New clothes, new eyes

Marisa O’Neil

Kaiser Elementary School Student Audrey Azevedo likes sitting in the

balcony.

Newport Heights Elementary School student Jayzee MacPhail likes

the ushers.

Carissa Sherma from Victoria Elementary School just likes getting

out of class.

Those three, and about 100 others, went to see “The Emperor’s New

Clothes” at South Coast Repertory Theatre on Tuesday, courtesy of

Costa Mesa’s Festival of Children Foundation. The foundation hosted

students from Costa Mesa’s Girls Inc. and three other Orange County

organizations for the performance, the first such event for the newly

formed foundation.

“Everybody talks about the lack of arts programs in the schools,”

Foundation Director Sandy Segerstrom Daniels said. “Children often

don’t get exposed to things like this until someone brings them to

it.”

The matinee performance was the first of what Segerstrom Daniels

hopes will be an ongoing partnership with South Coast Repertory and

other local arts companies to expose more children to the arts. The

Festival of Children Foundation, which grew out of the annual,

monthlong Festival of Children at South Coast Plaza, works with local

children’s organizations.

“I love the theater and remember going as a child and being really

enthralled by it,” said Eileen Daiher, Festival of Children

Foundation event coordinator. “We hope to expose children who

otherwise wouldn’t go to the theater.”

Audrey, 11-year-old Jayzee and 9-year-old Carissa all enjoyed “The

Emperor’s New Clothes,” the story of a 14-year-old boy who tries to

revamp his image after being crowned emperor and ends up losing the

shirt off his back.

“I liked the part when he had no clothes,” Audrey, 9, said. “Well,

he had shorts and stockings and shoes on. He wasn’t naked.”

All three also managed to learn a lesson from the play.

“It doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside,” Jayzee

said.

“Just be yourself,” Carissa added.

The play is part of the theater’s Theatre for Young Audiences

series, geared toward families and young children. South Coast

Repertory also has an educational program, which is designed to

fulfill fourth-grade English language arts standards programs.

Teachers can download lesson plans to use in conjunction with each

production series. Others planned this season are “Sideways Stories

from Wayside School” and “The Wind in the Willows.”