The Steve Robertson Youth Theater Workshop

The High Street Theater Foundation was founded to support the performing and visual arts in Moorpark.

Description:
The Steve Robertson Youth Theater Workshop is and after-school theater workshop that provides youth ages 5-16 with an opportunity to learn the basic skills of the theater -- acting, music, dance, theater terminology, and theater ethics.

The objective is to provide Moorpark youth with a theater workshop experience while making it affordable and available to a large cross section of Moorpark families. The target enrollment for each workshop is 25 to 30 students. Guided by local professionals, participants work together to develop and present a musical theater on stage production at a local theater.

No audition is required for admission to this workshop, however after the workshop has started, auditions will be held to determine which roles the children will play in their production. Everyone will have a role in the play. There will be two performances at the conclusion of the workshop.

The workshop is held after school at the Moorpark Boys & Girls Club (B&GC). The High Street Theater Foundation has provided over $17,000 in scholarships to children at the B&GC. Each workshop includes 15 scholarships available to B&GC members. They attend for free. The fee is actually $295 which most of the kids at the B&GC could not afford. We are offering them an opportunity they would not otherwise have.

Youth theater arts is not just about putting on a play. The play is what the parents want to see. It helps us raise funds by selling tickets to parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors, but it is in fact the least important part of the whole project, although on the surface it appears to be the most important.

What is really important is what the children gain from the experience, self-confidence that will take them through their lives. The ability to speak on stage can make the difference between upper and lower management when you join the workforce. And it can. Being able to speak in front of people makes a difference in so many areas of your life. And it makes a difference as to how people receive you. And to me, this is the gift we are giving these kids.

An interest in theater can lead to higher education, it encourages studying, reading, learning, teamwork and problem solving.

The arts are so essential to education. When the economy is weak, the arts are the first thing cut. That is a shame. The arts are about history. They are about self-expression. They require reading. They require quite time, self-displine and contemplation. The arts are about expanding your mind, your emotions and your reach in life.

The Foundation has made every effort to include all local children interested in the performing arts, kids at risk, low income, and those with learning disabilities. We have children who have never read a script and children who have managers and have performed professionally. Our children come from households in the lowest income levels to the highest income levels in Moorpark.

We bring them together. They become a family. A team. Working together learning their lines, their music and their routines.

They have worked on the development of their costumes, been introduced to set design, lighting and sound and have been tutored on projection. Our plan is to enhance all of this areas of theater production.

The workshop was named after Steve Robertson who was the director of the art department at Moorpark High School for over 40 years. He has contributed so much to the performing arts in Moorpark.

We would like to see this workshop last as long and contribute as much as he has. We would also like to think that it is an extension of education here in Moorpark. An after school program that keeps kids off the streets in a fun, active, learning environment they chose to be in.

We plan to reach out to the home-schooled children in the area. Which would be very good for the home schoolers and school district.

Our biggest threat to it all of this is of course money. It costs us $6,000 to put on each workshop even when we don’t pay rent. We are a very small group and each of us is wearing too many hats, so we are reaching out into the community looking for not only financial support which we desperately need, but also for your membership, your time, energy and your suggestions.

History:
The HSTF was created to preserve the High Street Theater in Moorpark in 2004. Once the theater was purchased by the City of Moorpark, the Foundation moved its attention to The Steve Robertson Youth Theater Workshop.

The Foundation was instrumental in bringing a number of productions to the High Street Theater during its transition to city ownership. These productions included the revival of the Moorpark Melodrama, musicals such as Man of La Mancha and Company, as well as youth productions and the annual Ghost Walk along High Street.

The Foundation continues to support community involvement in the performing arts, concentrating on The Steve Robertson Youth Theater Workshop, The Ojai Film Festival in Moorpark and the Champion of the Arts Brunch.

Contact people:

Colleen Graven, Marketing Director, (phone), (email) Darby Shields, Board President, (phone), (email)

Main office number: (805) 338-5582

Address:

207 W. Los Angeles Street, #113 Moorpark, CA 93021 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.highstreettheaterfoundation.org

Directions:

The address is our post office box at Postnet in Moorpark. Exit the 118 Fwy at Los Angeles Avenue.

Last updated on August 31, 2009