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The Lompoc Youth Theater program offers a professional-level theater experience in one summer program

Any time a large group of people assembles to achieve a common goal, especially a creative one, some ground rules always help things move smoothly from the beginning. This technique isn’t lost on Joyce Mayhew, artistic director of the Lompoc Youth Theater.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF LOMPOC YOUTH THEATER
MAKING MUSIC: : The Lompoc Youth Theater prepares its students for professional theater companies with productions of famous musicals, such as last year’s production of The Music Man.

“The three rules in all my drama classes are the same,” she said. “The first rule is, you leave your drama at the door.”

It may seem counterintuitive to tell kids enrolled in a drama program to do that, but Mayhew means their interpersonal drama. That means the drama they’re working toward producing on stage receives the students’ full attention and energy.

“The second rule is do not upstage,” Mayhew said. “You do not draw attention to yourself on stage when it is not your turn.”

Even in a scene that features a stage filled with actors, one or two of them are usually the center of the action, and anyone else acting out a little too much can distract away from the focus of the plot.

“And the third rule is don’t be a hater, be a participator,” Mayhew said. “It requires the best in you. You have to reach down and pull out the best.”

Kids involved in the Lompoc Youth Theater’s summer program build on this foundation to work together cohesively and artistically to produce a full-production musical in just three weeks. It’s also modeled after professional theater companies, which helps Mayhew’s students continue on into drama at the professional level.

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THE VALLEY IS ALIVE: : Though mostly made up of Lompoc youth, the Lompoc Youth Theater welcomes students from surrounding areas to participate in the drama program.

“It’s my goal that any student who has gone through any of my programs, that they will know exactly what to do in a college or professional theater setting,” she said. “I would like them to be able to go to a legitimate theater program in college and compete, so it takes them to the next level.”

Mayhew also supplements her program with former students who have experience at college and professional theater companies. Many are visiting for the summer, but find work with the Lompoc Youth Theater, and help guide the next generation of performers and theater technicians.

“One of the highlights of my job is to give young people their first paycheck in the theater,” she said. “I have a PCPA student who has been my tech director, I have stage managers, and the college kids who are home for the summer, they have jobs with me too, and they bring what they learn.”

Mayhew attributes much of the success of her program to the older students, who help guide the younger ones who are still in elementary, middle, or even high schools.

“The secret of the program is that the big kids are such examples to the young kids,” she said. “And they are equals. Once you step in the theater, you are all equals, and so they are making friends with kids they may never have because of age or grade or school.”

After the intensive three weeks, the play is performed four times for the Lompoc community. Students must audition to be a part of the program, which this year will feature Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr. Auditions are June 1, and include a group rehearsal, which, Mayhew explained, helps her weed out any kids who may not be able to commit to the intensive three-week program.

It’s this intensive style that prepares her students, and sees them landing auditions.

“I have a student who received a full-ride scholarship to San Diego,” Mayhew said, “and the people who gave him the scholarship said that it wasn’t just his great grades, or his involvement in sports, but that he was involved with these plays, that kids need experience with the arts.”

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JOIN THE DRAMA: The Lompoc Youth Theater holds auditions for its summer production of Beauty and the Beast on June 1. The production will feature more than 60 elementary- to college-aged students rehearsing July 15 through Aug. 2, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to noon. Performances will be Aug. 2, 3, 9, and 10 at 7 p.m., all at the Lompoc Civic Auditorium, 217 S. L St., Lompoc. More info: 875-8100, [email protected], or lompocyouththeater.org.

Consequently, after years of successful programs and plays, the Lompoc Youth Theater has been receiving support from the community, like at the program’s annual benefit wine reception at Transcendence Wines in May.

“I have amazing support in Lompoc, and people told me it would never work here,” she said. “The Lompoc wine industry is the biggest supporter of the Lompoc Youth Theater.”

All that support translates into a program that supports quality artists guiding youth in telling their own version of classic stories. After the three weeks of work, Mayhew explained, the exhilarating experience of performance serves as a capstone to a time of creativity for her students: “What’s so funny is, it’s such hard work, and they work so hard, but they forget every time how much work it is. It is such a great feeling to perform for the audience, they forget the hard part.”

Arts Editor Joe Payne leaves his drama at the door. Contact him at [email protected].

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