Frostproof Teachers Fairy Tale Fantasies Come To Life

Everyone, at some point, has wanted to play the part of their favorite fairy tale character: to be kissed by Prince Charming, to battle an evil dragon, or cast a wicked spell on their enemies. Well, at Frostproof Middle Senior High on March 28, four lucky teachers had their dreams come true.

It started as a benefit to help the drama club pay for set and costumes for their upcoming show, "A Grimm Night for Hans Christian Andersen," which will open on Thursday, May 15 at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center.

The idea was born in a drama club meeting when students were thinking of ways to publicize the spring play and raise money at the same time. Since the play features traditional fairy tale characters "stepping out of their stories" and interacting in real-world situations, drama teacher Julie Spires said the idea was "ideal."

Club members soon found 29 staff members to volunteer to play dress up for the day. Volunteers selected their favorite fabled personalities and then posed for pictures that were superimposed onto images of the fairy tale characters. Pictures were pasted on containers and students and faculty members spent one week "voting" with money.

Originally, only the first place teacher was supposed appear in "full fairy tale fashion," but the fundraiser was such a success that four teachers were able to sport their favorite costumes.

World History teacher Carmen Hood won first place with more than 11,000 votes. She chose to dress as Belle from "Beauty and the Beast" in a yellow full-length ball gown. "All this wouldn't have been possible with out the support of my students," she said.

Second place winner was science teacher Fred Powell, who got into the spirit of the day by shaving his head and allowing drama students to paint him green to complete his Shrek outfit.

"It was a crazy day," he said.

Third place winner Julie Spires sported black and white hair and a furry orange coat to complete her Cruella DeVil costume. She said, "It was a phenomenal success! We raised $442 and the kids had fun voting and being goofy with their teachers."

First place winner for middle school was English teacher Jennifer Sabin, who dressed as Little Red Riding Hood. She said, "The kids got so excited about the idea. I even tied it into my lesson plans so we could read the real fairy tale of 'Little Red.' It was really a fun way to support the school."

Spires said the money from the fundraiser came just in time to finish painting the set for a night of "real" fairy tale action, when her students take the stage for the spring play, which features the Frog Prince, Rapunzel, Prince Charming and the Little Mermaid, among others.

Tickets for the May 15 performance are $5 and can be purchased at the door.