What kid wouldn’t love to hear these words from an adult?

“I need you to be whinier,” Scott Hopkins told 10-year-old Avery Drury, who was rehearsing the role of Elizabeth Lavenza, the soon-to-be bride of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, at Sidney Glen Elementary School Friday afternoon. “Think super-princess — that’s what we want,” continued Hopkins, who teaches fifth-grade at the school and, for the past 11 years, has written and directed a play each year.

“Scott started writing the scripts because we couldn’t find any with enough parts for 60 to 70 kids to participate,” said fellow teacher Kerry Neighbors, who has helped Hopkins for most of the past decade by creating costumes and assisting with all aspects of production.

For Drury, a fifth-grader, “Frankenstein” will be her third play with Hopkins, after “Cinderella” last year and “The Wizard of Oz” in 2006. In fact, most of the kids practicing Friday had at least one play under their belt and more than a few felt experienced enough to be in charge.

“Can we start the scene?” asked Kallie Brick, a sixth-grader who plays Mary Shelley, the wife of poet Percy Shelley and the author of the story that brought “Frankenstein” to life.

“There’s no lack of self-confidence here,” Hopkins joked, sounding a little frustrated with, but substantially more proud of, the rambunctious group, who was anxious to read their lines even as the weekend loomed. “All of them think of themselves as my assistant directors.”

And having the students get so involved in an activity is one of the reasons why the teachers continue putting on plays, they said.

“It helps them stay connected to school,” said Neighbors, explaining that she has seen many students who are “on the cusp” of behavior and academic problems, but “pull it together and improve during the play season.”

Even the play itself can be a teaching tool, as the teachers explained the meanings of the the words “appalling” and “arrogant” to the actors during one scene.

“We try not to dumb the language down,” Neighbors said. “If they don’t know what a word means, we will teach it to them.”

And to make sure as many students as possible have the chance to be involved, Neighbors said that everyone who tries out is given a part.

“Scott will add scenes to give more kids a chance, and last year we added dancing roles to give kids who like to dance an opportunity to be involved,” she said.

In fact, after Hopkins added up all the actors, dancers and members of the choir, he estimated that 140 kids, or a quarter of the school, would be directly involved in this year’s play.

And the numbers just grow, he said, when you include all the teachers, staff, parents and friends who help build sets, donate costumes, money and time.

So when it comes time to put on the show, understandably, the production needs a pretty big stage.

“We used to put it on at a local church, but we ran out of room,” Neighbors said, explaining that for the past three years, the school has put on their plays at South Kitsap High School’s auditorium.

“Last year, we had 1,200 people see ‘Cinderella,’” she said.

Before “Frankenstein” hits the stage, however, the students will have about 10 more weeks of rehearsals, since the performances are not scheduled until early January.