SEBASTIAN — The June closing of the only dance and performance studio in Sebastian and Fellsmere at first seemed like the final nail in the coffin for the chance for young or old to rehearse and perform theater in the North County area.
Jennifer Patty was not having it.
In partnership with her church, St. Sebastian Catholic, Patty this past week hosted what she hopes will become a quarterly theater workshop capped with a performance by young children through high-school age.
The 7 p.m. Friday performance of “Ever After: The Musical” was the first such show, at the church’s Lesage Hall.
A life-long performer and former director of theater programs at St. Edward’s School on the barrier island, Patty is an expert at cultivating young talent and teaching kids that the arts can be a great deal of fun.
“There is too much video gaming going on. There are far too many children of all ages home alone after school and over the summer. There is nothing to do, and performance arts will change that,” said Patty, who tapped her experience as a professional entertainer and director of more than 50 children’s theatre productions to launch the local company, Sebastian Repertory Theatre.
The church is more than just a venue or a sponsor, but an actual provider of what church leader Bud Zielinski calls a “community builder.”
It is one of many ways the church is trying to build its children’s programming to serve the growing number of young families with children in the area.
“What I love about what Jennifer is doing is that every child gets to play an active part in the production, rather than just sit on the sidelines,” said Zielinski, fundraising and marketing coordinator for St. Sebastian.
He has added “ticket sales agent” to his list of functions.
“It’s a great opportunity to have something for the kids to do that is constructive,” he said.
So popular and unique is the performance venue, Zeilinski is leading a drive to expand Lesage Hall from 300 to 500 seats within the next year.
Giving every child a key role is Patty’s trademark.
“Depending on the child’s comfort level ― and we encourage them all to stretch ― we want each one to have at least one line, a chance for the spotlight to shine on them, a time that makes their parents say, ‘Wow! That’s my kid,’ ” Patty said. “They come out of their shell – even shy kids, and especially shy kids. These memories are the things you remember for the rest of your life, like scoring the winning touchdown to save the day.”
While the performance summer camp is geared to younger students, high school students get their day in the sun.
A team of eight Sebastian River High School students took on starring roles or key positions behind the scenes.
Patty’s daughter, Peyton Roux, filled the role of Cinderella. Another of Patty’s theatrically active teenagers, Garret, is not taking part in this production, but runs sound for Patty’s one-woman shows.
The other actors and roles or positions in Friday’s show included Brooke Moss, Snow White; Casey Cole, Queen; Jackson Oberlink as Emmett Mantella, The Frog Prince; Maddy Dunegan, assistant to the director; Mattina Chorma , stage manager; Riley Biehl as composite shock show host Sally Lizzie Jessie Donatello-Griffin, and Alicia Womble as head of costume, hair, makeup and design.
The students act as much like camp counselors as they do the jewel settings that allow the younger students to shine.
“Kids can learn so fast, especially when they see your passion and sense your desire that they can and will succeed. I wish we adults could learn that fast,” Patty said. “But you can’t give a younger kid 50 or 60 lines to memorize in a week. It’s just too much. It depends on the youngster. If they want to do more than a few lines, we encourage them,” Patty said.
One of those younger students is Patty’s third child, Bryce Roux, 9.
The inclusion of high school students in the camp and performance is especially important in light of the fact that budget cuts have all but gutted the drama program at Sebastian River High School, Patty said.
She plans to do a similar workshop at the school.
“Sebastian High doesn’t get the same support that Vero Beach High School gets for drama,” she added. “That makes it doubly important to serve these students.”
“We want to make sure there is no barrier to children being able to see live theater, and no substantial cost barrier for anyone else,” Patty said.
It’s not only children and youth that suffer from lack of performing arts, but patrons as well, Patty said.
“Everything is at least 30 minutes away, whether you go up to Melbourne or down to Vero to see shows,” Patty said. “A lot of our residents in Sebastian are older and they may not want to drive that far. But they know and love all the shows and they would go if there was something closer.
“If you think people don’t want to drive that way for a show, think of the people on the stage or behind the scenes who don’t want to make all those long trips,” Patty said. “Something right around the corner or 10 minutes away, that makes all the difference in the world.”
The Sebastian Repertory Company’s premiere show, “Ever After: The Musical” was written by Nathan Hartswick and Bill Francoeur and produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service.
Loosely flung from the traditional Cinderella tale, it is a parody of daytime TV.
Host Sally Lizzie Jesse Donatello-Griffin wonders if time truly heals all wounds, so she invites Cinderella and her middle-aged “beauty-impaired” step-sisters to reconcile with each other after being estranged for 20 years.
“We don’t want to say the word ‘ugly’ about someone so we use the more politically correct ‘beauty-impaired,’ ” Patty said with a smile.
What about Snow White and the Evil Queen? They appear, too, along with a rapping, hip-hopping, trash-talking clairvoyant mirror.
An unfortunate prince is turning slowly back into a frog, and he needs a double dose of love from two different fairy tale leading ladies to make it back from green.
Jiminy Cricket’s role has officially become that of psychologist, pumping his newly released book, “My Life as Your Conscience.”
The musical is punctuated by questions from obnoxious studio audience members, played by young summer campers who have spent the week immersed in all things theater.
The young performers put on funny infomercials for fairy tale related products during “commercial breaks,” and the talk show format makes way for six full theatrical musical dance numbers.