At the beginning of this year, I talked about REAP – the Raven
Education and Arts Program at the Raven Performing Arts Theater.
Since then, it’s evolved and now has a spinoff. REAP is now an
umbrella for all of the Raven’s youth programming, while the
classes and stage productions I wrote about earlier have morphed
into a full-fledged acting program called Raven Youth Theater,
operating within the REAP framework.
RYT is overseen by Michelle (Shelly) Proschold, who has a roster
of parent advisors helping her run things. Shelly has divided RYT’s
activities into two main sections: plays and classes. She’s set up
a formal theater season consisting of 3 plays (“Snoopy,” “A Winnie
the Pooh Christmas Tail,” and “Alice in Wonderland”), which viewers
can see individually or through a season subscription.
Any child can audition for the plays that are performed on the
Raven stage. As Shelly told me, all the kids need are “the drive,
moxie, and willingness to audition. We are a fee-free theater for
kids, relying on sponsors and donations to fund our programs. Any
child in our community who is between the ages of 8-17 has the
opportunity to perform in our shows.” Auditions for “Snoopy” just
ended, and the show, now in rehearsals, opens in mid-October.
Shelly is particularly excited about the lineup of classes,
which are starting now through Healdsburg Parks and Recreation. The
three fall classes are Musical Theater Ensemble, Shakespeare
Speaks, and Hip Hop. A second set of classes is set for spring:
Creating Character, Ballet Basics, and Musical Theater
Ensemble.
Shelly put a great deal of thought into selecting the focus of
the classes. As she explained, “Classes like theater ensemble
promote team building and cooperation, require physical and mental
work, develop public speaking and listening skills, and, of course,
build self esteem. ‘Shakespeare Speaks,’ geared towards older
students, teaches character development and motivation, hones
critical thinking skills, boosts reading comprehension, and affords
students an opportunity to ‘try on’ different personas in a
non-threatening environment.
“As you can see, theater arts education includes many different
kinds of programs that encompass students of various ages with
different emotional skill sets. Every class we choose will enhance
our students’ confidence, team building, and presentation skills,
while meeting the California Standard of Theater. These valuable
lessons are applied daily in school, in math, social studies, and
English literature. Every child benefits from finding a positive
voice.
Classes are designed so that even a child with no theater arts
experience will feel comfortable and at ease in our classroom
environment. However, more experienced students are encouraged to
hone their craft more deeply and thoughtfully.”
The RYT students come from across Sonoma County, and range in
age from 5 to 17. Since each play and each activity requires new
communications skills, teaching the students to connect is a
different challenge each time, so students of this broad age range
and widely diverse experience levels remain engaged and challenged.
According to Shelly, “Classes always begin with a body, voice, and
imagination warm up. A daily lesson breaks down the tools they need
for confidence, trust, team building. We can then parlay these
techniques into the art of storytelling to an audience. We try to
preserve time at the end of each class to play fun, team-building
games.”
And Shelly’s been rewarded by watching the emotional changes in
many of her students. “I have witnessed dramatic emotional and
developmental improvement in many past students with low self
esteem, vocal lisps, and difficulty making friends. The theater
arts community is a family. We encourage children to grow, stretch
their imagination, and stimulate their emotional IQ. My theater is
a safe haven for creativity, team building, innovation, and
curiosity. It is a special place where every child can feel like
they belong.”
Classes range from 6 to 8 weeks, after school for one to two
hours. If you’re interested in signing your young ones up for
classes, contact Healdsburg Parks & Recreation at www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us, or
call 431-3301.
Carol (Kiki) Noack
Raven Performing Arts Theater
