With more Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District representation than ever before, the teenage cast of a local theater production is jumping at the chance for weightier roles.
Every weekend through Dec. 7, the Morgan-Wixson Theatre’s Youth Education-Entertainment (Y.E.S.) series returns for its first show of the season, tackling the musical “The Prom.” The musical follows the story of a high school student who takes on opposition from her school’s Parent Teacher Association for wanting to take her girlfriend to the prom.
With a message of LGBTQ+ advocacy along with catchy tunes, “The Prom” was a hit with Y.E.S. students that suggested the production to director Eve Keller and her creative team. Keller stated that this is “the perfect time” to do the show after a 2024 election cycle where LGBTQ+ rights were a major topic.
“We wanted to do a show that was a musical, but (that) has a really strong, important message,” Keller said. “A lot of musicals are lovely, they’re great stories, but this one has a message that is so grounded in common good and tolerance, and we felt that message … needed to be heard and told.”
Adding that her students “wanted to dig their teeth into something” with more mature themes, Keller stated that she was able to walk her 13-17 year olds through acting analysis of adult characters, making the cast consider character backstories to support them “from that acting perspective.”
Another step up on the maturity scale was the implementation of an intimacy director on the show, tasked with walking the teens through a show that has a little more “direct contact” than just simple hand-holding. While still safe for the stage and for the cast to handle, the coordinator still make sure they were “safe and valued” and that “their voices are heard.”
“They choreograph these intimate moments, it’s not just how (the cast) wants to do it … it’s like, nope, you put your hand here, you lean in this way to do this, so it’s all very choreographed so everybody feels respected, honored and safe,” Keller said. “And our kids responded really well to that.”
The 28-person cast is chock-full of SMMUSD talents, a goal of “The Prom” producer and John Adams Middle School social studies teacher Cori Goldberg. She stated that her involvement with Y.E.S. evolved when her daughter became involved in shows, taking on a goal of increasing the diversity of the program to better reflect the community, particularly the Pico neighborhood.
“As a parent and as a teacher, I think this program is amazing because it supports the kids so much,” Goldberg said. “It gives them an incredible sense of community, it teaches them so much (and) gives them self-confidence. It helps with literacy, it helps with problem solving (and) developing social skills. It is just remarkable for what it does to help development of kids.”
In the past, Goldberg would typically only see one or two SMMUSD students in shows, and has been working to increase outreach through her JAMS position. The Y.E.S. troupe also expanded its SMMUSD network through donation-based workshops, making theater skills lessons affordable for local parents. Keller called this a “great ripple effect,” attracting top talents in the district for shows.
“Participating in theater at both Morgan-Wixson Theatre and Santa Monica High School has provided me with a great range of opportunities to explore and grow my interest in singing, dancing and acting,” Samohi 11th grader Sahar Aguilar said. “Morgan-Wixson is an inclusive place to learn and perform alongside other passionate kids in our community. I’m very grateful to live in a city that is so supportive of the arts.”
The city has been extra supportive of “The Prom,” as audiences from early showings have been amazed at the skill and maturity levels of the young actors and actresses.
“They found the humorous parts humorous, they found the heartfelt parts touching,” Keller said. “They were cheering when we would hope they would be in our corner and (we) got a lot of positive feedback afterwards. A lot of people said this is a really different show, and they very much appreciated that we had chosen something that was different.”
For tickets to showings of “The Prom” through Dec. 7, visithttps://www.morgan-wixson.org/yes-dynamic-2/prom.
