The play is part of Gavilan College’s Summer Theatre Arts
Repertory program, which teaches young people about the basics of
theater and the arts.
San Juan Bautista – Rarely do children take the stage to speak the words of Shakespeare’s great tragedies.
Nonetheless, 17 kids, ranging in age from 7 to 14, will take over El Teatro Campesino on Monday and Tuesday to perform Shakespeare’s “King Lear” – albeit an abridged version set in the roaring 20s.
The play is part of Gavilan College’s Summer Theatre Arts Repertory program, which teaches young people about the basics of theater and the arts.
The programs run out of Gilroy, with one section taking place in San Juan Bautista. In San Juan, a Shakespeare production is generally chosen for a three-week slate, which culminates with two productions of the rehearsed show.
“We try to challenge them and expose them to Shakespeare,” said Program Coordinator Janine Mortan. “We want to prove to them that they are capable of doing it – which they are.”
The play’s director, Javier Hurtado, said it was also important to teach the young kids – often unexposed to Shakespeare until high school – about his work.
“Even though we’re doing a fun and crazy version of ‘King Lear,’ it still exposes them to something they wouldn’t just pick up and read,” Hurtado said. “So when they get to high school, it’s not foreign to them.”
Hurtado said he sees a lot of growth between the time kids first start and three weeks later when they’re performing on stage wearing costumes under the lights.
Much of this comes with confidence.
Madison Haeussler, a 13-year-old Gilroy resident, said she not only learned stage presence and good acting tips from the program, she also gained trust in herself.
She has been in the program for five years, she said. Now she loves the stage and plans to some day pursue acting professionally.
“It’s kind of a thrill or a rush. Some people ride roller coasters, I get on the stage and perform,” Madison said.
San Juan Bautista resident Sarah Holthouse, 11, said she also gets a thrill out of being on the stage.
“It’s really fun to show what you can do on stage,” said Sarah, who compared the feeling to the one she got while showing her horseback riding skills at rodeos.
While the confidence gained is noticeable, Hurtado said he saw the skill level of the teens increase – even when grappling iambic pentameter and tragic themes.
“The place where I find the most growth is with the text,” Hurtado said. “They get the script at the beginning, and it’s all Shakespeare gibber jabber, but at the end they know what it means and they know what message they need to convey to the audience.”
Though the program is aimed mostly at teaching about the fundamentals of theater and acting, it’s also about having fun, Mortan said.
“For me, the most important part of this program is that they have fun and are proud of their end product,” Mortan said.
Alice Joy covers education and health for the Free Lance. She can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 336 or at
aj**@fr***********.com
.
