The invitation is a first for our local teen thespians.
”We’ve performed at the Summer Arts a few times,” Rose says, “and we did Harvest of the Arts at College of the Redwoods, but this is the first time we’ve actually gone to another venue and performed in a really professional theater in a professional situation. We’re part of the Dell’Arte Mad River Festival!”
Recycled Youth will be performing on July 11 and 12, Friday and Saturday, in the famous Carlo Theater. Curtain on both nights is at 8 p.m.
But the benefit for the teen actors is being at Dell’Arte for the whole week.
”It’s really a whole week of activity,” Rose says. “GenNext is a whole week of workshops, seminars, performing and interacting with other teen actors. The will have classes from three master teachers, really world class teachers associated with Dell’Arte.”
Dell’Arte is providing Recycled Youth troupe up with a place to stay and they’re giving
”It’s a very full week and a great opportunity for them,” says Rose.
Dell’Arte also gave Rose a stipend of $1,500 to use for the week’s expenses, which she will share with Jeannie York, who will be providing live music for the performances, and for Abra Faraon, who is doing the costumes for the show.
”Maybe I’ll end up with a little of the stipend myself,” Rose says, “but I want to make sure that everyone gets their gas covered.”
Rose also gets help from Susan Alexander, Barbara Penny, Robie Tenorio, Stu Moskowitz, Anna Rogers, and Kim Sallaway.
Many of the performers in this current production are familiar faces from past productions, local students who have found their place in writing, performing, and producing.
Writer and actor Lulu Williams is one such.
”The play we’re doing is stuff from prior years cobbled together,” Lulu says, “with a ‘through’ line from last year.”
She explains that a through line is “what we do when we start the show and all the bits in between pieces to give us time to change costumes.”
This year’s “through” line centers around all the teen actors being backstage.
Lulu started with Recycled Youth when she was 12.
”I write a piece every year,” she says, “and I’m pretty involved in the process. It’s fun and it gives me a chance to write something that really matters to me. This year the one that I’ve done - Video Killed the Radio Star - is about rock and roll music and the media’s interpretation. The year before that, I did Romea and Juliet, which is basically a condensed version of Romeo and Juliet where the two characters are female, which is somewhat self-explanatory, except, in my version, no one dies, because I’m a brat like that.”
Lulu says she is considering going to Dell’Arte after graduation from high school.
”I’d really like it if people could come up and support us,” she says. “This performance is really important to us because we’re getting to do our thing at a festival dedicated to the arts and drama. It’s a big step for us to be seen there. It’s recognition and it’s really nice to be around professionals. It’s a big opportunity.”
Fellow actor Forrest Tresidder isn’t considering the theater as a career, but he says he’s very excited about the trip to Blue Lake.
”It’s going to be an experience both of learning and of adventure,” he says. “I’m always a little bit nervous on the first night before the show, but I always learn one thing or another. I mostly do it for fun.”
Rose says that the funding situation for the Recycled Youth program altogether is a “one day at a time” process.
”We are lucky that this year we were awarded two grants, one from the North Coast Cultural Trust and one from the McLean Foundation, so that will move us into next year. And the Mateel offers us free space, which is a challenge for them at this time, and the community supports us, so every year it comes together in some way and we’ll just keeping doing it as long as we’re not too old and it’s still possible. But I would like to suggest that people, if they can, come on up and support us. It would be great to have full houses for the kids to get the full experience.”
Dell’Arte is located at 131 H Street in sunny Blue Lake, just 5 minutes from Arcata. Ticket prices vary for Mad River Festival events, call 668-5663, email info@dellarte.com, or visit www.dellarte.com for details. To purchase tickets call Dell’Arte’s Box Office at 668-5663 ext. 5.
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