The Largo Cultural Center's own Central Park Players will present them in musical form, starting with Cinderella.
By LORRI HELFAND
Published May 20, 2004
LARGO - After years of showcasing children's entertainment, the Largo Cultural Center is forming its own troupe specializing in musical versions of children's classics.
About a month ago, center recreation leader Jan Ray pitched the idea to cultural center manager Colin Bissett.
"I thought about all of the other facilities in the area that have them and how well they do," said Ray, 23, artistic director of the new troupe. "It might be better for us to have our own company rather than paying people from out of town to come in."
The Central Park Players, comprising five to eight adult actors, will be the cultural center's first troupe catering specifically to children. Auditions for the new troupe will be held next month.
"The purpose of forming this troupe is so we have a high-quality supply of professional children's and school entertainment," Bissett said. "And we have complete control on artistic quality and production."
From Ray's experience, the genre expands horizons for both children and actors.
"When (children) have fun and they enjoy themselves, that's a lot of fun for us. You can create and educate as well and it makes them want to come back to the theater," said Ray, who performs with Stages Productions, a Tampa Bay area ensemble that presents children's theater.
The Central Park Players will present five productions, kicking off the season Aug. 7 with Cinderella. Shows, which will run through next May, will be performed Saturdays as well as midweek for school audiences.
Bissett said this and future seasons will draw from a variety of storybook titles, such as Rumpelstiltskin, Alice in Wonderland and Little Red Riding Hood.
At Bissett's request, productions will be enhanced by a little bit of local flavor, with familiar settings and character names.
For example, in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the bears may return from a walk in Central Park, and Papa Bear may be named Bear Jackson (alluding to Mayor Bob Jackson), Bissett said.
"Everybody seems to get a kick out of that," Bissett said.
The Central Park Players derived its name from the New York City landmark and the cultural center's locale at 105 Central Park Drive, said Jayne Anne Losito, the troupe's education coordinator.
Partners N Progress, a Largo nonprofit that benefits the arts, is supporting the troupe and has pledged about $6,000 to $7,000, half of the troupe's estimated first-season budget.
Down the road, the troupe will be eligible for Pinellas Arts Council grants. Meanwhile, Bissett is looking for local sponsors for individual productions.
"That will give organizations a lot of recognition within the community," he said.
As a theater major at Eckerd College, Ray knows a number of writers and directors and hasn't had a hard time wrangling them as behind-the-scenes talent.
Everybody she's asked so far has said yes, Ray said. "We can't wait to get it off the ground."
