Along with opening a new theater space, Arts & Learning Conservatory is also piloting a technical theater program called Behind the Scenes for students in grades three through eight.
The Arts & Learning Conservatory (ALC) celebrated the grand opening of its new, 200-seat theater this month, called The Borland Performing Arts Center, in Costa Mesa.
Officially opened on Oct. 18, the theater will serve as the home for all ALC youth programs as well as for broader community use. The Orange County-based program offers theater, music and performing arts education to students of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels in Southern California through in-school classes and conservatory programs, including a new technical theater program for students in third to eighth grade.
“We decided, as an organization, to give the community something that we don’t really have right now in the space. And our mission really is to provide equity and accessibility,” said Tiesha Hutchins, chief operating officer of ALC. “And we thought, what better way to do that than to provide a space where not only our students could utilize but our community could also engage in and be a part of. So that’s how the theater came about. It houses state-of-the art equipment – lighting, sound, moving light, spotlight and it also has a digital wall .… It’s quite an amazing space.”
Hutchins said the theater has been about 1 1/2 years in the making. Formerly a dance space and practice area, it was torn down after flooding from a plumbing issue caused water damage.
The new digital wall – made of multiple LED panels that work together to create a cohesive screen – is 31 feet wide and 14 feet high. It provides versatile and easily changeable backgrounds, allowing for seamless transitions between scenes. It delivers vibrant colors and high resolution, and can integrate various multimedia elements, including video, animations and live feeds. It can also display subtitles or translations, making performances more accessible to diverse audiences. It cost $240,000 to install, the ALC CEO said.
The nonprofit conservatory was founded 20 years ago by Debora Wondercheck, who fled an abusive home as a child with her mother and siblings. They only took a suitcase and their musical instruments. Hutchins said Wondercheck and some of her siblings were able to go to college on scholarships from playing instruments and learning about music.
“So Debora decided that she would start an organization that would expose other kids who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity and through her struggles, she founded the Arts & Learning Conservatory 20 years ago, starting it as a summer camp for just a very small amount of students,” Hutchins said. “And gradually over the 20 years, built the organization to what it is today.”
Part of that growth is the development of the Behind the Scenes technical theater program, a 12-week experience that integrates STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) concepts into a theatrical production. Students learn about stage mechanics, acoustics, lighting, set construction and other theater skills while applying physics, biology, engineering and design in order to put on an actual stage production.
Lizzy McCabe, ALC’s theater programs manager, said they piloted the program over the summer at Mountain View School District in El Monte at two schools as part of the district’s summer camp program. The Behind the Scenes program worked in conjunction with ALC’s musical theater production program. They worked on a production of “The Wizard of Oz” and “Matilda.”
“We partnered with Think Together, which is an after-school program,” McCabe said. “It's an organization that is dedicated to bringing after-school programs to students in Southern California – particularly in areas that need these programs and they usually focus on things like STEM and physical education, but they asked to partner with us because they were really interested in bringing performing arts into their kind of myriad of offerings.”
Students participating in the Behind the Scenes program for the production of "Matilda Jr." at Maxson Elementary School in El Monte. Photos courtesy of Arts & Learning Conservatory
She said technical theater is inherently STEAM-based and their program brings technical theater down to an accessible and equitable level for kids who have never experienced it before. It allows them to get their hands on actual equipment and programs.
“They will be talking about lighting design, sound design, props and scenic design,” McCabe said. “And then they're also going to be learning how to use industry-standard equipment in lighting and sound. They're going to be learning how to program through lighting and sound design software. So there's a program called QLab that's industry standard that they're going to be learning how to use and then a lighting program as well to make the lights work and to change colors and to program the cues and things like that.
“They're going to be using mixers and microphones and speakers and figuring out how to make the sound go from the microphone to come out of the speaker and why that happens. So there's going to be a lot of sound engineering involved in that. They're going to be learning about the physics of light and the physics of sound and how those things can affect the human body as far as biology goes. And like, why do certain sounds make you feel a certain way?”
Sarah Halverson-Cano of Costa Mesa said she learned about the ALC through Project Kids Connect at her 9-year-old's school, Whittier Elementary. Mollie has participated in a few productions.
“We particularly enjoy musical theater because it involves singing, dancing and acting, and as Mollie says, she wants to be a triple threat, and musical theater gives her the chance to try,” Halverson-Cano said. “She definitely wants to pursue acting as she grows up and is hoping this will prepare her to audition for OCSA in a couple of years.
“I am so impressed by the opportunities that the Arts & Learning Conservatory has given her. You'd never know this was a girl with speech or learning disabilities. I know that this has affected her confidence in school as well. She is comfortable public speaking and believes she has good ideas to offer. I think the investment in the arts ultimately pays off across the board and we are seeing that realized in our daughter.”
ALC officially celebrated its 20th anniversary on June 21, which was the start date of its very first program, two decades ago. Founder and CEO Wondercheck reflected on the achievement and the anniversary: “We celebrate the joy of serving over 30,000 children with performing arts experiences. With the opening of our new performing arts center, let us remember that the arts have the power to connect us all. Every class and performance create an opportunity to inspire dreams, build confidence, and develop a brighter future together. Here’s to the next chapter of inspiration and unity!”
Debora Wondercheck, quoted in this story, is a member of the advisory board for Culture OC.
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