Students performing in ‘The Music Man Jr.’ through summer
theater program gain self esteem
Gilroy – To live life you must learn lessons. Things are not always what they appear and some good can come from a little bad.
This is part of the message “The Music Man Jr.,” performed by the Gavilan College Summer Theatre Arts Repertory, tries to impart to its audience. Javier Hurtado, the program coordinator, said there is a main commonality between the play and the program: Learning to develop self-esteem.
“It would have been really cool if we had picked it for that reason, but I didn’t even make that connection until week three,” he said.
A quick glimpse of the play shows a swindler who comes to town and takes advantage of the residents while he makes them promises he knows he will never keep. He tells the town he can create a boys band and teach their children how to play instruments beautifully. In the end, when he is found out to be a crook the towns people could care less since he taught their children how to be proud of themselves.
Taking out the swindler part, Hurtado said the STAR program mirrors the vision of the play.
“(The program) gives kids a chance to see their potential. I think we haven’t gone one summer where a handful of kids have said, ‘I can’t believe we started with nothing,’ ” he said. “It gives them a different perspective of working in the theater. Here they get to see everything grow from the ground up.”
About 90 students are taking part in the four-week program this year and they range in age from 6 to 7.
Cody Mendiola, who plays the swindler Harold Hill in the play, said this is his ninth and final year in the program. Mendiola said he loves STAR and that it creates a very loving environment. He added that although this is his last year he wants to come back next year as a leader.
“The product of all this hard work is a play,” he said. “It’s an amazing feat.”
Joanna Strunk said she feels the same way, adding that she has found some of her best friends thanks to the program.
“It opens up people who wouldn’t normally know each other,” she said.
Strunk said she was excited to be picked as Marian the Librarian, one of the main characters in the play, because her grandparents had been in the play when she was little.
“I grew up with ‘The Music Man’ since I was little,” Strunk said. “I used to fall asleep to the music.”
As for what she hopes people think of the play that opens tonight at the Gavilan College Theater, she said, “I just hope they like it.”
Katie Hipol, who plays Marian’s mother, Ms. Peroo, said she enjoys being part of the productions every year. She said there is not much out there for young actors to do in Gilroy, but loves being given the chance to sink into a character.
But as for a 15-year-old playing a 55-year-old Hipol said, “Sometimes I feel I have no right to play someone so much older than myself,” as she looked down. “It’s a different experience.”
The actors are not the only ones who are taking something positive from the experience. The director, Janine Mortan, who first started off in the program in 1994, said the past four weeks have been exciting.
“The energy of a children’s show is amazing,” the 23-year-old said. “It’s so much better than a professional show.”
Mortan said she could not have done it without the dedication or heart of the staff. And do not forget about the talent of the children.
“They are incredibly talented,” she said. “They come here talented, we don’t make them talented. We just tell them where to stand.”
