Road Work

Kimberley McGee

Friday, Sept. 14, 2001 | 9:42 a.m.

There are no desks, no pictures on the wall or chalkboards to signify a place of education.

This school consists of a 6-foot wooden box containing textbooks and supplies and a tattered black-and-white sign that points the way to the "School Room."

And four children with a hunger to learn.

The traveling classroom of "Les Miserables" is where reading, writing, arithmetic and other school subjects are taught to the child actors who star in the touring Broadway production, which opens Wednesday at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts.

"We have everything any old school has," said Emma Hunton, a 10-year-old actress who joined the cast of "Les Miserables" this summer in the role of young Cosette.

That's true, except that the walls for this school extend far beyond the classroom. The children learn dance, ballet and music from professional performers in the cast. The traveling school also takes field trips in each city the production visits to help the children learn about the world in which they live.

In each city the students are assigned to make a correlation between the time in the play the mid-1800s and what was happening in that city during that time, such as the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts or the Battle of the Alamo in Texas.

The students meet with a teacher from 11 a.m.4 p.m. Monday through Friday to study texts and tests pre-approved by the Screen Actors Guild. The schooling is monitored by SAG so that the child actors are ensured a proper education according to the guidelines of the national child labor laws.

Not only do the students, ages 8-10, hone their acting skills while on tour, they also learn science, language skills, foreign languages and computer training.

Each school day the students retrieve books and supplies from what they call the "school box."

The wooden box holds textbooks, markers, crayons, test booklets, a computer or other instruments the students may need.

But the country becomes their classroom as each student explores the city they are in, and studies the next city they plan to visit on the "Les Miserables" tour.

"The Boston Tea Party was cool to learn about," Emma said. "There was so much to see. But my favorite city is still the first city we went to -- Philadelphia. There was so much (history) to see."

Emma's mother, Erica Hunton, escorts her daughter on the road to make sure her daughter has family support -- and completes her schoolwork.

Emma's favorite subjects are Spanish and science -- two classes that were not offered at the public school she attended last year at home in Southern California.

"It's more fun than sitting at a desk in school," she said. "And my mom helps me."

Although the experience is still new to Emma and her mother, Erica Hunton said she wouldn't have it any other way for her inquisitive young daughter.

"The benefits far outweigh any kind of cost to what happens at home in school," Hunton said. "She's seen the country and Canada. She's getting a different kind of education than she would ever get at home."

The stage experience has been enlightening, Emma said. But she has other plans for her future. She wants to be a lawyer.

"My mom says I'm real good at arguing," she said.

But she gets along well with her fellow cast mates and the only other girl in the class, Madeleine Martin, who recently joined the tour and can perform the roles of young Eponine and Cosette. (Each child learns each other's role to help out onstage in a pinch.)

At 8 years old Madeleine is already a veteran of the traveling school system.

"I did the 'Sound of Music' for second grade," she said. "It's more fun than public school because there are lots of people to know in the show and play with."

Madeleine said she enjoys math and reading, but the field trips get her out of the sometimes-cramped hotel rooms.

Madeleine's mother, Margaret Martin, said her daughter is also receiving voice, ballet and dance lessons from professionals. The other cast members pitch in their expertise to make sure the children are well rounded.

"These are experiences they've never had and would never get at home," Margaret Martin said.

Learn and grow

Justen Steinagle and Eddie Brandt alternate playing the young street urchin Gavroche in the touring production of "Les Miserables."

The boys, both 10 years old, are serious about their roles and acting careers, as well as the five hours they spend in school five days each week.

Justen is somewhat experienced onstage. He has played the lead in northeast-region productions of "Tom Sawyer" and "Aladdin" and the Scarecrow in the "Wizard of Oz" in regional tours. This is his first time on the road and in school.

Math is his favorite subject, but he also enjoys the computer time.

At his former school in New Jersey, he had to wait for other students to have their turn before he could jump on the Internet or play an educational game.

"You get a lot more time on the computer," Justen said. "I think we learn a lot more than in public school."

Last week the children from the show went on a field trip to Stanley Park in Vancouver, Canada.

"I liked the petting zoo," Justen said. "A goat came up to me and started eating my pants."

In Las Vegas he hopes to catch a lot of the sites, and the students may take a school trip to Hoover Dam.

"I've heard good things about it and my friends have been there," Justen said.

His mother, Maria Steinagle, said the personal touch the schooling offers is ideal for her son.

"I like the fact that there are only four students and one teacher," Maria Steinagle said. "If he has any problems or gets behind he has that time with her."

Maria Steinagle brought Justen's younger brother, 7-year-old Brandon, with them on the road so that each could benefit from being together as a family, as well as exploring new cities.

Justen has a lot of playtime, and playmates, she said. The children often joke and roughhouse with the other cast members, who are twice and sometimes three times her son's age -- but not at heart.

"A lot of the adults in this cast are just big kids," Steinagle said. "It's a good environment. You don't have to worry. It's like family."

Some of the cast members actually are family.

Father and son Eddie and Greggory Brandt travel together. Eddie plays Gavroche four days a week and his father is a background player with 12 different roles throughout the two-hour show.

Eddie said the traveling school is more exciting than the public school he attended last year in New York.

"There, it's the same thing every day," he said. "This school is always different with stuff to go and do."

Eddie's favorite city was Phoenix, he said, but not for the history lessons.

"We were there for two weeks and we had a nice hotel room," he said.

And close proximity to a pool. After all, the 10-year-old has his priorities.

But there are drawbacks to traveling with his father and learning about the world through sight and sound rather than from pages in books.

"I miss my dog and my two cats and my mom," he said.

His father understands, which is why his wife, Susan, and their 4-year-old daughter, Ellen, joined the father and son duo for the summer. The family traveled, worked and played together. Most of all, they bonded, Greggory Brandt said.

"It's a chance for all of us to come together in a really different situation than most people get," he said.

In each city, Brandt escorts his son to places he feels are important, such as cultural events or exhibits.

"We get to do the show together and that's pretty special," he said. "I take it for granted. But then I look over at him onstage and know it's the right thing to have him experience all of this and be there to watch him grow."

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