At Brookwood Elementary, “Jumanji” isn’t just a story about venturing into the unknown.

It’s an invitation to do exactly that.

Before the curtain rises on Brookwood’s student-created adaptation of the beloved children’s story, students will have done something many of them probably never imagined themselves capable of doing: They will have written an opera.

Not just performed one. Written one.

They’ve crafted lyrics and melodies, invented new characters, and auditioned for roles, while helping stage scenes and design the cover of the program. And when they take the stage Friday, Oct. 9, they’ll perform a 20- to 25-minute production that started with little more than a book and a question: What could we make from this?

“I think it gets kids really thinking outside the box,” said parent volunteer and choral director Ann Odom. “Most of them have never written a song before. They can see the process and think, ‘Wow, maybe I can do this by myself.’”

Odom, who studied operatic performance in college and works as a contractor with Utah Opera and Choral Director at Albion Middle School, has helped Brookwood students create original operas for years.

The process begins with a familiar story. Students read the story together and break it into smaller pieces. As a group, they learn how lyrics and melodies work together to convey meaning.

Odom is there to guide them and write the musical accompaniments, but she is emphatic about who does the creating. “They really do write all the melodies. I don’t do it,” she said. “I write down what they tell me.”

And once rehearsals begin, the students continue to surprise her.

“I give guidelines on staging, but they come up with some really interesting ideas I would have never thought of,” Odom said.

The experience is an opening for students to not simply to consume knowledge, but to own their learning by doing something with it.

“We feel more proud I feel like when we make it ourselves,” said fifth-grade student Chloe Nicholas. “It’s a bunch of kids acting in an opera. You don’t see that every day.”

It’s also a chance for students to flex their creative muscle and build on academic skills. They have to read closely enough to understand a story, identify its important moments and characters, and make hundreds of small decisions as a team.

“It’s sort of hard to come up with lyrics and a melody, although it’s really fun to work together to make them,” said fifth-grade student Wendy Odom.

The work moves quickly. Students began the first week of school and rehearse before classes, generally from 8 to 8:50 a.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. By Oct. 9, what began as words on a page will have become a fully staged production.

The performance is free and open to the public and starts at 2:15 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 9.

“You guys should come see the opera,” said third-grade students Dax Olson, “because you guys might like it.”