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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- It was lights, camera, and action this weekend at Evans Middle School. The drama department presented “Charlotte’s Web: The Musical.”

Made up around 30 seventh and eighth graders, the cast and crew had been rehearsing long hours since January.

The kids were all dressed in character and the stage makeup was completed. Family members and friends sat in the audience anxiously waiting before the show began. The time had finally come for everyone to show off their hard work.

“It’s seeing how excited they get. They're enjoying being on stage and helping each other and it's about teamwork but seeing them and being concerned that it goes well,” says Pam Debore, Drama Program Director.

Debore truly enjoys seeing the kids grow from day 1 of rehearsal to the final performance into more mature and confident young teens.

“The kids are learning skills that will help them in the future,” said Debore.

Ticket sales from the performances will go towards the Evans Middle School drama department.