The Louisa Arts Center is preparing for the opening night of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical” on December 13, 2024. This musical tells the story of sixth grader Greg Heffley in his adventure to become the most popular kid in school.

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical” is the first youth musical to be performed at the Louisa Art Center since December 2019; and is the foundation of co-director Kelsey Lagon’s Blue Ridge Virginia Governor’s School senior Capstone project.

“My Capstone project is on the effect of theater on the developmental psychology of children and their socio-emotional development,” Lagon said. “I am writing a paper about that, and then I am going to survey at the end of the show to see how the kids were affected by the show, how much they enjoyed it, whether or not they made friends in it, and what they learned from it.”

Children ages from eight to seventeen and with different capabilities help each other make the script come to life through choreography and learning their characters. The younger children built relationships with the older cast members on the production team and cast by working together.

“The younger cast members look up to the older cast members,” co-director Connor Michael said. “Having someone older than you in your cast and a good role model is very important. The older cast members keep the younger cast members in line and help show what it is like to be focused. The youth have worked together very well.”

 The older cast members learn skills important to adulthood through mentoring the younger cast members and being involved in productions with diverse cast members.

 “I think a lot of them who are interested in this kind of stuff, they still need to learn the skills that they would need to take into the professional field,” Lagon said. “I’m learning how to direct, stage managers are learning how to stage manage, and [all cast and crew members are learning] other basic skills like communication skills, learning how to work with kids, and learning how to organize theater productions. A lot of this stuff can easily be taken into their future careers.”

The musical has been uniquely shaped by the individuals in the cast and will be an experience for both kids and adults alike.

 “Well, it’s ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid,’” cast member Cole Harkey said. “It’s amazing. The actors have worked so hard. For weeks now, I’ve seen the kids just back to back at rehearsals rehearsing and trying as hard as possible. Many local performers will be there and there might be a surprise at the very beginning of the show.”