March 26, 2003

Araquistain gives theater new direction

TC Children/Teen Theatre launches outreach program, expands arts camp

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

      The Traverse City Children/Teen Theatre is launching a number of firsts this spring:
      An outreach program in area schools. Presenting a short play, "The Thousand Cranes" during the Dennos Museum's Family Day early next month. Many new classes this spring semester, including dance and music. The presentation of a full musical production, "Treasure Island," this summer. An expanded summer performing arts camp that will include an intensive six-course curriculum covering acting, dancing, singing, Shakespeare and prop and set design.
      New director Luis Araquistain, who joined the TCCT in January, is spearheading these changes and expansions. Araquistain is revved up with ideas and enthusiasm about making the TCCT a performing arts hub for area youth. He envisions bringing together the region's myriad talents and resources to promote arts of all kinds.
      "TCCT is very exciting, it covers so many things that I love: teaching and the theater," said Araquistain, a native of San Francisco who relocated to the area in September with his wife, Maggie. "I am interested in expanding it from an acting school to a school for the performing arts."
      Araquistain noted that former TCCT manager June Neal, who retired on December 31, and the TCCT board laid the groundwork for many of these new or expanded programs.
      "A lot was prepared for me once I stepped in," he said. "They needed someone with experience in outreach, administration and wanted someone to expand the curriculum."
      Alison Arnold, a member of the TCCT board, said Araquistain's unique combination of interests, education and experience made him a match for the theatre's goals.
      His previous experience in San Francisco includes teaching and administering at the Spindrift School of Performing Arts in Pacifica and the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival's Youth Conservatory. Araquistain also studied at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and apprenticed with the California Shakespeare Festival and worked as an actor in a variety of children's theater productions.
      "We're just really pleased, he brings a real rich background in working with diverse populations as well as some real creative efforts in that he helped to launch a very successful youth theater in the San Francisco area," Arnold noted. "I think the board is certainly very glad to have Luis leading."
      One of Araquistain's recent endeavors was bringing competitive improv theater games to five area elementary schools - Blair, Glenn Loomis, Interlochen Community, Sabin and Traverse Heights. The program was funded by a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant from the United States Department of Education. He visited the schools weekly for three weeks, working with students in all grades for up to two hours. The program concludes with a visit to the Old Town Playhouse, where students compete in a variety of improv games on stage.
      "We made it a nice event and for a lot of these kids it was the first time visiting the Old Town Playhouse," he said, adding many of the students' family and friends also attended the first production. "I would like this to go beyond Traverse City and even thought this initial program was funded through a grant, I am going to pursue doing after-school classes where parents pay directly."
      Moving from bustling San Francisco to the quite woods of Lake Ann was a welcome change for the Araquistains. Exorbitant housing prices in California coupled with the recent dot com bust that ended Araquistain's job as a web designer two years ago spurred the move. With family ties in the area, they headed east last September where he was thrilled to land the director of TCCT position within a few months.
      "It is a lot quieter here and it is just lovely," said Araquistain, who will also help with education, outreach and special projects for the Old Town Playhouse.
      Araquistain also welcomes the abundance of arts opportunities in the region - something surprising, he noted, for such a small town.
      "The level of the arts here is just amazing and it rivals what you can find in a big city, a cosmopolitan town," he said. "As an artist, I find that thrilling because I can find an artistic outlet here without the noise of the big city."
      In addition to his passion for Shakespeare, Araquistain also hopes to reach out to Hispanic and underprivileged youth. Fluent in Spanish, he believes that acting and the arts provide lifetime benefits to anyone.
      "Aside from having fun, one of the key ways that kids benefit from acting is development of communication skills," he said. "In order to be an actor, basically a storyteller, they have to convey what's going on and communicate effectively with the audience."
      "These skills are the kind of skills that can help them throughout their lives, both personally and professionally," he noted.
      For more information on TCCT programs or the upcoming spring session, which begins April 14, call Araquistain at 947-2210.