MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- The Child, Youth and Teen Center here recently received a grant from the Boys and Girls Clubs of America to start a drama department, known as Drama Matters.
Drama Matters will use the $500 grant to produce a free, 35-actor play called “A Mixed Up Fairy Tale,” to be performed at 3:15 p.m. Saturday, June 6.
“These kids really suffer from the cutbacks in extra curricular activities at school, but they can get that here,” said Lorraine Simpson, the school-age care program supervisor. “They can get their music and their fine arts. If we can find ways to finance it and give them those things then that’s what they deserve.”
The play is a combination of several familiar fairytale stories including: Cinderella, Snow White, Little Bo Peep, Three Little Pigs, and Rumplestiltskin. Cinderella meets all these characters on her journey to meet her prince.
To prepare for the play, non-acting cast members are building a set and props, and the actors devote an hour each day to practicing for their upcoming performance.
“These kids practice a lot, but we make it fun for them,” said Chelsea Maxfield, the program lead for the 8 to 12 age group.
The program is split into three age groups: 5 to 7, 8 to 12, and 13 to 18. Each of the three groups has a program assistant who offers acting advice and guidance about acting.
“We teach them a lot of basic stuff, mostly things picked up from personal experience with acting,” said Simpson. “We also have people outside the center come in and teach classes and lessons when we can.”
Anyone with acting experience interested in assisting Drama Matters can contact Simpson at 858-577-4136.
The department is only open to registered members of the Child, Youth and Teen Center. To become a registered member, contact the resource and referral office at 858-577-6957 and ask for Feliz Wallace.