Pint-Size Shakespeareans

THOUSAND OAKS â€”  Machinations are afoot and epic battles are being waged in the Civic Arts Plaza tonight.

No, it’s not the City Council.

A pack of schoolchildren will draw swords and spout Elizabethan verse in the Oak Hills Shakespeare Company’s production of “Henry V,� which opened Wednesday and is slated for three more free performances today and Friday.

Henry’s “band of brothers� soliloquy, Katherine’s girlish chatter and the English army’s siege of the town of Harflour come to life with a band of 48 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders from Oak Hills Elementary School in Oak Park.

“A lot of people said, ‘Oh, you can’t do Shakespeare with elementary school kids--you can’t even read it until you’re in high school,’ � said Oak Hills Principal Anthony Knight, who is directing the play with fourth-grade teachers Rebecca Koch and Christine Miele).

Defying the doubters, Knight said the Shakespeare company--in actuality an enrichment program combining history class with literature--has pulled together a full-scale production, with the help of volunteers and donations, including $2,000 in props and scenery from History for Hire in Hollywood.

The company has been staging pint-sized performances of the Bard’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,� “Macbeth� and “Romeo and Juliet� in the school’s multipurpose room since 1989.

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Oak Hills’ Shakespeare company is one example of what many residents consider a cultural renaissance sweeping through Oak Park Unified School District, spurred by the suburban community’s growth and its maturing population.

Residents also cite a recent production of “42nd Street,� complete with singing and fancy footwork by Oak Park High School students and a burgeoning band program at Medea Creek Middle School.

“A lot of people in this community are connected somehow or other with show business, television or the movie industry,� said Bob Kahn, a member of Oak Park Unified’s Board of Education. “Consequently, there’s more interest in [performing arts programs] than in some other communities.�

Right now, Kahn and other residents are pushing for an outdoor amphitheater at Oak Park High School in memory of Christopher Ruhle, a graduate who was killed in San Luis Obispo last year by a drunk driver.

Organizers of the “Christopher Ruhle Performing Arts Memorial Fund� say they have raised more than $20,000 toward their $1-million goal in the past 14 months.

“Since there’s no putting up a building involved, we could probably start with less than that,� Kahn said. “It’s totally a grass-roots effort.�

If successful, the Shakespearean troupe could one day perform under the stars. For now, the young actors are simply concentrating on remembering their lines and cues.

Oren Gabriel, 11, who alternates in the leading role of King Henry V with 10-year-old classmate Matthew Pereyra, said cast and crew members have been well aware of the challenges facing them.

“Our principal tried to get someone to help us with the battle scene [at Agincourt], and the guy said ‘Children? Forget it,’ � Orensaid.

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Work on “Henry V� began in October, Knight said, and students have been working through their lunch recesses and after school ever since, researching history and designing bright banners for the show’s English and French armies according to the ancient rules of heraldry.

Members of the Shakespeare company have also been juggling other classwork while emoting in verse at each other’s houses for the past two months. Some of the play’s characters must speak hundreds of lines and learn scores of cues throughout the drama’s five acts.

“What was really a big help in memorizing our lines was spring break--that’s when we memorized them and learned our movements,� said fourth-grader Afton Williams, 9. Afton had to pick up conversational French to play Katherine, King Henry’s would-be princess bride.

“The play is sort of a culminating event,� Knight said. “We’ve been studying the Middle Ages and English history, and the history of the British monarchy. . . . when students can study that in relationship to being in a play it makes it more meaningful to them.�

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

FYI

Performances of “Henry V� are at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. today and 10 a.m. Friday in the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza’s Forum Theater. All shows are free.