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A sweet little bit about our Wonkerers…..

In this insert we are hoping to give our audience an idea about our cast and crew. Descriptions of characters were co- written by several members of our faculty and photography club. Fifth grader, Lilly Wood took the lead in many descriptions. Cast members are listed in the order from the Willy Wonka Jr. program guide.

This is Kayla Barlow's first year here at T.C. Miller and what a magical talent she has proven to be. She portrays the famous Willy Wonka and takes this mischievous charismatic person into her own light and us on an incredible journey.

Jamil Wade shows us the sweet side of this amazing story! He shows that no matter how crazy or rude LIFE can be, you always have to be kind and think positive! This essentially makes him perfect for the role of the meek yet courageous and honest Charlie.

Gabe Garcia is our joyful Candy Man! The Candyman is a kind and giving character that Gabe portrays perfectly. He will make you want to clap your hands and dance along as he takes you into the magical joy of candy! With that grin and charisma you may even want to run up and buy a Wonka Bar from him after the show!

Najee Ford portrays, you know you love him, Grandpa Joe. He is Charlie’s role model and friend who will make you wish he was yours. Najee is hilarious and outgoing, which gives him the perfect amount of energy for this part.

Charlie’s Father, Mr. Bucket, is portrayed by Rashad Patterson. Mr. Bucket is the hard working, kind, family first, dad that will do anything for the people he loves. Rashad, who is just as kind, pulls this part off with ease as he lights up the stage!

Mrs. Bucket is Charlie’s stay at home mom who is kind, patient, and sweet. Niyah Munson is an astonishing actress who will make us just a little bit more cheered up, for the rest of our day as she shows us how keeping a family together through challenging times can be rough but always worth it in the end. 

Lilly Wood is a natural on the stage. She’s one of those actresses that can put a sparkle in your happy character, a mischievous grin on your silly character, and an evil frown to your mean one. She is also a role model. This makes her perfect to play the character, Phineous Trout, who must keep the scenes rolling along and must interact with practically everyone.

Augustus Gloop is our German extreme over eater and is played by Sierra Hester. The funny thing about her playing this role is that she does anything but overeat. You will have a hard time keeping a straight face when little ole Sierra entertains us with this character.  Sierra is so much fun and energetic so she can pull off this part with ease.

Sophia Haupt is absolutely hysterical at playing the role of the over-protective German mother, Mrs. Gloop. Her German accent is so impressive you would think that she really did come from Germany. Mrs.Gloop will give her daughter, Augustus any kind of foods she wants and encourages her to eat all the time! Their duet, “I eat more” is a hoot!

Don’t take your eyes off Brantley Carson as she portrays the spoiled brat, Veruca Salt. But, trust me when I say that Brantley is anything but! She is kind and patient, but not as Veruca! Brantley lets everything out as she shows us her true talent while she sasses anyone in her way! In real life she may be wrapped around both her parents little fingers, but in a good way.

The wealthy, arrogant father of the spoiled brat Veruca Salt is played by James Davis. He, himself is a mild-tempered fun loving kid but he sure can put on some acting. You will smile and laugh as he shows how his character, Mr. Salt, will do anything to get his daughter what she wants

The gum chewing sass talker is our Khalis Jones! Khalis is amazing in the role of Violet Beauregarde! She loves doing this part and is an outstanding actress that you won’t soon forget!  She keeps us shaking our heads but smiling as she keeps chomping away at that gum for the whole show.

Violet’s Mother, Mrs. Beauregarde, is the one and only Sarah Short! Sarah is extremely good at playing the role of a mom who is uptight about the way her child acts! In real life, Sarah is an amazing friend and student who is always kind and giving to everyone. She actually is the one who will try to guide her classmates into becoming better students. What an excellent role for one of our role model students.

You won’t be texting on your phone during this show! But don’t be surprised if you see Jalil McEntyre pull out his phone ON STAGE! It’s all part of the act! Jalil is hilarious and loves to act! Watching him portray Mike Teavee might just keep you from looking at your phone the entire show! (Even if you’re in a group text!)

Kiera Riddle will show you the scatter brained Ms.Teavee! Kiera is a standing ovation actress whose role playing will make you laugh! Ms.Teavee sometimes dreams about going places like Hawaii even while her son is crazily obsessed with electronics! (Please take me with you Kiera!)

Marquis White illustrates the role of James, Charlie’s best friend. Marquis loves to act and he is definitely friends with Jamil! He is so much fun to do theater with!

Charlie’s good friend is Matilda portrayed by Emily Young. Emily is smart, kind, spunky and in charge! She is not afraid to be herself on stage. For a small kid she has a huge heart, an enormous amount of energy and is plain just fun to be around. No doubt she is a natural at being Charlie’s best friend.

