The center helps kids improve their literacy and reading comprehension, in addition to their performances.
Curtain Call Performing Arts Center is more than just the typical musical theater company.
While the company teaches young children to perform in voice, acting and dance, the organization goes one step beyond by blending literacy and reading comprehension skills into the training provided to its young performers.
Being invovled with the Mt. Laurel School District’s Community Education Department, Curtain Call Performing Arts Center pulls its students from the district as well as surrounding towns.
According to CCPAC founder Anne Kessler, that connection to the school district allows the company to use Harrington Middle School for its productions and help students learn about more than just being on stage.
“We find that getting them to not only read, but read to comprehend, helps them with their delivery of their lines,” Kessler said. “There’s a really strong tie-in for what they do in school.”
The program also operates a six-week summer camp, which CCPAC staff say helps all children prevent “summer slide” — the reduction in academic achievement gains that can occur in students during the summer when they’re not in school
“They don’t even realize that they’re learning. They’re just having a blast,” Kessler said.
The program is also open to children with special needs, which Kessler and other CCPAC staff say can really help “open doors” for children who might have trouble with social interactions and work habits.
Kessler and staff cite one specific instance where school specialists were helping a young boy with his individualized education plan, and even though the boy had only been with CCPAC for two months, the study team could already see a noticeable improvement in his learning.
And now those interested in seeing the work of CCPAC’s young performers are in luck.
CCPAC’s next performance is set to begin on Nov. 3, with students ages 5 to 11 performing in Disney’s “Aristocats KIDS,” an adaptation of Disney’s 1970 animated feature about the adventures of aristocratic cats and alley cats.
Kessler describes the show as a fun time with many different characters, and students have the extra challenge of taking on the persona of animals who are acting like humans.
“They get the inflections, they get the story lines and how the characters interact with each other, and they’re doing some of these really difficult musical numbers with such ease. They understand their character’s motivation,” Kessler said.
And since the show has so many characters, Kessler said the show is a double cast, with each student getting the experience of being a principal character in some shows and then a member of the ensemble cast in other shows.
Shows are set to run at 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 and Nov. 4, and then at 2 and 7 p.m. on Nov. 5.
Tickets are $8 for ages 5 and up, with those younger admitted for free. Tickets go on sale at the door about a half hour before each show, and they are also available by searching for “Curtain Call” at www.showtix4u.com.
