Spongebob Squarepants hero of our story) and his friends trying to stop their town, Bikini Bottom, from being destroyed by a nearby volcano. Their efforts are challenged by Plankton, Spongebob’s arch-enemy (the villain in our story).
 
The message conveyed is that “No matter how small you are, you can be a hero,” Fulbright says.
 
His actors range from elementary to high school age with varying degrees of acting experience. Offering a safe, inclusive space is important to Fulbright.
 
Jacob Chaffee, 10, says he was bitten by the acting bug after watching plays. He is homeschooled and attends a virtual academy through the Gull Lake schools. His grandmothers told him about the Spongbob musical and he decided to audition for the role of Perch Perkins, , a famous field reporter who works for the Bikini Bottom News. And Gabby, Spongebob’s pet snail.
 
John Grapacob Chaffee, a homeschooled student from the Gull Lake area, is one of the actors in the Marshall Civic Players production of “The SpongeBob Musical-Youth Edition.”Fulbright says Jacob is on the autism spectrum. His job as a paraprofessional with the Battle Creek Public Schools working with students with cognitive impairments gives Fulbright the tools he possesses to work with Jacob to make sure his first acting experience is positive.
 
“I let him go at his pace and know what he needs,” he says. “There’s so much negativity behind any type of learning disability and these kids are sometimes treated as second-class citizens and not always welcomed with open arms. The other cast members don’t care who you are and are very accepting.”
 
 “This is my first musical,” Jacob says. “Most of it’s easy. One of the most difficult parts is waiting.”
 
Jayda Gordon, 12, an 8th grader at Pennfield Middle School,  is also among the newbies. She plays the role of Pearl Krabs, a young, teenage whale who lives in a hollow anchor with her father, Eugene H. Krabs. When Pearl grows up, Mr. Krabs wants her to continue the family business by inheriting the Krusty Krab and becoming its owner.
 
Gordon says she relates to Pearl because of her connection to her father and her love of music and shopping. Insert Spoiler Alert: Pearl, the character, is a Daddy’s Girl who typically gets her own way.
 
Fulbright told Jayda that he thought she’d be good as either Pearl or Sandy Cheeks, an American squirrel from the surface who wears a diving suit and lives in an air-filled glass treedome to survive underwater. 
 
John GrapChris Fulbright, director for the Marshall Civic Players production of “The SpongeBob Musical-Youth Edition”, works with an actor during a rehearsal.“Chris and I attend First Congregational Church of Battle Creek and he told me about the play,” Jayda says. “When Chris mentioned the play I was like I’m definitely going to try it but when it got closer he told me I would have two solos I wasn’t sure and my grandmas and mom just talked to me about it.”

More than anything, Jayda says it’s about trying something new and taking a deeper dive into a possible career in acting. She says she prepared for her role as Pearl by thinking about how Pearl would talk and respond to the situations she finds herself in.
 
Her first foray into acting is encouraging her to try out for roles in future shows. She likes the idea that “You get to try and be like other people and see what other people go through and how they act that out.”
 
A self-described introvert, Fulbright says when he was in high school he participated in every production available. He started off playing an instrument in the orchestra pit and quickly transitioned to being on stage acting.
 
John GrapThe Franke Center for the Arts will host the Marshall Civic Players production of “The SpongeBob Musical-Youth Edition.”As an adult, he has acted in a number of productions and played Buddy in a production of “Buddy the Elf” last year with the Marshall Civic Players. That role has since become his favorite.
 
Acting, he says, “gives me a way to express myself and just feel free. I’m a very awkward person and sometimes not the best person to get along with. Being with the theater community, it’s like a family where I can be myself and feel accepted. I didn’t always have that acceptance growing up. I’ve always been big into theater and music. It gives me a chance to be somebody I’m not.”
 
While Fulbright was doing a run-through in the auditorium with some of the show's main characters, Jade Kennedy, 11 who is a 7th grader at Marshall Middle School talked about her character in the show and why she decided to audition. She plays the part of Mrs. Penelope "Poppy" Puff, originally known as the puffer sub driver, she is SpongeBob's teacher at Boating School, where she teaches students how to drive boats like underwater cars. She’s a pufferfish who wears a sailor uniform.
 
John GrapThe Franke Center for the Arts will host the Marshall Civic Players production of “The SpongeBob Musical-Youth Edition.”With one play already under her acting belt, Jade says she was planning to try out for another play at her school before coming down with a case of stage fright. She says Fulbright and her fellow Spongebob actors have helped her to get over that.
 
“I decided this is something I wanted to do because I love acting so much. I want to be famous and act in movies,” she says.
 
Of the production, she says she “likes that you get to be yourself and that I get to socialize with people who also like acting.”
 
The actors in this musical also sing and dance, including Maddie DuPont who plays the roles of Electric Skate 3, a sea anemone, a sardine, a girl fish, and a sponge. She will be attending Marshall Middle School this Fall and says this is her ninth show.
 
John GrapJade Kennedy, a Marshall Middle School student, is one of the actors in the Marshall Civic Players production of “The SpongeBob Musical-Youth Edition.”“I’ve been dancing for three years and I’ve been in a lot of productions,” Maddie says. “I’m on stage most of the time in this show and I have a lot of quick changes to make.”
 
Ensuring that Maddie and her fellow cast members have the opportunity to express themselves and stretch their artistic wings is important to Fulbright.
 
“I sometimes feel like theater, acting, art, and music are put on the back burner. Sometimes kids who have similar challenges to what I had or have cognitive or physical impairments need music and the arts to express themselves,” he says. “I would not have made it through school without theater and art. It’s a safe space for these kids and allows them to have an open environment to express themselves. They’re committed to acting and they’re having a blast.”