For many people, mothering three daughters may seem like a large task. But Jean M. Isaac began the Young Actors’ Theatre six years ago, and now she plays mother to a new cast of kids five times a year “” from opening night, until each show’s last curtain call.
The payback is great, said Isaac, executive director of the troupe’s new show, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
When she heard from some parents that their child “” who had been hanging out with the wrong group of kids “” is now back on track because of the show, Isaac said it makes all the work worthwhile.
Isaac started the Young Actors’ Theatre because she was involved in other local theater organizations with her youngest daughter.
“It’s about the opportunities for the kids,” she said, as she feverishly sorted costumes for “Joseph” with another parent.
An all-volunteer organization, Isaac relies heavily on the parents, choreographer Rickey Viloria and musical director and director Shane Simmons.
“We’re lucky to have such generous parents,” she said. “It couldn’t be in existence without the parents.”
Talented parents donate the sets and their art skills. In the current show, a sphinx highlights the stage. The costumes include many ’70s-themed disco outfits.
“Joseph” is a story taken from the bible and twisted into a more modern tale, to include “music from all the different eras,” said parent and costumer Kim Prendergast.
“We’re really lucky we get such strong talent,” Isaac said. “Because we are a small company, all who audition get a part. But it might not always be that way.”
The women described the process the director takes to perfect the chorus. In their last play, “High School Musical,” although all the children had a part, Simmons painstakingly sorted the children. He promoted the kids with better voices, asking them to sing louder, while the others were encouraged to sing softer.
“Shane Simmons is phenomenal,” Isaac said.
Simmons worked his directorial magic on the cast of “Joseph,” dividing them into what he called the “juniors” and “seniors.” The little ones, whose pure voices echoed out, sat quietly to the side of the stage. The seniors, or older kids, were a bit more restless, as they waited for direction.
Yet, Simmons patiently molded them, guiding half the cast to pose at the right moment, while the little ones listened for their turn so they, too, could be in the center of the action.
“This is the first time we’ve had access to the stage. We’ve been working inside a little room before this,” Isaac said “That’s why we call today ‘Super Saturday’ because we are here for a long time and we learn everything all at once.”
While Isaac works with other parents to finish the costumes, Simmons and Viloria help the cast to perfect their voices and moves on the stage before opening night, Thursday, Oct. 4.
From hip-hop to 1920s-style music and costumes, the production promises many things, including an Elvis-singing Pharaoh and a kids’ choir integrated throughout the production.
“It will be a super entertaining show,” Prendergast said.
The Young Actors’ Theatre production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” runs through Oct. 14 at Sherwood Auditorium inside La Jolla’s Museum of Contemporary Art, 615 Prospect St.
For ticket prices and information, call the Young Actors’ Theatre, (619) 670-1627, or visit the website, www.yatsandiego.org.