Fifth-grader steps up to help bring play to Early Elementary Brownwood Bulletin EARLY — Given his heritage, it’s no surprise that 11-year-old A.J. Tidwell claims theatre is in his blood. “My whole family revolves around theatre,” the Early Elementary School fifth-grader explained. A.J. was new to the school this year after transferring from Victory Life Academy. He hoped a theatre class might become part of the school, and his interest sparked a chain of events — beginning with a letter A.J. wrote to the school’s principal, Julie Schafer — that led to the after-school production of the play “Pan!”