Willow Glen, California Since 1992
City Beat
(Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer)
Gavin Coffing keeps on inspiring local children with many plays Dramatist at Heart: Gavin Coffing has been the director of the Stages of the Moon theater program for the past 12 years. 'Charlemagne's Monkey' will be at the Markham Little Theater June 7-9 'They get a lot of good old-fashioned theater with a minimalist atmosphere' - Marilyn Shoop (By Susan Wiedmann) Playwright Gavin Coffing writes his children's plays in a most unusual fashion. He simply announces he will be holding workshops in Willow Glen that will culminate in a play about eight weeks later and invites interested kids to attend them. "I never start writing a play until I see what I have," he says. What he always gets is at least several dozen kids eager to be in his workshops and plays, many of whom have been ongoing participants in his theater program since they were eight years old. For about 12 years Coffing has been the director of the Stages of the Moon theater program, whose funding is provided by the San Jose Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services. During that entire time, Willow Glen has served as the base of the program's productions, but children from all nearby areas take part in them. Coffing's workshops take place Saturday mornings at the Willows Senior Center, and the plays are held at Willow Glen Middle School's Markham Little Theater. "We do a lot of improvisations in the workshop," he says. "We carry that on as long as I think we can so I can get a pretty good idea about the kids." He doesn't hold auditions. "If 80 kids show up, I'll write a play with 80 characters," he explains. "That's the way it works." To add to the pressure, his characters usually all have speaking lines. But writing plays for children is what Coffing has done for nearly 35 years, so to him, it's child's play. He insists he never gets writer's block, saying that he doesn't have time for it. "I usually write a play in about two weeks," he says. "There are no acts, only about 110-115 pages, which is an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half. I think a play has to gain momentum, and once that momentum gets going, I don't want to stop it." Performances of Coffing's latest play, Charlemagne's Monkey, will take place June 7, 8 and 9 at the Markham Little Theater. More than 40 kids are in the production, a fantasy play about a magician who has mysteriously lost the odd group of people who support him in his magic act. The monkey who is the core of the act is also missing, so Charlemagne thinks that everyone has abandoned him. "It's certainly a relief when I finish writing a play, and some of the moments in putting the play together can be very difficult," Coffing says. But he adds that it is gratifying for him to work with the older kids because they have been with him since they were the little ones in his plays. Some of the teenagers are now his assistants, with a few of them now also writing plays for productions under the Stages of the Moon program. Coffing generally uses only high school students who have been with his productions for years, since he knows that they will be committed in spite of other distractions in their lives. 
(Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer) Dramatic Form: Young actors surround playwright and director Gavin Coffing for instructions during a reading of his play 'Charlemagne's Monkey.' Dealing with a few dozen kids all at once can be challenging. "I think the biggest problems we have with the kids are concentration, which involves listening - and I insist they listen - and consequences," he says. He tells the children to think about what will happen to their performances and to the play if they don't learn all their lines or if they don't get into their characters. By opening night, he says, somehow it all comes together. Coffing never wanted to write plays for adults. After receiving a master's degree in theater from UCLA, he began to write children's plays and has never questioned his decision. In 1968, he was hired to supervise the Junior Theatre, a small San Jose citywide program that had begun in the '50s. By the early '80s, Coffing had expanded it into four regional companies throughout the San Jose area, but the fallout from Proposition 13 ended the funding for it. In 1989, Coffing took over supervision of the Willow Glen Community Center and started the ongoing Willow Glen Children's Theater group, which gives its performances in what is now Willow Glen Middle School. He also now holds annual monthlong summer theater camps. The next one will be held during July at Bramhall Park on Willow Street between Meridian and Lincoln avenues. The camp will end with the kids putting on a Coffing production one evening in the park's amphitheater. 
(Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer) Rehearsing: Jenny Kiehl, 11, does a reading of 'Charlemagne's Monkey' with Stages of the Moon theater assistant Chris Cardenas, 16. He credits the parents of his young actors for their invaluable presence backstage during dress rehearsals and performances. In turn, the parents gush about their children's improved confidence, public speaking skills and their successful involvement in teamwork. The parents have even formed Friends of the Willow Glen Children's Theater to further support their children's involvement in Coffing's program. "They get a lot of good old-fashioned theater with a minimalist atmosphere," says Marilyn Shoop, mother of Stacey Jo, 13, about the excellent quality of Coffing's productions. "It's not the props that make the play - it's the kids, and he really gives each child the chance to shine. He tells them 'Your performance is your gift to the audience.' " The performances of 'Charlemagne's Monkey' will take place on June 7, 8 and 9 at Willow Glen Middle School's Markham Little Theater, 2105 Cottle Ave. For further information about the play or Stages of the Moon productions, call 408-984-1954. |
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