Who better to play the role of the quick-witted, cheerful Grandma Josephine but our sweet Macy Neal. We are so thankful to have her on our team this year because she is one of those kids who can light up the stage!

The hard of hearing Grandpa George is played by J.T. Osborne.  He is guaranteed to make you laugh as he brings his own humor to the stage.

  Oompa Loompa/Candy Kids/Squirrels/Backstage/Sound/Lights

We have an incredibly talented selection of young people playing various roles on stage as well as off stage.  In this next section we have either interviewed the cast member or asked their peers to describe a little bit about them.

Ayana Brown is a versatile young lady as she is both a candy kid and Oompa Loompa. She has tons of energy and loves performing for others.

Payton Anderson is a main Oompa Loompa with a great voice. In her first performance here at T.C. Miller. Payton is proving to be one excellent singer. You would never guess that in reality she is quite shy.

Molly Ellis loves being on stage! This is her first actual play but she has been in many open performances and excels in the jump rope club with her athletic moves and pizzazz. She is a natural and her dedication to doing her best makes it easy to work with her.

Ayonna Hayden is doing a great job as one of our Oompa Loompas and looks great on stage.  She has many parts throughout the play and with each does an amazing job.

Anesa Brown is a great dancer and enjoys helping others improve their dancing skills. She will be missed next year as she moves on to the middle school.

Kiara Nelson loves to sing and dance and has loved learning the choreography for Willy Wonka. She shows that talent in her roles of a candy kid and an Oompa Loompa. We hope to see her in future productions as she moves on to middle and high school.

Joseph Pinkins’ favorite part about being in Willy Wonka is the action. He says he loves the action and likes to keep moving. If that isn’t an understatement we don’t know what one is!  We absolutely love his enthusiasm and his one of a kind sweet grin.

Destiny Wynn is in her first production at T. C. Miller and is starting to adjust to performing onstage as a candy kid and an Oompa Loompa.

Trevon Moss has stepped out of his shell this year and joined the performance action as an Oompa Loompa.

Lyndsey Foster is also in her first play. She loves the fact that people have a lot of spirit while performing. She loves being able to be an Oompa Loompa because they were her favorite characters in the movie.

Xiomara Cunningham may be shy but on stage, she is anything but. She is an awesome candy kid. She also has been doing a fantastic job performing in our jump rope club.  

Talaya Hogue is a bundle of joy. She is always smiling and helps promote a positive atmosphere at our practices. She was in Peter Pan this summer and was amazing. We hope she continues in more productions here so that we always see her fun-loving, happy face.

Meliyah Webb is one of our youngest performers; however, she is no stranger to the stage. She performs for her family and in her church all the time. She was also in our Peter Pan production this summer. She loves the fact that she can learn different roles and how the cast takes everything so serious. This child has the charm and personality to succeed in acting.

Gianna Early is full of energy and shows that in her role as a candy kid, part of the chocolate river, and a fantastic squirrel….whew that’s a lot! Keep an eye out! This talented young lady is going places!

Sam Boswell is continuing the tradition that his siblings left. Sam loves to sing and gives his all as one of our squirrels. He is excited about being able to hold the big giant candy and be a part of the good nut, bad nut scene. He does a great job in our show choir and just like a squirrel, he likes to travel!

Allie Riddle is a third grader and one of our 3 squirrels. She is a great friend and gives encouragement to everyone around her. She has stepped her game up this year as she plays multiple roles. 

Cody Harsh is a very good helper and funny to have around. Last year he did a sensational job on sound and we are sure he will rock it this year as well. Cody has worked the sound board for our last two major productions and is becoming a wiz at it. He will be greatly missed when he moves on to the middle school.

 Brady Manville is a fifth grader whose love for baseball and football did not stop him from helping with stage lights He is a “bright” addition to our crew this year. We hope he keeps shining in everything he does as he moves on to the middle school!

Mark Settje is a vital part of our production as he maneuvers the curtains and props. As part of our stage crew he has been very flexible and has not complained as daily changes have been made. Good luck in middle school!

Tamiya Watts is so sweet and kind-hearted and she sure can help people get their groove on backstage! Anyone you see on stage it’s because Tamiya got them out there by being part of the backstage crew! Keep being sweet as you move to middle school Tamiya!

Aniyah Webb is the strength of the crew along with her partners Mark and Tamiya. They are the ones that magically get the props appear and disappear.

Brianna Cunningham loves to volunteer! As part of stage crew she will make sure you are seated and ready to enjoy our World of Pure Imagination. 

Kimauri Bradley is a fun- loving soul and is an amazing friend to have. She is responsible and loves to volunteer. She will also show you to your seat and make sure you have a sweet treat of a time.

Javonte Davis considers himself sort of a Mike Teavee because he loves video games and watching TV! At the same time, he also likes to do math and be active. He is looking forward to being part of the stage crew and hopes to get an acting role next year.