Dreams-Theatre by Kids for Kids

Sugar High Theatricals to present “Dreams” Theatre by Kids for Kids
Sugar High Theatricals youth theatre offers its third production “Dreams: Theatre by Kids for Kids” at noon on July 20 and 21, Performances will take place outside at 2341 West Fremont Street. The show is a collection of music, poetry, scenes and Shakespeare. The yard opens at 11:30 a.m with performances beginning at 12:00p.m.. Suggested donation amount is $10 per person or $5 for seniors and free for 12 and under.

Patrons are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for their seating along with their favorite beverage to enjoy. Parking is limited at the yard so patrons are requested to park on the north side of Fremont once the yard fills. Local vendors will offer arts, crafts and more prior to the event. For any questions, or to pay a donation in advance call 309-532-7840 or contact Sugar High Theatricals at sugarhightheatricals@gmail.com.

“Dreams” spotlights young performers with song and dance and spoken word performances written by such esteemed authors as: Walt Whitman, Shakespeare, Emily Dickenson, Charles Schulz and scenes from two modern plays.

“One of my missions with Sugar High Theatricals was to provide a place where young people could be involved in theatre, regardless of their ability to pay for the experience,” said director, Melanie Delbridge-Heskett. “Each year we have tried to do a show where we are able to have young people learn about theatre and performing with no cost to their families. This year we went even further and had the cast direct the poem “Invictus” on their own and had our two student directors choreograph two songs and direct two of the acting pieces. It is so exciting watching the kids’ confidence grow along with their skill level.”

“I may be a little prejudiced, since I put it together” laughs Delbridge-Heskett, “but I think, the material in this show is really terrific. We have something for every taste, from uplifting show tunes to 60s style pop, from moving speeches to funny poems about putting snakes in your sister’s bed. I think we found that fine line between educational and entertaining. I was inspired to create this show out of the dichotomy of what children are facing currently. They have the things that we all identify with like sibling rivalry and figuring out who you want to be when they grow up but are also aware of social issues in a way that I think people of my generation were not. So I tried to create a show where they can take advice from poets from hundreds of years ago and have courage and also have some fun and be silly.”

She continued, “The kids and I had to fight a lot of challenges putting this together, including the terrible weather we had this spring but I am so proud of them and what we created together.”

The show’s outdoors venue is a bit out of the ordinary, but Delbridge-Heskett said, “Putting the show outside helped us keep our costs down so we could not only afford to produce the show but we could get our ticket prices down to a suggested donation. We used minimal staging and costuming since we are self-funded and had help from our devoted parents and community. We are asking folks that have the means to donate to the program to help us keep it going but we really want families and young people who have not had much opportunity to see live performances to come and enjoy the show even if they can’t afford to donate. Hopefully, they will be inspired by the show and even more inspired by what the hard work of their peers created.”