The seven-minute pitch

Elia Powers

A man dressed as Thomas Jefferson switched from a historically angled

monologue to a sales pitch about his one-person performance without

skipping a beat.

Two men, sporting the letters M and S as part of their wardrobe,

explained the power of poetry and the importance of metaphors and

similes to a crowd of more than 100 PTA members and community

leaders.

Each year since 1988, a group of local artists on the Orange

County Performing Arts Center’s roster take the stage there to give

guests seven-minute previews of their acts.

What started as a quaint gathering of about five artists has

blossomed into a showcase for 65 traveling groups and individuals who

are booked to perform at schools and special events based on their

abbreviated shows.

“Teachers and administrators don’t always have a familiarity with

the different types of performance options,” said Jason Siebert,

manager of community programs at the center. “These workshops give

schools an easy way to bring arts into the classroom.”

The traveling arts program, recently renamed Arts Teach, reaches

more than 400,000 children in seven counties, according to Siebert.

During Thursday’s six-hour showcase, guests wandered into

Segerstrom Hall and Founders Hall to watch the artists, who sat

behind booths to conduct business when they weren’t performing.

During the year, the artists perform at school assemblies, conduct

workshops for smaller groups and lead seminars that educate teachers

about the arts.

Irvine-based performer Ramya Harishankar, who introduces audiences

to India’s music and dance traditions, has been part of the artist

showcase from its first year.

“We have such a multicultural society; it’s critical for children

to have an understanding of one another,” she said.

She said she has taken her show to more than 50 Southern

California schools, and she credits much of her business to contacts

made at the event.

Nancy Warzer-Brady, the center’s director of education, said

matching artists with schools is becoming increasingly important.

“Arts programming is being cut left and right from schools,” she

said. “Funding continues to drop, and there is more of a need for

educational arts events.”

Fairmont Private Schools PTA member Nancy Schwartz came to the

center to scout out potential performances.

Musical-comedy duo Razzle Bam Boom played at one of her Anaheim

schools last year, and Schwartz said she is looking to book more

shows for the coming year.

“We aren’t going to be caught sitting at a school performance

saying, ‘I hope this is age-appropriate,’” Schwartz said.

“Shakespeare won’t work for our preschoolers. I’m here to make sure

we make the right match.”