Budding Actor
When Emery Tillman was in fourth grade, he had two opportunities to play a leading role on stage in the Gorelick Family Theater. First, he was Baloo in his class’s performance of The Jungle Book. His success in that role, combined with his enthusiasm for theater, led Krista Maggart, Lower School theater director, to cast Emery as Willy Wonka in the Lower School’s first extracurricular play for third and fourth graders.
While Emery has been in class plays since kindergarten, being in Willy Wonka Kids was a chance to perform alongside students in different grades and classes. Every day after school, he practiced with those students, Ms. Maggart, and Drama Assistant Katy Johns.
Emery Tillman Fourth Grade
Ms. Maggart encourages me, and she is always nice. Like if I get a line wrong, she shares a story about a time she messed up. She’s funny and she tries to make us feel better. Mrs. Johns is very helpful and she’s the one who gets our mouths warmed up when we’re about to sing. I think Ms. Maggart and Mrs. Johns are really good at working together."
