Dos Pueblos Charger Theater

The Dos Pueblos Charger Theater's program challenges its participants and audiences to think, dream, and live creatively (or "outside the box") through visionary programming, collaboration with leading resident theater companies and colleges, ongoing community outreach, interaction with professional artists, and unqiue performance opportunities for all levels and interests.

Productions

2005-2006

• Moby Dick! The Musical
• Holiday Package 2005

2004-2005

• Seussical
• Holiday Package 2004
• A Midsummer Night's Dream

2003-2004

• Grand Duchy
• Holiday Package 2003
• The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
• Mystery Night: Murder on State Street

2002-2003

• Once on This Island
• Holiday Package 2002
• Harvey
• How Green Is Your Valley?
• Story Theatre/Princess in the Tower

2001-2002

• You Can't Take It With You
• Holiday Package 2001
• Once Upon a Mattress

2000-2001

• Northanger Abbey
• Holiday Package 2000
• Mystery Night: Silencing Angela
• Bye Bye Birdie

1999-2000

• Twelfth Night
• Holiday Package 1999
• Mystery Night: Sam's Club
• 100 Years of Broadway

Outreach

Children's Theater Workshop

Children ages 8 - 12 learned skills ranging from movement, voice and improvisation from Dos Pueblos' most experienced actors. The high school student teachers were given teaching notes by a master teacher after each class.

Elementary School Outreach

To prepare future actors and audiences, DP's Beginning Theater students rehearse and present "Broadway's Finest" a history of the American Musical as told through song and dance. In addition, this year over 1000 students were bused in to see a performance of DP's Fall production Seussical, The Musical. Teachers received study guides in advance to prepare the children.

Junior High School Outreach

Scene Study Class members present scenes to junior high students and answer questions about the high school theater experience.

Classes

• Beginning Theater
• Intermediate Theater

Every year the Intermediate Scene Study Class selects a theme and then writes skits, poems, monologues, and songs around that theme. The entire evening is student written, and student directed. Past themes have been: "By Any Other Name" (how does life change when roses enter the scene?) "Perspectives", and "Fear."

Solo Showcases: Students learn the lesson that, like Lily Tomlin, Whoopi Goldberg and Hal Holbrook, actors must often create their own opportunities in order to work at all. With inspiration from special guests like Pulizer Prize winner Pamela Gien (Syringa Tree,) Grammy winner Amanda McBroom (The Rose) and actor/director George Ball, students create a ten to fifteen minute performance piece that showcases their own unique talents.

• Advanced Theater
• Playwriting

The Young Playwrights' Workshop and Festival pairs each of twelve young playwrights with a professional writer/mentor. Young writers study the great playwrights, learn basic playwriting skills through a series of exercises and experiences and write a one-act play (or musical). These are performed as a reading, utilizing the talents of professional actors and directors at the Rubicon Theater, Ventura's Leading Professional Theater venue. Past playwriting students have won numerous national and state honors from such prestigious competitions as the New York Young Playwrights' Festival, The Blank Theater Festival and the California Young Playwrights' Festival. Past Mentors have included Ed Solomon (Men In Black, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures), Scott Frank (Dead Again, Little Man Tate), Kathy Najimy (The Kathy & Mo Show) and numerous others.

Interactive Mystery Parties: Young Playwrights put together a giant game of interactive "Clue" that students in the other classes must solve. Writers choose a party host, weave intricate relationships webs, plot clue sequences, and transform the theater into the host's mansion. Last year the host was Superman and the guests were all Superheros. Guests enjoy walking from room to room finding clues, carrying out tasks and always watching other people's behaviors.

• Stage Craft
• Play Production

Musical Theater

Dos Pueblos' innovative High School Musical Theater Program addresses both these needs simultaneously. The talented, yet unknown writer works alongside the director to cast, develop and refine an original musical theater piece through the various performance stages: from readings and workshops to a full production.

Students have the opportunity to participate directly in the creation of a brand new work, gaining invaluable insights into writing, rewriting, professional theater rehearsal processes and character interpretation. Unlike other shows where students can rely on watching or hearing about how another actor interpreted the part, students must use their imagination to create their roles from scratch and interpret songs without the help of a prior recording. An additional perk is that they have the satisfaction of getting their names listed as original cast members when scripts are sold to publishers.

After a successful production and the rewrites it requires, writers can then confidently pitch their projects to publishers and theater groups. Often times the students will offer valuable insights into characters that the writer can incorporate into the finished piece.

The local community benefits by learning that great theater can come from unknown and unexpected places. With publication of these original pieces, and through the New Work Theater Festival that Dos Pueblos will host, theater teachers and youth theater directors will have more options for fresh, youth-friendly material. When this pilot project becomes national, Broadway musicals will have more kid-savvy writers, more articulate and appreciative actors and better-educated audiences.

See Also

Dos Pueblos High School