Through July 28 — Bilingual report: Teatro de las Américas to present workshop for children, youth

OXNARD — Doing theater has many benefits, especially for children and youth because it increases confidence in expressing themselves in social and learning situations.  Doing theater in Spanish is  also advantageous because it enhances development in the young brain when it works in more than one language.

Teatro de las Américas values bilingualism and therefore announces a workshop for children and youth which will take place from July 17 to July 28, from 9:00 am to noon.  The work will be in Spanish.  There will be two groups, children age 6 to 9, and youth 10 to 13.

During the workshop the participants will learn how a play is created, theater technology and preparation.  At the end of the workshop, they will present a play written and produced by them.

The workshop has two excellent instructors, James Donlon and Alina Ceñal, both bilingual and famous in the theater world(see bios below).

Registration will take place on Saturday July 1 at 10:00 am at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center, 800 Hobson Way.  The first 20 children in each group will be accepted into the workshop.

There is no charge for the workshop but daily punctuality is required.  Motivation as seen in arriving punctually is very important because the participants will thereby derive maximum benefit.

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Teatro para niños, nuestro proyecto para julio

El Teatro de las Américas anuncia un taller de teatro para niños y jóvenes que tendrá lugar del 17 al 28 de julio, 2017, de las 9:00 de la mañana hasta el medio día.  El trabajo se hará en español (pues se valora mucho el ser bilingüe). Habrá dos grupos, niños de 6 a 9 años, y niños de 10 a 13 años de edad.

La  inscripción se hace el sábado 1º de julio a las 10:00 de la mañana en frente del Performing Arts Center de Oxnard, 800 Hobson Way.  Se inscribirán a los primeros 20 niños de cada grupo que lleguen esa mañana.

No se cobra la inscripción pero sí se exige que sean puntuales en asistir cada día del taller.  La motivación que se verá en llegar cada día puntualmente es importantísima, pues así los niños logran conseguir el máximo beneficio.

Durante el taller, los participantes aprenderán cómo se crean las obras,  las técnicas del teatro, y cómo prepararlas.  Al final del taller, los niños presentarán una obra escrita y representada por ellos.

El taller tiene dos excelentes instructores, los actores profesionales: James Donlon y Alina Ceñal, ambos bilingües y reconocidos en el mundo del teatro.  Abajo se encuentran las biografías.  (Perdonen no haberlas traducido al español – MC)

Hacer teatro tiene mucho beneficio, especialmente para niños y jóvenes pues aumenta mucho la confianza en expresarse en situaciones sociales.  Hacer teatro en español también es provechoso, pues es mejorado el desarrollo del cerebro joven que trabaja en más de un idioma.

ALINA CEÑAL is a Cuban American performer, director, teacher and writer whose career extends over 35 years in television, theater, and film. Some TV credits include: The Shield, Judging Amy, Diagnosis Murder, Matlock, Webster, and Days of our Lives. Some theater credits: A Chorus Line, A touch of a Poet, Cabaret, In Search of Me. Alina’s credits also include performing and teaching for the Music Center Education Division of Los Angeles and the nationally known touring children’s theater troupe, We Tell Stories. Teaching children life skills through the magic of theater has been the center of Alina’s work. She founded Kids Acting Out-West 18 years ago bringing theater to after-school curriculum and summer camps. Together with her company, the Ventura County Artist-in-the-Classroom Program, Alina Latina bilingual storytelling shows, she works with hundreds of children weekly. Alina is the facilitator in the inaugural Dual Language Emersion Program using theatre to enhance Spanish fluency in Ventura County Public Schools.

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 JAMES DONLON has been a master teacher on the faculties of The Yale School of Drama, The American Conservatory Theatre, The University of North Carolina School of the Arts, The National Theatre Conservatory-Denver Center, UC-Santa Barbara, UC-San Diego among others, and has presented residencies with special institutions like El Teatro Campesino, Mexico City’s Bellas Artes, Prague’s National Academy of Performing Arts, and Dublin’s Gaiety School of Acting. He taught Tony Award-winner Bill Irwin and Big Apple Circus icon Barry Lubin at Ringling Bros, Barnum &

Bailey Circus Clown College. Donlon has been movement coach for Oscar winners Javier Bardem, Kathy Bates, Frances McDormand, TV/Film stars Benjamin Bratt, David Strathairn, and Broadway musical star Terrence Mann. He is the first American clown to be invited to perform in Switzerland’s Teatro Dimitri, and has been the only physical theatre actor invited to appear with legendary San Francisco street mime Robert Shields of CBS TV’s The Shields & Yarnell Show. James is currently developing an international cultural center called TRUEQUE with studios in Mexico, California and Oregon