Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Bekkah Dilts, 13, of Saratoga plays Evelyn and Patrick Logothetti, 14, of San Jose is Rumplestiltskin in the production at Saratoga's Wildwood Park.
'Rumplestiltskin' spins straw into gold
By Shari Kaplan
If visitors to Saratoga's Wildwood Park during the next two weekends spy a strange little man laboring over a spinning wheel to turn straw into gold, they need not wonder about their sanity, nor if they should notify the Sheriff's Department.
This fairy tale scene is just one of many to be seen in Rumplestiltskin, this year's summer production by the Saratoga Children's Festival Theatre. The classic Grimm Brothers' tale was adapted for the children's stage by local resident Shauna Harris, who also serves as director, as she has for previous SCFT productions. The producer is also a familiar face: Bruce De Les Dernier of San Jose.
SCFT, now in its third year, was the brainchild of De Les Dernier, a part-time theater arts instructor at West Valley College. He organized the children's group to give local youth the chance to get involved in community theater, and possibly discover their latent talents.
He is also the founder of the Festival Theatre Ensemble. It is a 7-year-old professional, paid troupe that performs at Shakespeare festivals and various other venues throughout California, including the Burgess Shakespeare Festival in Menlo Park.
Due to what De Les Dernier calls a great response during tryouts earlier this year, Rumplestiltskin has been double-cast. "Our philosophy is to try to cast everybody who auditions. Then it's up to them and their parents if they want to accept the part they get," he says.
Now that SCFT has been in the community for several years with past successes, including The Hobbit, Robin Hood and Cinderella, De Les Dernier is excited at the following the group seems to be drawing.
"There's a huge number of participants who keep coming back again and again. We're developing a core of young actors and a big parent volunteer base," he says. "Newcomers are welcome, too. They get accepted very quickly and soon find themselves with a hundred new friends!"
Harris also does her part to make all youngsters feel welcome, regardless of their skill levels or abilities.
"Shauna tries to come up with creative ways to delineate the different casts so one doesn't sound better than the other. This time we have the 'Flora' and 'Fauna' casts," De Les Dernier says, chuckling. "She also creates scripts that allow her to cast so many kids! She makes sure everyone has their moment in the sun."
Rumplestiltskin runs Aug. 5-6 and 12-13, with performances at 1 and 4:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $5 in advance, or $7 at the park. For more information, call the Saratoga Recreation Department at 408.868.1248, or 408.868.1249.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
