THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 22, 1994 TAG: 9407210164
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIMMY GNASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
IT'S 6 P.M., rehearsal time.
The Brown Theater at Norfolk State University is bustling. About 85 children stampede across the stage shouting in unison: ``THE PRINCE IS GIVING A BALL! THE PRINCE IS GIVING A BALL! HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS CHRISTOPHER RUPERT WINDEMER VLADIMIR KARL ALEXANDER FRANCOIS REGINALD LANCELOT HERMON GREGORY JAMES IS . . . GIVING A BALL.''
Sound familiar?
Back in the theater's green room, Candice Sykes - the 14-year-old lead who is playing Cinderella - rehearses solo. She sits looking at a song book, wearing a pearl white dress and shelled sandals.
The lyrics flow forth. In her soft-spoken voice she sings:
``In my own little corner
In my own little chair
I can be whatever I want to be
On the wing of my fancy
I can slide anywhere
And the world will open it's arms to me.''
It's evident in these words the play has a message.
``It builds self-esteem for anybody,'' Candice says, ``whether they're grown or kids that feel they don't belong or that they're not loved.''
It's her first role as an adult. Candice, a Portsmouth native attending the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, is home and taking part in a summer workshop, which is putting on the Rodgers and Hammerstein version of ``Cinderella.'' The performance is the culmination of everything the kids learn in the program, which includes music, dance and drama.
Organized by the South Eastern Virginia Arts Association (SEVAA) and Norfolk State University, the eight-week summer arts program, which costs roughly $70, draws children from across Hampton Roads. From 6 to 9 p.m. five days a week, the kids stomp and shout through their scenes.
For Candice, the performance is a special opportunity.
``Every summer you always learn something new,'' she says. ``There's new songs you add to your repertoire, another play you add to your resume. Then there is the feel of playing a new role.''
Candice isn't the lone talent in her family. She is the daughter of a member of the 1940s R&B vocal group the Inkspots. And practically everyone on her mother's side of the family sings in gospel choirs.
She plans to get an agent in New York and seek some commercial work when she returns to school in the fall, but her goal is to one day become a vocalist.
She recalls her first performance at only 18 months of age.
``I was in a church Christmas play and I had the last two lines,'' Candice says. ``I said my line once. It was `Merry Christmas.' Then I kept saying it over and over again, and nobody could get me off the stage. So my mother said, `She likes acting.' ''
Mother's intuition is best. The child actress was hooked from the beginning.
``I continued to do plays at the church,'' Candice says. ``I couldn't do anything else because I was too young. As soon as I got to pre-school (when I was four), I did a play. In kindergarten, I did all the school plays and started voice lessons when I was five.''
Eventually, Candice became affiliated with the SEVAA workshop, which brought her to the present role as Cinderella. Reflecting on her approach to the role, she says: ``Cinderella is polite, kind and carefree, not carefree about anything but toward her stepmother and sisters that are always yelling at her. She'll do the work but she'll remain kind and polite. She knows that someday everything is going to be OK.''
Director Vincent Epps, a Virginia Beach social worker and university choreographer for Norfolk State University, looks forward to Candice's performance.
``I've seen her grow and develop into a nice young lady who is a great performer and a real pro when it comes to working with kids,'' Epps says. ILLUSTRATION: JOSEPH JOHN KOTLOWSKI/Staff color photos
Candice rehearses her role with ``Cinderella's'' musical director,
Vanessa Holloway.
Candice Sykes, star of ``Cinderella,'' center, jokes with Mickey
Eaddy (the prince) and Tanya Artis (the fairy godmother).
by CNB