Neighborhood-Kids All Local. All for Kids. All the Time.

Getting Dramatic with The Neighborhood Playhouse

by Joanna Nesbit5/12/2008 10:39:15 AM

Most kids love to play games and pretend, but not all kids want to get up on stage in front of a large audience. For those who aren’t into the glitz and glamour of the stage, The Neighborhood Playhouse (TNP) might be just the ticket for exploring their creative side.

Young Bellingham actors get dramatic with The Neighborhood Playhouse.

Lizanne Schader, owner and founder of TNP, is devoted to the “process” of theater rather than the “product.” Kids who take her workshops will learn the discipline and craft of acting through exercises, games, creative dramatics, and scene work. They’ll also have a lot of fun.

But being process-oriented doesn’t mean TNP kids won’t get on stage at all. Last year, Schader held one of her summer workshops at Firehouse Performing Arts Center for the first time, with a culminating performance for parents and the public. “The kids loved it,” she says.

A former actor, Schader loves the stage and putting on performances—the “product” of theater—but she also wants to reach as many kids as she can because she believes theater is for everyone. To reach kids, Schader and her husband, Jerry McGarity, also an actor, spend the majority of their time teaching theater workshops in the Bellingham schools through the Allied Arts Education Project.

Schader and McGarity, both members of the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), teach the eight elements of theater (character, dialogue, setting, design, theme, action, plot, and conflict) using music, theater games, and movement. Some of the classes they teach are “Creative Dramatics,” “Let’s Write a Play,” and “Take it Away,” an introduction to improv. They both have extensive backgrounds in teaching children. Schader has directed and taught in schools, community theaters, and for the Seattle Children’s Theatre. McGarity toured with the Missoula Children’s Theater.

Jerry McGarity teaches at an Allied Arts Education Project workshop.

Outside the Allied Arts mom-and-dad workshops, each season Schader teaches workshops, classes, and drama camps through TNP to a variety of ages. She’ll also give private coaching lessons to individuals. In April, Schader hosted a drama workshop for Whatcom Middle School students (which filled in one day!), and this summer she’ll hold two camps, one for 2nd-4th graders (in June), and one for 5th-9th graders (July 21-Aug. 2).

Theater and acting, she says, give children skills that will take them through life—self knowledge, self confidence, and the ability to communicate. “I want every child to get in touch with who they are and what they feel, and honor it,” she says. “All of us have opinions and emotions; learning how to express them publicly is what makes a story, poem, or history unit dramatic and interesting.”

Also, she says, there are plenty of opportunities for kids to be on stage in costume. “TNP tends to attract the more serious student of drama—the ones who want to take the time developing a character and expanding their horizons,” says Schader. She challenges her students by giving the shy one a comic role, or the extrovert a thinking role. “They always rise up to it.”

One TNP production last year was Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves.

Schader’s biggest challenge in offering workshops outside of the schools is her space. Or lack thereof. Currently, she offers the majority of her workshops at Garden Montessori on Firwood Avenue. Last summer, as mentioned, she used the Firehouse Performing Arts Center, and this summer’s camps will take place at the Bellingham Theatre Guild. Schader is also going through the process of becoming a 501(c)3 nonprofit and hopes the status will help secure grants in the future, as well as a permanent space.

Because TNP’s locations change, Schader issues fliers to all returning students so they know what’s coming up. She also advertises in The Bellingham Herald’s camps’ list, in Entertainment News Northwest, and on Neighborhood-Kids.com; check out Neighborhood-Kids.com Activities to find TNP locations and upcoming events. You can also email Schader at theneighborhoodplayhouse@q.com or call (360) 671-1930 for information on TNP or the school workshops. To learn more about what Schader and McGarity offer in the schools, visit the Allied Arts class roster.

A Note About the Author: Joanna Nesbit

Joanna Nesbit is a home-based freelance writer. She thinks she can write and parent at the same time. She and her husband, Curt, are developing new interests through their two kids, including chess, Girl Scouts, soccer, and horses. In her limited spare time, she enjoys reading, running, and good beer.