Lunch in the Robert Lewis Middle School cafeteria is more like a dinner theater with chicken nuggets these days.

After math class and before history, talented volunteers are using the lunchroom stage to show their classmates just a little of what they can do. From comedy routines to poetry readings and dances, the seventh- and eighth-graders are putting on a show.

The task of performing on stage is easier for some than others.

A routine rehearsal for three seventh-grade girls Tuesday was better done with the curtain pulled, hiding their steps from a lunchroom full of watching eighth-graders.

&uot;We’ll be ready by Friday,&uot; dancer Ashley Colston said from behind the curtain. &uot;Then we’ll be in front of our classmates and we’ll know them. These are eighth-graders watching now.&uot;

Lunches are divided by grade and the students will perform during their own lunch period.

Colston, along with friends Kimberly Lyles, Miaya Allen and Sabrina Grinnell, have spent a few minutes after classes each day working out their routine.

&uot;We just wanted to have fun,&uot; Allen said of why the girls volunteered to dance. &uot;That’s just what we do well.&uot;

Lyles and the other girls said they’d be ready by Friday but still knew they’d be nervous.

&uot;I’m just going to forget that they are there,&uot; Lyles said.

The stage was no big obstacle for Samuel Jackson who did his trial run of the song &uot;I Need You Now,&uot; in front of a packed cafeteria with the curtain open.

&uot;All my life I’ve been singing that song,&uot; Jackson said. &uot;I just like it.&uot;

Principal Bettye Bell said she wanted to start the lunchroom performances to give students an outlet for their talents and their energy.

&uot;These kids don’t get to go outside for recess,&uot; Bell said. &uot;We wanted to allow them to interact socially without taking away from instructional time.&uot;

Teacher Dorothy Jenkins, who is organizing the performances, said the first real show will be Friday and shows will continue two times a week until the end of the school year.

&uot;We are in the trial and error stage right now,&uot; Jenkins said. &uot;This group will be the icebreakers.&uot;

Jenkins said she hoped the first performance would encourage other students to step up and show their talent.

The students are responsible for coming up with their own routines and practicing what they will perform. Jenkins coordinates times of performances but doesn’t work with the students on their skits.

&uot;It’s a time to shine,&uot; Jenkins said. &uot;We are going to find the ones who really have talent and want to show it.&uot;