CONNOQUENESSING TWP - Learning lines is a lot harder than some of them thought.

But most said it was worth the effort to be able to perform in front of their peers and families Tuesday as students in the Connoquenessing Elementary School drama program performed their first play.

"Jack and the Beanstalk: A Story for the New Millennium," was presented by the 10 students in the group, under the direction of Marianne Murphy.

Murphy, a fine arts major at Butler County Community College, said she decided to use the skills she's learned so far to help the students at Connoquenessing start their own acting class.

Murphy said she chose the school because her two children attend there.

In the modern version of the play, an elevator in a high-rise building replaces the traditional beanstalk; a bike substitutes for the cow; a gumball machine is used instead of the goose that lays a golden egg; and a guitar is used instead of a harp.

The play was split into four scenes and took place at the Grump Tower.

Students who participated said they learned a lot from the experience.

Fourth grader Cassie Bianco played Jackie and said the character is Mrs. Grump's daughter.

"She is climbing down the 'beanstock' and she's rich because her father is rich," Bianco said.

It's not the first time Bianco has taken to the stage. She previously performed in the all-school musical "Three of a Kind."Fourth grader Larissa Lesney portrayed Mrs. Grump in the play and said she wanted to participate in it just for fun."I learned you have to do everything you're told," she said. "Otherwise, you screw up everything."Simon Murphy, another fourth grader, shared the character of Jack for two scenes with another student."I learned they just don't put stuff in the script for fun," he said. "It has to have feeling."Fourth grader Breanna Wong said she had a bit of a hard time learning her lines for the play, in which she portrays Jack for a few scenes."It teaches you that you have to sometimes pretend and it takes a long time to learn your lines," she said.Wong has performed in other dramatic productions, including "Three of a Kind" and the Sing Hosanna production of "Annie."Fellow cast mate Kaitlyn Bouch said she also had a hard time learning her lines, so she employed a little acting trick to help herself."I got my script and would study by standing up on my bed and practicing my lines like I was in front of everybody," she said.