Pacific Children’s Theatre

4061 Jackdaw Street

San Diego, CA 92103

www.pacificchildrenstheatre.org

Mission

San Diego’s Pacific Children’s Theatre brings high quality performing arts education to children who might not otherwise get the opportunity to experience the arts.

Background

San Diego’s Pacific Children’s Theatre (PCT) began in 2005 with one goal: to perform an original play, The Last Days of the Wolf, using children with varying dramatic abilities. We wanted to try an experiment: could a small group of dedicated theatre people use the performing arts as a vehicle to instill values and teamwork into a group of children? Could we offer programs in theatre, dance and singing to K-8 students—and dramatic play programs for pre-school children—that would allow us to teach values, teamwork and leadership skills and production and performance skills?

Yes, we could. The parent’s and children’s response to our first production was overwhelming, and in Spring 2006, we set about to grow our dramatic program, develop a dance and singing component, and take our work directly into the schools and community. We were asked to conduct the performing arts component at Garfield school, and were soon providing performing arts programming at Explorer Elementary School and at Harborside School, a private school in downtown San Diego. PCT now holds summer camps during the summer, and besides conducting programs in the schools, presents three main-stage productions per year at the Mission Hills United Church of Christ (PCT is not religiously affliated organization).

Educational Philosophy

Other successful performing arts organizations often showcase a small core of talented student performers, sometimes at the expense of other performers. At PCT, we design productions that are inclusive. In a PCT performance, no one is left out, and all of our students are valued equally, regardless of experience or skills. In all PCT productions, each child is given at least one speaking role.

We’re inclusive because we train our students to develop concrete leadership and teamwork values, presented in the concept we call “personal best.” It’s not enough that they learn how to block a scene, enunciate a line, or sing a solo. Our students understand what personal best is after their first day with us. During the first rehearsal, PCT teachers show them that success depends on their willingness to reach the best of their ability, no matter their level of experience. PCT teachers stress personal best during the entire production process.

We reinforce that individual approach by not relying on external criteria to evaluate students. Students see that we base our responses to their work on an assessment of how they have tried, not on how they have performed. We judge success based on how much a student has improved and how close the student came to achieving his/her personal best.

Our teachers also integrate the concept of personal best into teamwork among cast members required in any performance. Students are taught that it’s not enough to do their best in rehearsals and performances: they must also be accountable to each other. We teach them that each cast member, dancer or member of the chorus is vital to the whole production, and that accountability to others and responsibility to themselves is just as essential as any production or performance value.

As a result of integrating personal best into concepts of teamwork, a PCT performance becomes the vehicle for developing our students’ achievement values, their imagination, and their poise. We ask our students to go beyond what they believe they can accomplish when they perform on stage. When our students test their abilities and ideas in the supportive environment of our classes and performances, they cannot help but develop confidence and life skills, values that will serve them throughout their lives. In the process, our students learn to both collaborate and to lead, to achieve personal success, and to be part of a group’s success.

Programs

PCT concentrates on developing flexible performing arts programs based on the needs of the community or of an individual school. These programs promote the development of a positive self-image, physical fitness, body awareness, sportsmanship, leadership skills, teamwork, character building, cooperative social skills, and a desire to make social interaction an essential part of their daily lives.

Main Stage Performances

PCT began with main-stage productions, and we have continued to offer the same values-based curriculum in a non-school setting. We present three main-stage performances per year. Any child from the community may audition. At least one play a year is written by PCT artists and staff, which allows our directors to tailor the performances to individual age groups, and supports our mission of personal best performance and age-appropriate teamwork building skills.

Academy and Public School Programs

PCT hopes to teaches five classes a week (K-5) as part of the Harborside Program at Washington School curriculum. Every student gets three different performing arts classes every year and every class culminates with a final presentation for the school community. PCT also provides drama classes at Garfield Elementary, at no cost either to the schools or to the families. Over 80% of Garfield students are Title 1 students who have never seen a play, let alone been a part of one. To date, PCT has reached over 200 Title I students at Garfield Elementary.

After-School Enrichment Programs

PCT provides an after-school enrichment program in a safe, well-supervised environment that engages students and encourages them to achieve their greatest potential. A typical after-school schedule for Monday through Friday might run from 3:00 to 6:00 on regular days school or 12:30-3:30 on a half day. PCT provides these programs at Grant and Sunset View Elementary.

Summer Camps

Each summer, PCT offers full-day camps for students from ages 7 to 13. These programs teach students acting, music and dance, and culminate in short student performances. PCT is proud to offer three scholarships to economically disadvantaged families for these camps.