Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  Probably one of the oldest stories in the English language, Beowulf is often required reading for high school students. Sometimes they are asked to memorize some of the archaic language, a lesson in the evolution of words, of legends even, of history as it was passed down from generation to generation, and as a story before people could read or write. It is so old it has been recited for hundreds of years in the halls of kings.

Not only is Beowulf challenging for older students, it is seldom introduced at the elementary school level.

That is why a group of Nederland Elementary School students who performed the entire story of Beowulf Friday night received a standing ovation mixed with the whoops and cheers that they so deserved. It was a daunting project that was met with enthusiasm and dedication, with the young actors memorizing and acting out lines in a language one seldom hears. They did it with ease and with dazzling character formation, complete with accents and ferocity.

It was a school community project beginning with teacher, Corrie Beauvineau, who had done the project at her former school, Foothills Academy. She and Kirsten Morgan and Jennifer Fay adapted the Beowulf story into an elementary school script.

Morgan was the original director of the play, which inspired Beauvineau to produce it at NES. She believed in the power of learning classic literature through elementary school theater productions.

“This epic poem is the perfect fit to bring theater back to NES. It is a piece of literature which you will remember later in life,” says Beauvineau.

Morgan said that the NES performance was “The best I’ve ever seen.” She said she used ballad meter to make it easier for the students to memorize the archaic vocabulary.

The actors, dressed in costumes they made themselves, some from King Sooper’s paper grocery bags, were mostly flawless in the delivery of their lines.

The monster Grendel, played by Loic Masters, and Grendel’s Mother, played by Gavin Dillon, got into their growling, menacing roles with zeal, coming up with expressions and body language they delivered with every inch of their scary souls. They took over the stage with their pain and anger. The narrators, Ben Harvey and Abigail Koziel, were impeccable in their line delivery, supplying the background information of the scenes.

Taylor Johnson played the lead, Beowulf, with confidence and ease, spouting the words of a hero, a prince, and a warrior with pride and righteousness. The Warriors had a great time shouting out their lines and wielding the swords as if they have been doing it all their life. It was probably like jumping into one of the video games they plug into, but have never imagined how it felt to be in it.

When the play was over and the was audience applauding, the cast leaped victoriously at each other, high-five giving and grinning from ear to ear. What had seemed impossible a few weeks ago, had been conquered and they could all go home that night feeling like heroes returning from the battlefield.