After a show ends, cast members typically get a standing ovation. But when Cheech Manohar stepped off the stage, he was met by the embrace of an elementary schooler who was in the audience moments ago.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, the cast of the Bank of America’s Children’s Tour of “New Kid” travel to elementary schools across central New York. The shows typically start around 8 a.m.

The tour is co-produced by Syracuse Stage and the Syracuse University Department of Drama. A different show is produced each fall, with one show open to the public and all other shows performed for elementary schools.

This season’s public performance is scheduled for Nov. 7 at 11 a.m. in Archbold Theater at Syracuse Stage.

The show is written from the perspective of Nick, a young boy who moves to America from the fictional country “Homeland.” In “Homeland,” the people speak English, and in America, people speak gibberish. The play follows Nick as he struggles to adjust to the language and foreign customs in America.

Three other characters make up the cast: Nick’s mom, a bully named Mug and a girl named Mench — all played by SU students.

The cast has been traveling to schools across a five-county region since Sept. 17 and will continue until Dec. 10. In total they will visit over 9,000 students in 23 schools, performing once, sometimes twice, at each site, according to an SU news release.

Cheech Manohar, a junior musical theater major, plays the main character Nick. He said he related to Nick because he also moved to a new city when he was young — in his case, from Australia to Pittsburgh.

Since the play is so consuming, Manohar said it’s important for him to plan ahead and balance schoolwork with his time on stage.

“This is the smallest production I’ve done and yet it’s the most intense by far,” Manohar said.

Crystal Ferreiro, a senior acting major, plays Nick’s mom and said the constant traveling and waking up early can be challenging.

“It’s hard,” she said. “There was a moment where I was kind of like, I’m sick of this play, I’m sick of getting up early… but every time I feel like I’m tired of it something will happen where I’m like okay… this is why I’m doing this.”

At the end of every school show, the cast will encourage students in the audience to reflect on and discuss the theme of the play. Sometimes the conversation will take on a more serious tone.

In one school they visited, the students had just dealt with an incidence of bullying. The message of “New Kid” is to not judge someone right away; to get to know him or her first and learn from them, Manohar said.

Hopefully in hearing this message, kids can prevent prejudice and promote tolerance. Manohar also mentioned the story applies to a broader audience than just elementary school children.

“I think people hear [the word] children’s story and they think ‘Oh it’s gonna be like Little Red Riding Hood or like a fairy tale,’ but the show is really, really physical,” Manohar said. “There’s a lot of comedy and dancing in it and it’s wall-to-wall sound. It’s just like this really upbeat, energetic piece of theater that would be really exciting for anyone to see,” Manohar said.

Published on November 4, 2015 at 10:40 pm

Contact Colleen: cdsimms@syr.edu