It was a night of cheers, smiles and memories as the last two decades of Kids At Play were recalled and celebrated on Sunday, Aug. 11 in the Casino Theater.
About 300 people came to watch performances by 57 past and current members of the local children’s theater program under the direction of Sean Brannock, affectionately known as “Mr. Sean.”
It was a night of cheers, smiles and memories as the last two decades of Kids At Play were recalled and celebrated on Sunday, Aug. 11 in the Casino Theater.
About 300 people came to watch performances by 57 past and current members of the local children’s theater program under the direction of Sean Brannock, affectionately known as “Mr. Sean.”
They rolled out the red carpet to add glitz and photo opportunities to the 20th Anniversary event. As everyone moved inside the foyer of the theater was filled with displays of memorabilia from the past shows. The evening was filled with audience favorite moments, a slide show and many congratulation clips from friends and some players who were unable to attend the event.
“It was a great day,” Brannock said. “The event was amazing and it was so awesome seeing all the young kids and the returning kids all together and a lot of friends.”
There were a few mother and daughter teams of returning students who performed in the anniversary show alongside their children who are current members of the Kids At Play program. These pairings included former Kids At Play participant Catherine Rinehart and her daughter Rebecca Peduero, who is now in the program.
There were also some siblings attending the event and also performing together.
Meanwhile, Brannock said, he was surprised by a touching video that was made by his family and friends and shown at the event to congratulate him on successfully running the program for the past 20 years.
“I was totally unaware they were going to do that,” he said. “The room was filled with love, laughter and a few tears.”
Brannock recalled the program’s humble beginnings at Tremont Hall, which remains the Kids At Play home base. The building, which is owned by the Santa Catalina Island Company, had been abandoned for many years and run down.
Kids At Play reopened Tremont Hall within the first year of the program through what Brannock said were “huge fundraising efforts, blood, sweat and tears.” Their motto was: “Kids heard the call to open Tremont Hall.”
“We had to retrofit the entire building,” Brannock said. “We held work parties to clean it up and paint it and make it handicap accessible.” They held their first performance in Tremont Hall, but soon outgrew it as the size of the productions and cast got bigger.
Immediately following Sunday’s performance in the Casino Theater, there was a VIP dinner at Tremont Hall.
“It was the perfect backdrop for the finale of the day’s events,” Brannock said. “The dinner was filled with friends and family.”
Kids at Play is a nonprofit children’s theater company which helps the children of Avalon develop self-esteem as they participate in theater productions. Brannock said he writes many of the shows and tailors the roles to the personalities of the Kids At Play players.
“The group will be back in session in September and hopefully on the path for another 20 years,” Brannock said. “I call the fall show ‘moral tales’,” he said. “This one will be an adaptation of The Little Prince,” or I will write a story about the Red Brick Road, which is on the other side of the Yellow Brick Road in the Land of Oz.”
For more information about Kids At Play, call Sean Brannock at (310) 595-6714.
