Vistamar Theatre Students Make a Difference

Vistamar is performing The Diary of Anne Frank on November 4th, 5th and 6th. But there are several factors that make this production special.

Local holocaust survivors have been invited to the production and to meet with the students working on the play.

Students working on the play have been analyzing the connections between Anne Frank's time and today, including comparing the plight of Jewish refugees in 1941 to that of Syrian refugees today. They've also noticed the similarities between the seemingly endless wars that plagued Europe in the 1940s to those of today in the Middle East. They've noticed how many of the horrific events in Europe during WW2 were linked to one presidential election, and how our country is currently gearing up to the most important election of our generation. They point out how a proposed registration system for Muslim Americans seems awfully close to the registration of Jewish people in Europe in the 1940s. And they share this information with the wider school community, who itself is in the middle of a mock election period in order to guarantee that the students of Vistamar are well informed about America's political process and the many issues America will be voting on on November 8th, just 2 days after their performance of The Diary of Anne Frank.

Additionally, all proceeds from the concession sales of The Diary of Anne Frank will go to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, specifically to their Isaiah 58 program, which delivers food, medicine, and critical care to elderly Jews, families, and orphans in the former Soviet Union. This Vistamar theatre tradition started in 2012 with their production of Urinetown, a satire about ecological catastrophes and the governments that take advantage of them. Since Urinetown was about an absence of water, money was raised to help build wells in Africa. When they did Steel Magnolias, they raised money for a diabetes foundation. For Cabaret, they raised money for a Jewish Center. For 9 to 5, they raised money for a woman's center. Each charitable organization is chosen by students to reflect the themes of the play they're producing.

The students at Vistamar have a long tradition of combining education with the arts. The plays they do are never just a fun activity or diversion, they're learning tools that allow the students to delve deeper into history or ideas of society to produce the best possible experience for the audience. Another amazing example was their production of Hamlet last year that set Shakespeare's famous play in 1920s Hollywood and incorporated Jazz from the era. It also featured a gender questioning Hamlet, and the students worked tirelessly to understand the time period, the cultural norms surrounding gender and sexual identity of the times, the renaissance of Jazz in Harlem, and the early days of talkies in Hollywood.

Last year, the students dissected the misogynistic undertones of Grease, as they were preparing a Grease production like you've never seen, where the audience literally moved through the halls of Vistamar, that the students had decorated to look like Rydell High circa 1959. This completely interactive and immersive Grease experience had audience members sitting at tables with 50s kids, listening to Summer Nights before watching Greased Lightnin' performed with actual cars from the 50s (donated by the El Segundo Automotive Museum). They danced at a real sock hop, watched the cheerleaders practice in the gym, then ended each performance with a carnival in the parking lot, complete with games, a fun house, and a dunk tank where they could dunk their actual teachers to raise money.

As a professional producer and director, the Vistamar Theatre Director, most recently he produced and directed the HBO Comedy Special, Quincy Jones: Burning the Light, notes that these students are harder working, more professional, more dedicated to the craft, and more concerned about humanity in general, than most adults he works with in the real world.

Something special is happening at Vistamar. If you'd like to learn more, email boxoffice@vistamarschool.org. You can also send an email to that address to reserve tickets for the upcoming production of The Diary of Anne Frank.