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Forest Theater Guild fundraiser 'Cannery Row: An Evening of Regional Art, Literature and Music' to help outreach programs

In these tough economic times, it's good to know that the dollars you spend are going toward a worthwhile cause — and even better if they can simultaneously buy some entertainment.

This Saturday at the Golden State Theatre you can rest assured that your money can do both.

That night the Forest Theater Guild will present "Cannery Row: An Evening of Art, Literature and Music." This local cultural event is part of a film series to raise funds for The Forest Theater Guild's youth outreach programs. And for only $5 a ticket, the price is low enough to be affordable for a lot of folks.

The program will open with Susana McGuire, a local jazz vocalist with a sultry voice. Local actor Richard Courtney will read poetry by Robinson Jeffers, as well as an excerpt from "The Crooked Lines of God" by Antoninus Brother, who was a disciple of Jeffers.

Because this event is a fundraiser for youth outreach programs, it seems appropriate that three Stevenson Middle School students will be reading their original poetry inspired by our regional landscape.

There will even be a dramatic presentation of the collapse of Cannery Row, performed by actor Taelen Thomas as John Steinbeck and accompanied by guitarist Steve Mortensen.

Dancers from SpectorDance will perform a work inspired by the Jeffers poem "Ocean, Rock, Birds." Throughout the evening, Pilgrim's Way Bookstore from Carmel will have a display of literature and art in the theater's mezzanine.

The regional performances will culminate in the 1982 feature film "Cannery Row," featuring Nick Nolte and Debra Winger and based on John Steinbeck's classic novel of the same name.

For an additional $5, audiences can stay to watch a double feature, with "Princess Bride" (with Robin Wright, Carey Elwes and Mandy Patinkin) showing at 9:15 p.m. Families with children can come to see the animated film "Toy Story 2" at 3 p.m., with admission price still only $5 per person.

"This year, funding is everything," said Jane De Lay, executive director of the Forest Theater Guild. In collaboration with the Tor House and SpectorDance, De Lay organized this event to raise funds in support of the Guild's All-Star Outreach Program.

The goals of the program are to provide a meaningful theater experience to underserved populations, encourage cross-cultural communication to break down stereotypes, and attract new, diverse audiences to theater.

"My frustration has always been that I wanted to reach out to students county-wide," said De Lay. "We're really lucky on the peninsula — 90percent of the kids we worked with from Monterey had been on stage before; 90percent of the kids from South County had never been on stage before."

"The students in South County and North County don't have the means to travel to Monterey six days a week for rehearsal. And there is such a need there — the staff is willing, the students are eager, but there are no resources."

So she decided to do something about this.

"It was staggering. We gathered three separate casts — one in South County, one in Salinas/Monterey, and one in North County. We had three separate directors, three separate choreographers."

"If we were going to have three separate casts, it was important to me that they weren't isolated," said De Lay. "So we had three all-day workshops where the casts came together to work on characters, scenes, costumes, sounds and lights."

In this manner, the All-Star kids produced Luis Valdez's acclaimed "Zoot Suit" in collaboration with El Teatro Campesino. This gave them the experience of working with internationally renowned playwright Valdez, who is based in San Juan Bautista.

It was the first student production of "Zoot Suit," involving 150 students on stage, many of whom were shuttled in from different schools using a rented van and a driver hired by the Guild.

And it wasn't just important to have students on stage performing; it was equally vital that diverse groups of students were there to witness the performance.

Because of this, 1,250 students from schools all over the county were actually bused to view the different productions.

"These are student productions, under the guidance of directors and choreographers who are certified teachers," said DeLay. "The stage managers are all students. Our program is unique because it's based on the state standards. It's an educational experience."

Along with the script, cast members are provided with a study guide, which gives students a historical context and discusses social issues of the time period. It also helps them to appreciate the aesthetic value of the literature.

In addition, the Guild offers apprentice and mentorship programs, where students learn about process — set design, costumes true to the era and technical aspects of lights, sound and music.

"It's very important that performing arts be taught in a systematic and sequential manner," said De Lay. "The state has really good standards on how to teach visual and performing arts. We need to make sure we present material in a manner parallel with these standards."

Just because the state has high standards for a performing arts curriculum, however, doesn't mean that it is being taught in public schools.

In fact, a 2007 study showed that 89 percent of California K-12 public schools failed to provide a standards-based program in music, visual arts, theater and dance — and 61 percent of schools did not employ a full-time art specialist.

In addition, this trend is inequitable across school districts, with impoverished communities receiving less instruction in the arts than more affluent communities.

"The arts are really being torn away from our students, especially with the serious budget crisis we are experiencing," De Lay said.

She pointed out how unfortunate this is in light of research that has shown that performing and visual arts programs support the development of creativity, self-confidence and motivation in children and adolescents.

For 2009, the All-Star Outreach Program will continue their collaboration with El Teatro Campesino and Luis Valdez.

"We'd like to follow the same model we did last year because it was so successful," said De Lay. She told the story of letters she's received from students in the program who said how much it changed their lives.

One teenage boy wrote that the program inspired him to go back to school, improve his grades and graduate.

An adolescent girl wrote that she was making bad decisions before the program and that being involved in the theater "got the bad thoughts out of my head."

"This year we'd like to involve these diverse groups of students again," said DeLay, "but it all depends on funding."