Virginia Ave. Project taps creative juices within needy kids
DOWNTOWN LA Jonathan Graves can’t seem to relax these days. Considering the circumstances, who could blame him? The 16-year-old has just written his first play, “The Building,” and he’s a little concerned about how people are going to receive it.
“I went to the doctor the other day (and) I think I have a heart condition,” said Graves, a student at Santa Monica High School.“Nah. I’m just kidding. I’m fine, just pretty nervous. I think I’ve had a couple of anxiety attacks, but I’m hoping that it’s not going to bomb or anything like that. I think it’s going to work out.”
With help from the likes of Tony Award-winner Randy Graff and actress Roma Maffia (“Nip/Tuck” and “Law & Order”), Graves’ roughly 10-minute play should be a smash, as will the other seven tales written by kids like Graves who are part of the Virginia Avenue Project’s playmaking program.
As part of the program, students were asked to write short plays based on the theme “What on Earth?!” to teach them about the environment, as well as how best to affect change in their communities, and their world.
The first show is tonight at the 24th Street Theatre near USC. For a suggested $5 donation, one can be treated to guest appearances by Mother Nature, a Ferrari and a talking tree, who will tackle subjects like global warming, “green” building and romance in the age of inconvenient truths.
Volunteer Cassidy Freeman, an actress from Chicago, will be playing the talking “Banapple” tree Kaitlyn in the play “Cut in Half,” a story about the last banana-apple tree in existence, which is about to be chopped down by Bill the lumberjack. In fear for her life, Kaitlyn reaches out to the lumberjack and learns that he is no longer satisfied with his job and that what he really wants to do is become a ballet dancer.
In exchange for sparing her life, Kaitlyn agrees to teach him to dance.
“This is supposed to not only teach kids that they can write, but that they can entertain and educate people with their words,” said Freeman, who also tutors kids in the Project. “It really gives them a boost of confidence and a sense of accomplishment.”
“I think that having them think about the environment while doing it is killing two birds with one stone.”
The Virginia Avenue Project, founded 14 years ago, is a non-profit, volunteer organization that uses the performing arts as a mentoring tool to help underserved children think creatively about their lives and the possibility of a future in the entertainment industry.All the programs, which are offered at the Police Activities League, are free and sequential so that young participants are challenged throughout their young lives. A typical Project kid takes their first class at age 6 or 7, and stays with the programs all the way through high school.
The benefits of participating are remarkable, said Leigh Curran, founder and artistic director of the Project.
“The Project shows us what theatre can be … a celebration of life, community, and the human heart,” Curran said.
Of those who participate, 100 percent graduate from high school and 90 percent go on to college. Of those who do, 85 percent are the first in their family to do so.
“It’s a great program,” said Graves, whose play features an architect and a property owner who fall in love while designing a sustainable building. “The people are really friendly and very helpful. They are always coming up with new ideas to challenge us.”
When it comes to working with some of the entertainment industry’s elite, Graves said he had to pinch himself because he couldn’t believe that these professionals would take the time out to help him and other kids write.
“That was really nice of them,” said Graves, who was particularly interested in Tony Palermo, a sound effects wizard, who brought some of his gadgets for the kids to experiment with.
“I never knew so much work when into it,” Graves said about audio drama. “I thought there was just a lot of pushing buttons, but he all different types of gizmos. It’s amazing what you can find and make a sound out of it.”
Tonight’s performance starts at 7:30 p.m. For more information and to make reservations, go to www.virginiaavenueproject.org
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 13, 2007. Read the original PDF.