KIDSTAGE
KIDSTAGE Parent Profile: Meet Heather
Meet Heather, one of our long-time KIDSTAGE parents. Her two children Aresa (age 18) and Eliot (age 15) have both been a part of the KIDSTAGE program since they were five years old. They participated in many programs both on and off the stage. Read about Heather’s experience with KIDSTAGE below.
Q: What do you love about being a KIDSTAGE parent?
A: I love the confidence that doing a show nurtured in both my kids. Aresa’s first production was The Little Mermaid, and my husband was the lighting designer. During tech, I stopped in to bring him food. Parents aren’t allowed in tech, so I was sneaking back out when I caught site of my shy, nervous daughter standing tall, confidently working through a scene. She was nearly unrecognizable in the best way possible.
Being in a production provides students an early opportunity to make decisions, to manage themselves. They are expected to know when to be on stage, take care of their costume pieces, and find their light (literally and metaphorically). It’s amazing and translates into life skills we want our children to possess.
Q: What do your kids love about being KIDSTAGE students?
A: They love the responsibility they are given. It’s rare teens get to be in charge, but working backstage and writing shows puts them in the driver’s seat. It makes them feel valuable and integral to the success of a show. When you are key player in a major scene change, you are important, you matter.
Q: Why is the KIDSTAGE program valuable?
A: The tagline says it all and my whole family is living proof of it — skills for theatre…skills for life. My husband and I were also KIDSTAGE kids. I use the skills I gained in being a costume designer for three summers in my youth every day in my job as an accountant. KIDSTAGE was the first time anyone trusted me to make a plan and execute it, manage a budget, and to truly have others rely on me in a way that mattered beyond a school grade.
Q: How has the KIDSTAGE program impacted your teens’ career interests?
A: The summer of 2020, my daughter took a KIDSTAGE TV screenwriting class over Zoom. She wrote a TV pilot and a show bible with five other students. It was absolutely life changing for her. She has since written the pilot and show bibles for two of her own television shows and written a musical through KIDSTAGE Originals with three other students. Aresa is currently applying to college for screenwriting.
Q: What is one of your favorite KIDSTAGE moments?
A: The look of sheer joy on Eliot’s face after he auditioned for his first show. He’d worked so hard to learn his monologue and song, and the closer it got, the more nervous he became. But the pride and joy that showed on his face leaving the audition was amazing. It was a safe zone to show himself and he felt great.
And now seeing that same little kid drone on in minute detail about how he learned to weld the frame for a scenic flat during his internship…it’s the same pride and joy for him and for me.
Q: Why should families consider enrolling in KIDSTAGE classes?
A: KIDSTAGE classes give kids a chance to let go of the “shoulds” and the “supposed tos.” It’s a chance to let them be free and curious and try themselves out. Young or teen alike, kids need a place to be brave and needed. The very nature of theatre provides that. A kid doesn’t need to be destined for Broadway to get real and tangible benefits from KIDSTAGE classes and productions.