DRAMA TROUPE BUILDS COMMUNITY FOLLOWING.

Byline: Victoria Giraud

Instead of searching for work as an actor, David Ian Stears did a very practical thing and founded the Santa Clarita Repertory Co.

``I didn't want to be a gypsy. I didn't want to travel from town to town; I wanted to work in and for a community and build a community of artists. When I graduated from CalArts (with a degree) in acting in 1989, I put it together,'' David said.

At this point, the company concentrates on its educational outreach program and summer Shakespeare plays in local parks, David said. During the school year its outreach program finds about 18,000 local students from kindergarten through high school.

Besides Shakespeare's ``Romeo and Juliet'' which is presented to ninth-graders each year, there's a ``Living History'' theater piece that concentrates on a historical or mythic figure and is designed for fourth- to sixth-graders. Characters such as Jack in ``Jack and the Beanstalk,'' Johnny Appleseed, or real-life Iowa heroine Kate Shelley, who prevented a disastrous train wreck, have been used in the program.

In the spring, there's the Fairy Tale Theater presentation for about 8,500 students in kindergarten through sixth grade.

``Each year there's a different tale, and there's always a Spanish-speaking character,'' David explained. Four actors are presenting ``Jack and the Beanstalk,'' and the role of Jack's mother is entirely in Spanish.

``For a company that doesn't have an office, we reach a lot of people,'' David said with a laugh.

David, the artistic producer, says the going has been rough. Although Santa Clarita has been around for 100 years, it's only been a city for 8-1/2 years. ``There's not many areas to build a theater, and it's very pricey. Even though we're in the schools, there's still only one public production a year.''

The annual summer park production this year, Shakespeare's ``Twelfth Night,'' has been cast and will kick off on July 20 at Valencia Glen Park at 5 p.m. Other performances are scheduled for July 27 at Valencia Glen, Aug. 3 at Newhall Park, and Aug. 10 at Santa Clarita Park. All plays start at 5 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

The company has added a special performance for the Santa Clarita Senior Center on July 26 at 6 p.m. To get in the proper historical mood, seniors will be served a Shakespearean dinner - Cornish game hens are the entree - with no utensils. Cal State Summer School of the Arts has also asked the company to present the play there in July.

Local high school students benefit from the summer Shakespeare, David said. As apprentices they perform technical services and also act as ``extras and standard-bearers.'' For this experience, the students develop and present their own Shakespearean production in the fall.

Starting a nonprofit repertory company was ``a great learning experience. Aspects were tremendously frustrating but exciting,'' David reflected. ``I set up the administrative end of the company, the policies, the board of directors. I had to put in place everything that was required for a regular corporation.''

David also wanted to ensure that everybody was paid; everybody but himself, that is. To keep himself going he's a waiter, and occasionally travels for corporate theaters and for training programs.

``From the beginning, when I graduated, I vowed that any person who works for this company would be paid,'' David declared.

Because raising money has to be one of David's primary concerns, he's very grateful for grants, corporate donations and especially the Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation, a consistent supporter.

The company's board of directors - ``The board has gone through its own learning process,'' - is an active one and in the process of doubling its membership. Members of the board include President Marc Winger, Larry Heath, Carol Maglione, Jean Linington, Sherry Chernisch, Sandy Crancer and Jeff Hacker.

Growing up on Long Island, New York, David was dyslexic. ``I always liked stories, telling stories and hearing stories.'' He would opt for oral instead of written reports in school, and in sixth grade had his first chance to perform in a mime show. In high school he went on to do plays and musicals and later to work in theater in New York.

In his early 20s, David decided he wanted to get an acting education and auditioned at schools around the country. Looking at the resumes of teachers at various acting schools, he noted that many had received their training at CalArts. Why not train at the source? he thought.

``CalArts had an excellent faculty, one of the strongest. They didn't pump out molded actors, they created thinking artists and directors,'' David said.

Running a repertory company is a positive one, David says, and his reinforcement comes from the hundreds of letters he receives from students who've seen the school shows and vividly remember their experiences.

At a local chamber mixer David received a surprise boost when a big burly man who was a plumber began a conversation. They exchanged business cards, and the man asked David if the play he'd seen in a nearby park the previous week had been put on by the repertory company. The man went on to rave about the play, noting that he could understand the normally complex Shakespeare style. He complimented David on the way the words had been changed, only to learn that the actors indeed were using Shakespeare's words.

``He was so excited that he understood Shakespeare. That made my entire year that this guy got turned on by Shakespeare.''

David hopes that the near future will include a permanent theater for the repertory company. The group is looking at possibilities in downtown Newhall and also at the earthquake damaged 1940s auditorium at Newhall Elementary School.

``We'd like to open up a theater space by fall of 1997,'' David said enthusiastically.

For a taste of the repertory company, there are free presentations of ``Jack and the Beanstalk'' today at 3:30 p.m. at the Valencia Public Library and at 7:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble book store in Valencia.

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Photo

Photo: (color) David Ian Stears, front, and cast members of ``Jack and the Beanstalk'' perform at local schools.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News