Note: This post is part of an ongoing blog series called #costamesa365 where the author is striving to shop only* in her city of Costa Mesa, for a year.
Of all the things I’ve had to adjust, modify, restrict or remove on my quest for #costamesa365 – my kids’ extracurriculars aren’t one of them.
That’s because both my girls have gone full thespian and seem to want to sink their teeth into as many scripts, productions and performances as possible. (One of my daughters proudly wears a “Theater Is My Sport” tee-shirt, to illustrate the full scope of devotion.)
Thankfully, we live in the City Of The Arts, y’all.
Costa Mesa is positivly teeming with performance opportunities – I get FOMO just thinking about it! There’s no way my kids can possibly participate in all this city has to offer its performers.
(What are some of your favorite theaters, musicians and performers around town? Share them with your neighbors in our Facebook Group!)
Our latest obsession is the cast work my kids are doing at The Arts & Learning Conservatory here in Costa Mesa.
Now anytime you put the word “conservatory” on a school, it sounds fancy and, well, prohibitively expensive. But the founder of A&L, Debora Wondercheck, has a heart for helping all kids find their personal performance passion, no matter their situation.
According to the Arts & Learning Conservatory mission statement: “Our goal is to promote a hands-on experience in the arts, to all children, regardless of race, age, income or level of experience.”
A few months ago, we recorded a podcast interview with Wondercheck, where she goes more in-depth. You can listen here.
But suffice to say my kids adore Arts & Learning and go skipping off to rehearsals, three days a week.
If you love local theater as much as my kids clearly do, you can come out to support this cast of local tweens and teens in their latest, family-friendly performance… Beauty And The Beast, steampunk edition!
It’s totally reminagined, “tale as old as time” meets the modern age.
Belle is an inventor’s whimsical-whiz of a daughter, too busy tinkering to give much thought to appearance, let alone romance. The mechanical Beast is more ‘whir‘ than ‘fur.’ The costumer and directors have come up with a cool, quirky, steampunk asthetic as homage to Belle’s familial, ‘tinker’ roots. (You can learn more about the production here.)
While parts of my #costamesa365 journey – a vow to only shop in Costa Mesa for one full year – are pretty challenging, it’s nice to know theater isn’t.
The kids can break a leg and I don’t have to break my pledge.
Good show! ♥
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*We will always start by shopping / looking in Costa Mesa, first. But if we really need something and an alternative is nowhere to be found in Costa Mesa, we’ll stray. Also, as parents, we’ve decided that certain kid-related things (mainly educational) will need to remain baked in.
