OUR FOUNDING and OUR GOALS

I.T.  (formerly known as Youthworks Imagination Theatre) was founded by myself, my now-11 year old daughter, and her friend.  My daughter and I had discussed our desire to start an independent theatre for some time, especially one that was open to hands-on involvement by younger youth. The girls had created two characters and a skit that caught my interest.

     We are fortunate to have an excellent local children's theatre as well as a couple of programs offering drama classes.  I enjoy their productions and encourage I.T. youth to attend.  However, we still felt that there was a need for opportunities for  youth who could not make that type of time commitment.  We were open to the idea of later including adults, once we'd found our footing.

     We enjoy exploring original and lesser performed productions. One of these days we'll get around to performing a "classic"  (see the "Cyrano De Bergerac Fall 2007" entry) but in the meantime we prefer creating our own stories or looking for a script that is contemporary, fresh, and easily produced, thus allowing involvement by all age groups.

OUR FIRST PRODUCTION - ENCHANTMENT

     "Enchantment: The Quest" was our first production.  It grew out of the girls' original skit, thus they earned credits not only as the two major charcters but also as playwrights.  The Alamance News of Graham was very generous in sending out a reporter who did a large feature entitled "Young Shakespeares."

     Enchantment was also a successful fundraiser for Jr. Girl Scout Troop 529 of Saxapahaw.  We raised money and supplies for the Emergency Serivces project which earned them their Bronze Award.  The girls also earned their Drama Badges.

POCAHONTAS AND JOHN ROLFE: PEACEMAKERS

     Our second production (Thanksgiving/Christmas) was "Pocahontas: The True Story of Rebecca and John Rolfe."  I researched and wrote the script.  Pocahontas has always fascinated me, so it was a labor of love; one that often reminded me of a favorite uncle of mine who was a full-blooded Cherokee.  I felt that he would be proud of our efforts to tell her true story in a way that both children and adults could understand and enjoy.

     My research led me to David Morenus,  an eleventh-generation descendant of Pocahontas through her son, Thomas Rolfe.  David maintains a terrific web site about Pocahontas at http://pocahontas.morenus.org/poca_desc.html.  He kindly read over my script, offering corrections and suggestions.  Our correspondence throughout the production was a pleasure and a huge help.

     "Pocahontas" was another successful fundraiser.  This time the proceeds were split between "Christmas Cheer" and Hurricane Katrina victims who relocated to Alamance County.

     It was a larger cast with an ensemble script.  Those who had smaller or nonspeaking parts in "Enchantment" discovered that learning lines, listening for cues, and performing on stage is not as easy as it appeared before when two major characters carried the play.

     "Pocahontas" was a learning experience for each of us.  As Director, I learned the importance of bringing parents on board from the very beginning and making certain that they fully understand the production and the requirements.   Without their commitment, even the smallest of productions will either be much harder than it should be or may fail completely.

     "Pocahontas" will always be special to me because of all that I learned about her life, developing a relationship with her ancestor in the process, and then being able to share her true story with the youth in our play and the audience.  The Disney film is entertaining with a wonderful score, but, in my opinion, it leaves out the heart of Pocahontas' story by focusing on a dubious romance between Pocahontas and John Smith and by completely neglecting her son, Thomas Rolfe. I saved the original script in its entirety and plan to produce it again with perhaps a slightly older cast.

FUNDING

     Youthworks has been fortunate to rehearse and perform within the historical auditorium of Holy Comforter Church, a beautiful English Gothic landmark.  The church is unreservedly committed to the preservation and promotion of the arts and generously allows many  groups to use its facilities, including the Paramount Acting Company, Alamance Children's Theatre, and the Alamance Girls Choir which is directed by Holy Comforter's Minister of Music, Charles Hogan.  The Alamance Girls Choir is the only other group, to date, who has actually performed in the renovated auditorium.

     We enter our third season preparing to perform professionally scripted plays that are original, entertaining, one-act, one-setting, and light in needs of costuming. Specific details on each production are provided below.

     We welcome youth and adults of all ages who have a genuine interest in theatre and we offer invaluable hands-on technical experience for older youth who have experience or an interest in lighting and production.  We would also like to have an older youth as part of our Directing team for each production. Our motto is:  "Fun, fresh, innovative!"

Please contact Jean Hedrick at 449-0721 or pjeanhedrick@yahoo.com if you're a fellow lover of theatre!