For the past two decades, the Santa Maria Civic Theatre has offered its Summer Fairy Tale program free to the community. The production is significant because it opens up plenty of acting slots for young kids, who get to learn performing arts under the guidance of experienced Civic Theatre actors and perform in front of families and kids of all ages.
This year, the program includes two plays separated by an intermission. The second half of the show is the beloved tale of Pinocchio, a children’s classic, but the first half is an original play written and directed by Santa Maria Civic Theatre volunteer Sarah Willingham.
“I’ve been on stage here for five years, and the fairy tales were the first thing I did when I got here, and I loved it; it was such an organic experience,” she said. “I have never directed before, or written a play, and I couldn’t find a play that I wanted to propose, so I wrote one.”
Willingham’s play is titled With the Wild Things: In the Animal Kingdom and includes a large ensemble of adult actors and kids, all portraying different animal characters from a literal animal kingdom, complete with a king and court jester. Willingham wrote the play with specific actors in mind, but also wanted to give many kids a chance to perform.
“We have some experienced actors in both casts and some that are brand new to the theater,” she said. “I wanted a little bit of chaos in this play: We have rapping, a cranky cat rulers, an angry tree, a narcissistic parrot—it’s very wild, and I think kids will like it.”
Another Civic Theatre actor who had her start during a past Fairy Tale production is Santa Maria Civic Theatre board secretary Angie Herrick, who will be acting in both shows alongside two of her kids, with a third running the lights for both shows.
“My son Devin is single handedly doing the lights now. He was mentored during the last production,” Herrick said. “[What] I love about this place is if you have ever wanted to try something, you can get the mentor training you need.”
Herrick will be playing the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio, while her son Elijah is playing the hopeful puppet. Her kids have been involved in the Fairy Tale productions for a few years, and each year they accept a bit more of a responsibility, whether it be acquired backstage skills or reading more lines.
“It’s really done a lot for them,” she said. “Elijah got the role, celebrated for five seconds, and then panicked about learning the lines. I’ve seen his competence grow as he learned the lines and realized he could memorize a whole show.”
Willingham intentionally wrote audience participation into her original play, remembering it as a powerful experience for young audience members in productions past. The Santa Maria Civic Theatre’s mission in providing these family shows for free is to expose a new generation to live theater—a generation that otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford tickets to a night at the theater.
“Something comes alive for the kids when they see the actors—real, living, breathing people—and it’s a magical experience they can’t really compare to anything else,” Willingham said. “I hope it inspires them to come back and see our shows or get involved in theater at their schools, at their church, wherever it might be.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne is inspired by those with the courage to perform. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 24-31, 2014.