by Hilary Gladstone
June 2003
The Young Players Ensemble, a theatre troupe that at different times is comprised of young, talented, individuals from across the world, is finishing their current run at the Celtic Arts Center in Studio City. The ensemble works together with theatres and organizations around the world to empower young people through theatre.
The current show, “Mythical Dreams” was developed through the Northern Ireland Pen Pal Project where young people from across Northern Ireland wrote stories and letters to 18 cast and crew members in Los Angeles. Valley Scene had a chance to speak with Hilari Scarl, the creator of the Young Players Ensemble, about the ins-and-outs of her work and the work of the kids.
How do you decide which city to produce the next show in?
The program has moved around with me as different artistic opportunities arise. Since I am a performer and a writer as well, this program relocates with me. I have found young people in every community eager to do quality work that they get to create.
I direct/produce an original production with the Young Players Ensemble about once every two years. Shows have been produced in Atlanta, New York, Maine and now in Los Angeles. I’m hoping to do a production in Northern Ireland with our pen pals reversing the equation where they write a play about their American pen pals. It would be great to bring both casts together for a grand finale production.
How do the kids find out about this?
I post notices in Backstage, Breakdown Services, schools and theaters. I also get referred by past cast members and people who have seen our shows.
Do they all come from one school at a time or some other organization?
I like for my casts to be very diverse. In our last production with Zoo District (“Orphan Magic”) we had cast members from performing arts schools working with young people from the projects. Sometimes their only thread is theatre and a passion to express themselves, and that is enough to bond them together.
Our current cast in “Mythical Dreams” comes from Northridge, Canyon Country, Santa Monica, Alta Loma, Valencia, Sylmar, Silver Lake, Burbank, Lakewood and Glendale. Several cast members have just relocated to Los Angeles, hailing from Colorado, Texas and South Africa. They have formed an incredibly strong bond that has now reached our pen pals in Northern Ireland.
When we produced the program at OMNI Camp (formerly the Samantha Smith Peace Camp in Maine), young people came from all over the world including Russia, Scotland, India, Finland and across the United States. The work was very rich and their experience of working together was extraordinary.
Do the kids come up with the subject matter for the show?
Each cast comes up with a theme and subject matter. The cast of MYTHICAL DREAMS was the first to have a jumping off point of our pen pals in Northern Ireland. We had stories and letters of many different styles and points of view from across the country. We read them out loud and asked, “What do we have here? What’s the common thread?” I found a lot of cultural misunderstandings in many of our early discussions, and instead of correcting their erroneous facts and assumptions, wrote them down. As the cast started doing some research and participated in discussions with Geraldine Hughes (from Belfast) and Barry Lynch (artistic director of the Celtic Arts Center) and their pen pals, their points of view were widened. The American cast were equally amused at cultural misunderstandings of their peers in Northern Ireland, such as their belief that all Americans are rich. These themes kept showing up in our improvisations, and we decided to flesh it out into our play.
What guidance do you, and the other mentors, give them?
I think the best guidance is to ask the cast and crew questions: “What are you trying to say? What style of music do you think will fit here? What would your character wear?” The mentors sometimes give short workshops on lighting design, costumes and choreography, explaining their artistic process. Then they focus on the production by guiding the cast or small groups of young crew members through the planning stages. Each cast member chooses the area they wish to work on, and become as involved as they feel inclined. Hanna Longdo and Sasha Bezman wanted to write music for MYTHICAL DREAMS, and when Ed Sanders, our composer mentor visited, they created two songs. In the coming weeks, Hanna, Sasha and Mary Ann Springer went to Ed’s music studio to record the background vocals. Lucy Madden wanted to create a costume for her dog character, and was inspired to go home and make a costume from scratch. We had very little time in this production to teach Gabby Goetz, our young sound operator and Shannon Clair, our lightboard operator (who also dances at the beginning of the show). Peter Wittrock, our technical theatre mentor (and head of the theatre for the Celtic Arts Center) taught both Gabby and Shannon how to run our light and sound boards in about an hour – the rest they learned on their own through trial and error.
Describe how the Young Players Ensemble survives.
So far, we have been operating on a shoestring budget. I think that is an important learning tool as well – to show young people that you can create a show out of nothing; that the story and your energy is more important than expensive production values. We invest in the show and the process more than anything else. I ask them to try to find creative solutions for props and costumes, which turns out to be more fun and interesting that things that are bought. I come from a minimalistic theatre background, which sometimes has more heart that some professional productions I have been in. Our shows have very strong attendance and we throw fundraisers while continuing to pursue grants and corporate support.