Premier Theatre may have chosen a comedy about unconventional teaching for its second production, but those working on this show are involved in some serious learning.
“HomeSchooled” runs for one free performance March 3 at Westchester Public Library’s Baugher Center in Chesterton.
“From a learning perspective as an instructor, theater is good for young developing minds for imagination, responsibility and leadership,” said Keri Castro, director of “HomeSchooled.”
“Instead of just going to the movies or watching TV it’s a live-action experience. That, for us, is invaluable just in getting that life experience and that hopefully lifelong love for theater.”
She and her husband, Daniel Castro, co-founded Premier Performance, a professional children’s performing arts company.
Premier Theatre, a division of Premier Performance, grew from student feedback.
“We presented another program called ‘Miss Electricity’ as a partnership with the library last fall. They liked us and they liked our kids so it’s cool that we get to come back this season,” said Keri Castro, of Chesterton.
“That was the first program that we did with this outreach. These teens are part of our music theater production and they wanted to do more. They wanted to give back so we created Premier Theatre.”
“HomeSchooled” by Jason Pizzarello is a comedy set in a town called Smorgasbord.
“It’s about this small town in Wisconsin where they pretty much blow their budget on this big Cheese Festival that they put on. They have to tell folks that they don’t have money for the public school system,” Keri Castro said.
The parents trying to homeschool all of the children in town leads to a lecture on 18th century European society delivered by a clown, a drill sergeant baking pies in Home Economics and a lady who has had too much caffeine zooming through 200 years of U.S. history.
“We go through different scenes of these parents trying desperately to teach their classes,” Keri Castro said. “This show is also a salute to work that teachers do because the parents say, ‘Wow. They really do have a hard job.’ At the end they’re happy and more appreciative of the work that teachers do.”
Ranging in age from 12-14, the cast includes residents of Burns Harbor, Chesterton, Ogden Dunes, Porter, Valparaiso and Westville and students from Chesterton Middle School and St. Patrick Catholic School in Chesterton, as well as a homeschooled student from the Duneland area.
“They are really fantastic. They work really hard. This cast has been really buckling down to learn a lot of the real mechanics of theater and how to present that in a truthful way,” Keri Castro said.
“They’re learning how to balance the story with putting on an entertaining production without going over the top, which is a talent, so that’s one of the things they’re working on.”
She added that “HomeSchooled” being tailored specifically for the school-aged audience worked with the philosophies of Premier Theatre.
“We wanted to find something that would be interesting for the community. We wanted to find something that would be family-oriented and funny. It’s a really funny script. The small cast totally fit what we were looking for. It just ended up being a really great script,” Keri Castro said.
“We thought it would be a great way to just encourage folks to support the arts and get some awareness out there about theater and especially what children can do in theater. We’re very passionate about challenging the students to do more.”
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Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
‘HomeSchooled’
When: 3 p.m. March 3
Where: Westchester Public Library’s Baugher Center, 100 W. Indiana Ave., Chesterton
Admission: free
Information: 219-841-2266; facebook.com/pg/PremierPerform/posts/