Saturday’s Kids has been a passion idea for director and co-creator Donna Manfredi since she was a student teacher. While a senior at Rutgers University working on a degree in Speech Arts and Dramatics, Donna began her student teaching career at East Brunswick High School in New Jersey. It was there that she met and worked with Elliott Taubenslag who ran different forms of children’s theatre programs. One such program would be gathering a group of adult actors, load all their props/costumes into a van, and drive to New York City to perform for children at the Jan Hus Theater. “It was the true definition of Troupe-style theatre,” says Manfredi, “as we drove, they would rehearse the lines. Someone would say ‘okay, you’re the baker today. Here’s the lines.’ And they would learn the role as we made the drive to New York City.”
It was from this concept that Donna grew a true appreciation and love for children’s theatre. In the 1990s, Donna made the move to the West Coast, starting at Hart High School and resuming her teaching career as an English/theatre teacher before becoming the English/theatre teacher at Valencia High School in its opening year. While at Hart High School, Donna developed an outreach program that took her Shakespeare students to local elementary schools, introducing them to the plays of revered playwrights. At Valencia High School, she took that concept further to create a theatre outreach program that helped elementary school students increase their reading comprehension through theatre games, activities, and performances led by her high school students.
When her career in education shifted to the administrative side, she felt the need to get back to doing theatre. In 2011, she auditioned for Gypsy at the Canyon Theatre Guild with the intent of being one of “the seasoned vaudeville performers.” However, she was cast as the lead role of Mama Rose. While some of the actions of Mama Rose may make the audience cringe, The Signal writer Jim Walker said, “Manfredi makes you care for her.” Donna also found her way back behind the directing table for the Canyon Theatre Guild, directing productions of Seussical the Musical, Damn Yankees, Monty Python’s Spamalot, and The Drowsy Chaperone. It was on Damn Yankees in 2014 that she first formed a working partnership with Tom Lund, the future Theatre Manager of the Newhall Family Theatre.
As the world tried to overcome the pandemic, Donna and Tom were brainstorming how they could make an impact in the community once performance venues could reopen, specifically for the youth in Santa Clarita. Enter Saturday’s Kids. Drawing on Donna’s vast previous experience in children’s theatre under the tutelage of Elliott Taubenslag, they decided to create an opportunity to introduce theatre to young audiences. “I think there's a tremendous impact that we have seen on the children who come into this space and see our performances. Many of them have never been to the theater. It is magical watching them experience live theatre for the first time.” Through the use of a trunk, the troupe of Saturday’s Kids pulls out props and costume pieces to help transport the audience to a different time and place. The simple nature of the props and costumes illustrates to the audience that anyone can put on a show. As Donna says about the program, “We want kids to be creating and using their imagination in the world around them.”
Comments