Quiet as a mouse

Mike Sciacca

Mitzi Williams sat tight lipped throughout the afternoon interview in

her Huntington Beach home, despite being surrounded by family members.

She thought about saying something, but, true to her resolve, she managed

to keep still.

“Not a creature was stirring, not even a . . .,” oops, wrong Christmas

story.

Beginning the night of Dec. 14 and continuing through Christmas Eve

day, the traditional Christmas production of the “Nutcracker Ballet” will

take place at the Golden West College Mainstage Theater.

And, in spite of her quietness on Tuesday, Mitzi Williams, all of 4

years old, will be participating in the play. Fittingly, she will play

the role of a baby mouse in the 25th anniversary of the production.

No speaking necessary.

It will be her first major stage performance.

“She might not talk much right now,” Mitzi’s mother, Kathy,

forewarned, “but as soon as she stands in the wings on stage, she just

lights up. It’s like she’s a different person.”

Mitzi isn’t the only child of Kathy and Rob Williams that will be on

stage, however.

Her siblings -- Takara, 10, Naomi, 8 and Aaron, 5 -- are seasoned

veterans. This will be the sixth “Nutcracker” performance for Takara, who

will play a party scene girl, the fifth for Naomi, who will be a soldier,

and Aaron’s second go-round. This time, he will play a party scene boy

and also a baby mouse in one performance.

Takara and Aaron also will play siblings from the same family in the

dance party scene.

All previously have played the role that Mitzi will portray. Unlike

their sister, her siblings had plenty to say.

“We have a lot of fun out there,” said Takara. “We all get to dress up

and dance. I enjoy it, too, because I get to perform with my friends.”

The Williams children have been dancing since the age of 3, when their

parents enrolled them in the Orange County Dance Center in Huntington

Beach, run by Michael Houston. The Ballet Repertory Theater, run out of

the center, is headed by Terri and Anthony Sellars, who also have three

children, Chris, Kevin and Katie, performing in the silver anniversary

production.

When not in school, the Williams children spend up to 25 hours a week

at the center. More time is required for rehearsals for the upcoming

Christmas production.

“From an efficiency standpoint, it’s great to have all four of our

children performing. Nobody is left out,” Kathy Williams said.

Performing arts has been a regular activity for this family since the

Williams parents were children.

Rob, an elementary school principal by day in La Mirada, is a drummer

by night and regularly plays in local productions including with the

Orange County School for the Performing Arts. Kathy has a degree in music

from Cal State Fullerton and also studied dance as a child with The

Classical Ballet Foundation and Kathryn Lowe School of Dance.

Aaron Williams has a keen eye for the craft. When his two older

sisters, Takara and Naomi, rehearsed for the “Nutcracker” production in

years past, Aaron, his mother said, would learn every detail of their

roles.

“I have seen the ‘Nutcracker’ a lot and I know what to do,” said

Aaron, who, along with Mitzi, takes a gymnastics class at SCATS

Gymnastics in Huntington Beach.

You might think that having four children involved in a major stage

production such as the “Nutcracker” might prove costly. Kathy Williams

said that, although a spring time recital can be somewhat costly, the

“Nutcracker” production tends to be easier as all performers attempt to

borrow or share the costumes, owned by the Ballet Repertory Theater.

The “Nutcracker” is set in the Victorian era and costumes will fit the

times. That means that ringlets are required by the party scene girls to

roll as many as 65 to 100 hair curlers, Kathy Williams said -- a process

that can take upward of two hours.

The Williams children seem to be not only eager but confident about

their opening night performance.

Mitzi doesn’t say a word when asked what excites her most about the

“Nutcracker.”

Yep, quiet as a mouse.

Perfect casting.

The Ballet Repertory Theatre’s 25th anniversary production of the

“Nutcracker” ballet will run Dec. 14-24 at Golden West College’s

Mainstage Theater. Performances will be given Dec. 14, 15, 21, 22 and 23

at 7 p.m. with matinees Dec. 15, 16, 22 and 23 at 2 p.m. A special

Christmas Eve matinee will be presented at 1 p.m. Tickets can be ordered

by calling the Golden West College Bookstore at 895-9150. For more

information, call 846-0215.