Ginger Latimer, producer, actor and former Madera South High School theatre instructor, will begin teaching Theatre Arts classes for young people ages 8-13 at the Madera County Arts Council.
Starting Oct. 13, students will “embark on a 6-week journey that includes acting skills, improvisation, voice, moment, theatre appreciation and even a little theatre history” according to Latimer. In addition, “students will be required to perform in this class. It’s really not as scary as it might seem, and we will move into performance, gradually” Latimer says.
“We have been wanting to add performing arts to our list of offerings for many years,” says Arts Council Executive Director, Jim Kocher, “and we feel Ginger Latimer is just the right person to provide a great launch for what we hope will mean more involvement in theatre.”
The Arts Council’s plans include expanding theatre classes to older children, ages 14–17, and adults 18 and over. The ultimate goal is to create a community theater that brings together people from across the area to perform on stage.
According to Board President Dianne Rich, “At our recent ‘Celebrate Agriculture’ fundraiser, we had a lot of interest from the community and even raised some really good seed money to be able to launch this program. Madera had a community theatre many years ago, and we feel like maybe the time is right to start laying the groundwork for that kind of group.”
The current Theatre Arts class for young people, 8-13, will begin Oct. 13 and run on Wednesdays from 4-6 p.m. through Nov. 17. Cost is $120 per student for the 6-week run. Classes will be held at the Madera Arts Council (424 N. Gateway). Registration and payment can be made can be made online at maderaarts.org, or at 661-7005.