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Chris Nielsen
Nielsen puts new spin on children's theater
By Amy Jenkins
Campbell resident Chris Nielsen works to help children gain confidence in themselves by leading them in educational performances that visit schools, fairs, festivals and community events around the Bay Area.
The touring group for the Peninsula Youth Theatre in Mountain View, called Pizazz, had taken its show on the road for the past five years. Nielsen is the director of the original PYT musical, Children of the West, and the founder of Pizazz.
"The goal of Pizazz is to help kids get into history and subjects in a theatrical manner," said Karen Simpson, executive director of PYT.
The mission of PYT--a nonprofit organization founded in 1992--is to build character on stage through classes, main stage performances and outreach to the community.
"Theater helps build self-esteem in kids and prepares them for the rest of life," Simpson said.
Nielsen started working with PYT because her two oldest children were involved in drama and music, but she was not happy with the San Jose Children's Musical Theater, she said. She also works for the Campbell Unified School District, where she has taught choir and drama for more than 12 years.
This is the second year youth have been performing in Children of the West, an original musical that was written by Rob Kroff and Ria Barredo-Kroff for PYT, and the musical features all genres of music, from rock to ballads.
"It highlights major points in California history through the eyes of children," Nielsen said. "We look at American Indians, Hollywood, earthquakes, California missions and the Gold Rush."
Because of its California theme, Children of the West was the appropriate choice to help celebrate Arts Day on Oct. 10, as part of the California Arts Council's Year of the Arts campaign to encourage arts groups to celebrate and reach out to the community, Simpson said. The campaign aims to increase public awareness about the importance of the arts to the state's economy, the education of its children and the vitality of its communities, as well as about the influence of the arts on all aspects of life.
Selections from the musical were performed at the Civic Center Plaza on Oct. 10.
"As a community-based arts organization it is important to be involved in Arts Day," Simpson said.
The 45-minute performance of Children of the West features song and dance by a cast of nine youths ranging in age from 10 to 19 years old. The cast encourages audience participation during performances by bringing audience members on stage or going into the audience to sing.
"It's fun," Nielsen said. "Kids really enjoy it."
After the show, cast members answer audience questions about how they got involved in drama.
"Many kids have been doing drama a really long time," Nielsen said. "PYT has main stage productions four or five times per year where everyone who auditions is accepted."
PYT is a home company of the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. It stages four musicals and eight plays annually and offers year-round classes for children at its School of Performing Arts. Some children interested in drama go to summer camp and even take private voice lessons, Nielsen said.
"Pizazz still does community events as well as school assemblies, and I hope to do more events in Campbell, since I live here," she said.
To arrange for a performance at a community event in Campbell, call PYT at 650.988.8798.
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Campbell, California
