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(The Silver Lake Children's Theatre Group ) (SCTG) - an incorporated 501(c) 3 organization - provides dramatic training and major productions for young people 7–18 years old. Their self-described mission is to harness the power of the theater to develop critical thinking and self-confidence, as well as to engage the imagination. Their plays and programs are designed to encourage and nurture young talent while broadening their awareness of culture, politics, aesthetics and the human condition. The role of parents and the community is a vital element of the SCTG philosophy and program. Described as "smart theater for children" by the Los Angeles Times,〔http://articles.latimes.com/2005/oct/06/news/wk-cover6〕 the SCTG continues to present productions which push the boundaries of traditional children's theater in terms of complex ideas, themes, characters and staging. Nearly all plays are original productions co-written by the students through its Writing Mentorship Program. HISTORY The Silver Lake Children's Theatre Group 〔http://silverlakechildrenstheatregroup.org/〕 is the descendant of a theater company based at the Hollywood-Los Feliz Jewish Community Center (HLFJCC) in Silver Lake, California. The original company began in the mid-90's and produced one spring play a year, usually a well-known Broadway musical. Productions included ''Guys And Dolls'', ''Fiddler On The Roof'' and ''The Music Man''. Loanne Hamrin and Trish Boyer helmed the group in the late 90's, directly preceding the birth of the SCTG. Hamrin, a distinguished professional actress, brought her love of musicals and theatrical experience to her direction of the plays. Her good friend, Silver Lake architect Boyer, served as Assistant Director and together they choreographed and produced the plays. In the spring of 2000, their final production, ''Show Crazy'' was an original vehicle about "a-small-theater-company-who-could", which allowed Hamrin and Boyer to feature some of their favorite Broadway songs. (Mark McCracken ) 〔http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0566850/〕 and Broderick Miller a local actor/comedian and a screenwriter respectively, co-authored the play. Hamrin announced her retirement from the theatre group following ''Show Crazy'' and with no one to direct the plays, the program was in danger of shutting down. Miller, a member of the HLFJCC board, volunteered to helm the theatre group for no fee because his six-year-old daughter, Izzy, had such a great experience performing in ''Show Crazy.'' The timing was serendipitous. Just a few weeks earlier, Miller had taken his young daughters to a performance of ''Babes In Toyland'' at the Alex Theatre 〔http://www.alextheatre.org/〕 in Glendale, California and he was appalled at how pandering the show was to its young audience. The thought crossed his mind, “if I ever ran a children’s theatre group, we would do smart shows.” So when the children’s theatre opportunity presented itself a few weeks later, he felt the call. Although Miller was the godson of Academy Award-winning actor Broderick Crawford, he found a mentor and second father in British stage and film director Lindsay Anderson. As a result, Miller was schooled in Anderson’s primary influences, Anton Chekhov, Bertolt Brecht, Jean Vigo, Humphrey Jennings and U.S. filmmaker John Ford. “Sentiment without sentimentality” was Anderson’s creative mantra which Miller brought to the SCTG along with his own love for the works of John Irving, David Mamet, Tennessee Williams, Tom Stoppard and Edward Albee. Miller’s plays were unusual for a children’s theatre company because they featured sophisticated adult-like dialogue while tackling humanist and provocative themes. Miller wrote and directed the first play under his stewardship, a comedy-musical titled ''Stay Awake!'' in the spring of 2001. The whimsical story centered on Paula, a 12-year-old girl too busy watching TV and playing video games to read books. Events sweep her into a world where each land is represented by a different classic book. Tracy wanders through 14 book “lands” ''(Little Women'', ''Moby Dick'', ''Harry Potter'', ''The Grapes of Wrath'', ''Dracula'', ''Eloise'', etc.), encountering the colorful characters from each story. While searching for a way home, she also discovers the joys of literature. Each scene also featured a contemporary song which commented on the action. These ranged from Heidi singing “River Deep, Mountain High” to Mary Poppins losing in love and singing “Nothing Compares 2U.” The show was popular and the success emboldened Miller and his creative partners (Brian Davis ), (Sandi Silbert ) and (Mark Feldman ), to create the Silver Lake Children’s Theatre Group as an official 501(c) 3 non-profit theatre company. Within two years the SCTG expanded to two productions a year (fall and spring) and continue to this day offering complex and challenging productions for kids. The SCTG believes that children respond to smart material and sees its productions as a means for its young actors and writers to explore the human condition while building community. THEATER PRODUCTIONS Each year the SCTG presents spring and fall productions generated from original material created within the company. The shows widely vary in their genres and staging, ranging from dramas and comedies to musicals and cabaret. Themes are equally divergent and typically explore how a teenager relates to the world and how the world relates to them. “The quintessential SCTG play,” says Miller, “is a search for wisdom with bittersweet results.” In addition to exploring provocative themes, the SCTG pursues unique methods of staging. In their comedy ''Dumb White Crackers'', for example, the cast was required to learn every role in the show. Just before the show went on, the audience randomly selected which actors would play which roles. Not only was this a powerful exercise in trust and commitment, but the experience tightly bonded the cast. Similar experimental shows include ''Havana'' (“living theatre” - where the audience follows the actors from room to room throughout the play.); ''Love and Hate'' (the play was first presented as a comedy; then at intermission the audience took seats on stage while the cast performed exactly the same play as a comedy in the seats); ''Teatro Della Morte'' 〔http://www.teatrodellamorte.blogspot.com/,〕(a cabaret-like show performed in a circus tent inspired by the professional Seattle-based troupe (Teatro Zinzanni ) – whose performers actually conducted a workshop with SCTG students); and several others. All plays written and directed by Broderick Miller except where indicated. 2001 ''Stay Awake!'' 2001 ''O Lucky Girl!'' 2002 ''Cheyenne'' (original play written by Liz Tucillo, adapted for children's theatre by Broderick Miller) 2003 ''The Puzzle People'' 2003 ''Spamelot'' (written by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones & Michael Palin; adapted by Broderick Miller) 2004 ''Attack of the Killer Kids'' 2005 ''The Community Producers'' 2005 ''Buy America'' (written by Phoebe Minette & Broderick Miller) 2005 ''The Rocke'' (written by Ivy Hammond and Broderick Miller) 2005 ''The Window'' 2006 ''Killing Time at the Rothrottens'' (written and directed by Mark McCracken) 2006 ''Free Will'' (written by Phoebe Minette & Broderick Miller) 2006 ''Thunderboard'' (written by Robert Goldberg & Broderick Miller/directed by Montana Mills) 2006 ''Love And Hate'' (written by Lindsey Horowitz & Broderick Miller) 2007 ''Evil Schmeevil'' (written and directed by Mark McCracken) 2007 ''Havana'' (written by Robert Goldberg, Lindsey Horowitz, Phoebe Minette, Tess Whittlesey & Broderick Miller) 2007 ''Turbulence'' (written by Olivia Russin & Broderick Miller/directed by Ellie Bensinger) 2007 ''Dumb White Crackers'' 2008 ''Teatro Della Morte'' (written by Ellie Bensinger & Broderick Miller) 2008 ''Hellth Care'' (written by Riley Smith & Broderick Miller/directed by Olivia Russin) 2008 ''The Color and the Noise'' 2009 ''The Rogues'' 2009 ''Significant Others'' (written and directed by Mark McCracken) 2009 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Silver Lake Children's Theatre Group」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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