Teacher Leea Reese said this year’s theme is "power." "The thesis is ‘We Have the Power to Make the World a Better Place’ by making the right choices and standing up for the rights and beliefs of people without a voice," she said.

"Through brainstorming activities, the students come up with the theme and thesis and use this as the foundation for designing the entire show. This year’s show is about aliens in a talent show. Some of the aliens are bullying the others who are participating in the show."

Over 12 weeks, various students in the Fourth Grade Indestructible Radical 4G Nation are broken up into crews: performers/writers, composers, orchestra members, set designers, carpenters, costumers, make-up artists, publicity agents, electricians and stage managers. Each crew is under the supervision of a fourth-grade teacher or an arts staff member. The company (fourth graders) as a whole chose a company name, theme, thesis statement, colors, line, shape and texture. The writers took this information and created a dynamic script. The development of theme, thesis, conflict, and resolution of this year’s Opera are witnessed in three scenes.

The performances are made possible with assistance from the Washington National Opera’s Creating Original Opera program in Washington, D.C. Creating Original Opera, which originated with the New York Metropolitan Opera, has been in existence for ten years at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts.