ENCINITAS: New community theater group starts in Encinitas

By RUTH MARVIN WEBSTER - Staff Writer | Saturday, April 19, 2008 7:03 PM PDT ∞

ENCINITAS ---- Youth and community theater is a popular and passionate pastime in North County and now a new program in Encinitas is jumping into the mix.

Kathryn Campion and William Simonson have launched the nonprofit Encinitas Community Theatre, which will start free acting classes for young children and families in May.

"We want to improve the lives of at-risk children and low-income families by teaching life skills through performing," said Campion.

The classes will feature Star Power, a national program that teaches concentration, cooperation, self-esteem, relaxation and imagination. Campion has worked with the program for several years, she said.

The theater group's first workshop will be held on four Saturdays in May in a rented room at Dance North County. So far, Campion said, 12 families have registered.

The group will also offer a Lights Up Acting workshop at the same time to teach theater skills to older children and adults.

Leaders in the city's performing arts community say they are excited about the idea of a free program for kids.

"There is a tremendous desire and need for community theater," said Pat Lyderson, who is the director of the Park Dale Player Youth Theatre, a group she formed 20 years ago. "But it's not easy unless you charge tuition or are self-supporting in some other way."

The Park Dale Player Youth Theatre works under the umbrella of the Encinitas Union School District to teach performing arts to school-age children when schools are not in session.

Campion, a singer-songwriter, met Simonson about three years ago after a church service where Campion was performing. As their friendship grew, they found themselves talking about their mutual love for the theater.

"We were talking about what we would do if we could do anything ---- in a perfect world ---- and it would be working with children through live theater," said Campion.

Simonson ---- who has been involved with roughly 100 live theater productions ---- said he and Campion have found a lot of support in the community for their plans.

"Everybody is saying 'wow' when we tell them what we want to do," he said. "We are going to build this with our hearts."

Campion and Simonson have already started signing up volunteers to help them teach children and adults in their acting workshops.

From an advertisement on Craigslist, they found Cardiff resident Jamie Danielle, who runs her own domestic staffing company, but also has an acting background.

Danielle studied theater in college and is the daughter of Lane Smith, a well-known character actor who passed away almost three years ago from Lou Gehrig's disease. She said she plans to teach improvisational techniques to adults and teens.

"I was so shy when I was growing up and improv really got me out there," said Danielle.

Once the acting workshops are established, Simonson said, the next step is to assemble the actors into the Encinitas Players which would stage two performances a year. Without a venue, he said, they will take their homespun productions to schools, Boys & Girls Clubs, retirement homes and wherever they can fashion a stage.

City staffer James Gilliam, who works with the Arts Commission, said there have been previous incarnations of community theater in Encinitas throughout the years, many of which have met with limited success.

"We have Moxie, which is our resident theater company, and they are working very hard on getting a venue in the Encinitas Ranch," he said. "And there are the Park Dale Players and the Readers' Theatre in Cardiff but that's about where we are with theater in Encinitas at the moment."

Gilliam said he has spoken with Campion about her and Simonson's plans for the new Encinitas Community Theatre and that he "wholeheartedly supports their efforts.

"Encinitas is one of the most dynamic, creative communities you will find," Gilliam said. "Creative people are just drawn to this town."

Contact staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster at (760) 901-4074 or rwebster@nctimes.com.

The newly formed Encinitas Community Theatre will hold free acting workshops from 4:15 to 6:15 p.m. on four consecutive Saturdays next month: May 3, 10, 17 and 24 at 535 Encinitas Blvd., Suite 100, Encinitas, CA 92024.

Families and individuals are invited free of charge. But space is limited so registration is required.

For more information or to register or volunteer, call (760) 436-4869 or visit its Web site at www.encinitascommunitytheatre.org