Children’s Theatre turns antics into theatrics
BY LAURA RASKIN

INDEPENDENT ARTS WRITER


“Hey Chief.”

Child actors rehearse at Nantucket High School last week under the direction of Erika Sikes for the Children’s Theatre of Nantucket's summer performance: “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Performances are held at the high school every Wednesday and Thursday evening at 7 p.m. Through Aug. 18.

That is how Caitlin Wraith, a 12-year-old actress going on 35, addresses Jennifer Dawson Lawrence, the founder and executive director of the Children’s Theatre of Nantucket.

Dawson Lawrence’s hierarchy is not in question – this is the 10th summer of Children’s Theatre productions at Nantucket High School and she has introduced approximately 500 children between the ages of 8 and 16 to the collaborative excitement that is being on stage – that percolating thrum that lingers behind black curtains and in chalky backstage dressing rooms, no matter that it is not Broadway. Not yet, anyway.

Dawson Lawrence may be the chief to her brood of 25 to 40 actors-in-the-making, but the brood reigns supreme. (As if to reiterate the moot point, she carries a tote bag with the words “I’m In Charge Here”.)

During a rehearsal last week for this summer’s show, Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” about 25 children were in various stages of contained theatrics in the high school’s auditorium.

Some actually rehearsed on stage under the direction of Phill Sikes. Others splayed and contorted themselves over the rows of seats as only children, with their not-yet solidified bones, can. Acontrolled chaos took over the rest, who ran circles in search of change for the vending machine and let out yelps of glee in the process.

Although the rehearsal may not have alluded to it, this mix of summer and year-round thespians pull performances together every Wednesday and Thursday night, from July 6 through Aug. 18. Fifteen children are artists-in-residence, performing for all eight weeks. The rest of the cast fluctuates in faces and size. The plays are structured so that even kids here for one week can perform.

“These kids come in on a Monday and perform Wednesday,” said Dawson Lawrence.

This is the first year that she has not written the play herself.

“It was a financial decision,” she said, and last week’s tripled audience proved her endeavor right. “This year they could do something Hollywood was doing, but on their own scale.” Dawson Lawrence was referring to the Tim Burton-directed movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” starring Johnny Depp and fortuitously appearing in theaters on July 15.

In the Children’s Theatre production, the starring role of Willy Wonka rotates and everyone gets a chance at different parts. There are no auditions, so there is no exclusion and no heartbreak.

“We wanted a place for children to express themselves that was not competitive,” said Dawson Lawrence about why she started the theatre, inspired by her son who tried out for another island theater company 10 years ago. He got the part, but watched some of his peers go away rejected. At the Children’s Theatre, the slogan is, “Every star gets a chance to shine.”

“Life’s not that way and theater’s not that way – it’s not the real world, but it gives them a good chance,” she said. “This isn’t a talent thing. It’s whether or not we can hear you.”

Wraith, the 12-year-old actress from Basking Ridge, N.J., is spending her sixth consecutive summer with the Children’s Theatre while her family vacations on the island.

“Acting’s been a big part of my life, especially this,” said Wraith during a break from rehearsal. Her worn black Beatles t-shirt, rubber bandhinged braces and gangly frame belie a voice of unnerving clarity. “Honestly, I’ve been coming six years, so they’re doing something right. This is where I learned about acting. If all acting is like this, I’m definitely going to keep going.”

“We have the most amazing directors in the world. I don’t usually hang out with adults, but (Erika Sikes and her husband Phill Sikes) have degrees in acting and directing. They are good at what they do. Learning from them is so easy.”

Wraith has taken to school performances and other acting programs during the year.

“I’ve been able to be like ‘Yeah, I know what I’m doing’,” she said, relying on her familiarity with terms like “stage left” and remembering not to turn her back to the audience.

A constant among an ever-changing cast, Wraith said the 15 hours of rehearsal that kids put in every week is what makes it work.

“It’s definitely a crunch, but it’s a lot of fun. Look – people aren’t too stressed,” she said, gesturing to the flock around her, still a controlled mayhem. She is right. They do not look stressed.

“Caitlin is amazing,” said Dawson Lawrence. “She has the power to transport you.” It was Wraith who Dawson Lawrence consulted this winter about whether it was a good idea to perform a wellknown play. “I had a conversation with Caitlin for an hour. It was like talking to a 40-year-old woman. She’s so eloquent and has such focus. They’re all amazing.”

Some may arrive at Children’s Theatre possessing more natural talent than others, but the experience is not about providing a training ground for the next Dakota Fanning. It is about providing a safe social arena and a healthy environment to escape, said Dawson Lawrence.

“(Caitlin) is fairly theatrical, as is my son (William, also a Children’s Theatre actor),” said Wraith’s mother Ellen Wraith. “It’s the perfect outlet for them to shine in a low risk environment.”

“I’m not a pushy parent who insists that their kids do something educational in the summer, but clearly this is something that is very enriching for them. It’s a mental workout that’s fun,” said Ellen.

And while they are still so young, most are not plagued by inhibitions and self-awareness.

“You ask them to do something and they do it,” said director Erika Sikes, 23, who received a BFA in directing from Millikin University and returned to Nantucket for a second year.

Connor Martin, 13, a sandy blond with the evidence of too much sun on his cheeks, has spent all of his summers on Nantucket and the last three with the Children’s Theatre. He is preparing for his turn as Willy Wonka and Dawson Lawrence and Erika have told him to be “weird.”

“We had a big talk with him yesterday about being weird, ’cause he’s not. He’s very straight,” said Dawson Lawrence. The talk was working, Sikes reported.

“I wouldn’t say I’m particularly outgoing, but when you act, you have to be outgoing, at least while you’re in character,” said Martin, who does not get stage fright. “I get butterflies, but my sister once had to stand up in front of people and she couldn’t stop laughing,” he stated wryly. His favorite role was that of a pirate in last year’s play, in which he had to act silly and inebriated.

“A lot of the roles I have, I have to act like I act in real life. I like stretching a little from what I am,” said Martin.

Soon, a mass of younger children spotted Wraith and Martin sitting calmly at a table halfway up the auditorium and, as if free bowls of Cocoa Puffs were being served, they swarmed. Then there were 15 of them, elbow to elbow around the table, palms down on it, eyes blinking.

“The little kids are fine,” shrugged Martin, in their seemingly un-phased presence. “A couple are a little hyper.” (The crowd giggles, nudges.) “It feels good to be the authority.”

“I’m always the mentor,” said Wraith with a sigh.

“I was thinking of it more as an ego trip,” said Martin. “If I was short, I’d say it’s the small man’s complex.”

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