Stone Oak Youth Theatre

How Shakespeare Created Mystery Science Theater 3000, And Other Dramatic Musings

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Yesterday’s Express-News had a very nice write-up from Deborah Martin about one of my favorite Stone Oak Youth Theatre activities: the San Antonio Stage Script Study Group.  She did a great job covering the origins of the group, so I encourage everyone to visit the link to learn more about what it is and how it came to be.

To sum up: the group’s a book club, with an exclusive focus on plays.  Each month, we meet to discuss, analyze, and share our experiences of a play, and at the end of the meeting, one of us gets to choose the next month’s play.  On the last Wednesday in June – having already read Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Uncle Vanya – it was my turn to lead the way. Continue reading →

So These Kids Walk Into A Comedy Club…

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One of the great things about Stone Oak Youth Theatre is its commitment, the commitment of everyone who works there, to introduce their students to the full arts experience.  Just visit that website and you’ll find programs for drama, programs for musical theatre, programs for improv, programs for film acting (which will start up again tomorrow), programs all about the art, craft, and business of show.

This spring, SOYT added stand-up comedy to the list, with a class called Punchline.  The class was designed to teach kids the ins and outs of being comedians.; it was a great idea for SOYT, and a great opportunity for the kids. Continue reading →

Always A Learning Experience

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One of my earliest experiences in the PrimaDonna universe (or could I say “PrimaDonniverse”?) was a table read for a film then known as Dream Healer (which ultimately premiered as Dream Healing).  It was a great experience, and looking back, the foreshadowing of the moment was so blatant only someone like me could have missed it, as I met so many people I’d ultimately come to know as friends and colleagues.

Among those actors (as the Dream Healer herself) was a girl by the name of Gabi Walker.  I was genuinely impressed by the talent she showed at that reading, and even more impressed with her poise and character.  So it was hardly a surprise to learn that she was one of Nikki’s students.

All of which is a roundabout way of saying that working with kids was an important part of my PDP experience well before the beginning of it all.  And as you’ve probably figured out from recent posts, that continues today. Continue reading →

On Next Generations, or: Meanwhile…

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As you can likely see from my last couple of posts, the year to date has been one for expanding our creative horizons.  And while I’ve been working on building my résumé as a practicing screenwriter, my boss has also found a new venue for her passions and mission… Continue reading →