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HARLINGEN — The cacophony of voices joyous and free danced and whirled and bumped into each other for the thrill of it all.

Tiny voices of 5 year old’s shrilled like the twittering of birds and then there were the leveling voices of the second and third grades and then there were the fourth and fifth graders. They were laughing and talking in the cafeteria with the thrill of exploring and discovering and awakening of their emerging selves.

“It’s my first time,” said Brynlee Batey, age 5, who is performing in this year’s “Summer On Stage.”

“I am actually enjoy it,” said Brynlee. “We’ve been really able to practice a lot.”

Brynlee loves the wig she wears for her character in the lead role of “Cinderella and the Dozen Dwarfs” one of four musicals in this year’s program.

The kids in the cafeteria of Gutierrez Middle School were taking a break from their rehearsals at the Harlingen Performing Arts Conservatory. Summer On Stage is a three-week camp in which children between kindergarten and eighth grade participate in four musicals according to grade level.

“Our them this year is ‘From Screen to Stage,’” said Christopher Esparza, facilitator.

There are about three directors for each musical, and quite a few student volunteers.

“We took four different movies, and they did adaptations of them and the directors wrote their own scripts for these summer musicals,” he said. “The rehearsals are going great. The kids are having such a fine time. They are learning all their music, they are learning their choreography and their lines.”

The excitement was everywhere.

On the stage at the PAC, the cast of “Sponge Bob” danced as though they had rehearsed for weeks, but it was only their second day.

Some of the cast members had performed in “Summer On Stage” since they were in kinder and first grade. One of the them was Joseph Garza, 11, who plays Patchy the Pirate in “Sponge Bob.”

“I’m enjoying the role very much because I get the first line in the whole show and pretty much get everyone hyped up for what’s coming next,” he said.

And then, on reflection of his years since the beginning of his theater life, “It was really fun doing it through all of the years, seeing all my friends always there with me next year. It was just a blast to be in theater.”

In the rooms behind the stage the cast of “Tangled” practiced.

“You’ve got a Dream! La la la la!” they sang with arms out, knees bent, then spinning like tops.

“Tangled” is the story of “Rapunzel,” said Everly Violet Ledesma, 9, who plays the character.

“Rapunzel is a young girl that’s never been outside,” she explained. “She got kidnapped, and she’s stuck in this tower with a lady that she thinks is her mom, but she’s actually not her mom. Her hair has a magical power that makes the lady look younger.”

Rapunzel seems to be a victim of her own beauty, but as Everly dances and sings the part there is a fervor and an intensity that is unstoppable.

In the “Encanto” rehearsal, Hersh Bhatia, 8, plays the role of Bruno who has the gift of telling the future.

But it doesn’t feel like a gift.

“They think he’s causing all problems but he’s just telling the future,” he said.

Sounds like a case “kill the messenger.”

But in this case, everyone is springing to life.