Neighborhood Conservatory

The assignment was simple on its face. You’re at a Starbucks. Act out something you’d see there and let your classmates guess what you are. This produced everything from straws to tables to a dog who happened in for a puppy latte.

Then, after letting her Neighborhood Conservatory students at TLC Charter School in Orange vote, Brenda Kenworthy changed the setting. Now, you’re at the Orange County Fair, she told them. Act out something you’d see at the fair. This resulted in everything from Ferris Wheels to cotton candy.

The name of that game is “Environment,” which is perfect for what SCR has created through the Neighborhood Conservatory. The program brings professional teaching artists like Kenworthy to underserved children throughout Orange County for weekly theatre classes. The classes, which meet once a week for seven to ten weeks, are focused on theatre games, but come with an underlying theme of teaching self-expression, self-confidence and creativity beyond the stage.

“It’s amazing. They come here and learn so many more skills,” said Cynthia Fetter, TLC Charter's after-school coordinator. “Sometimes, they don’t know how to express feelings and through this class, they’re learning how to express themselves.”

Watching Kenworthy work with 16 first-through-third graders one Wednesday afternoon, you see the impact of the program. During each game, she seamlessly went from student to student, gently asking questions, complimenting them on their choices and providing positive reinforcement at every opportunity. Every moment was a teaching moment, starting from the time Kenworthy gets the students to observe each other. She then asks them to form groups of five, based on a specific criteria ranging from eye color to height to the color of their tennis shoes.

Then, she asks the students to build on those observations by sharing something personal, like their middle names or if they own a dog. That gets them talking to each other and engaging with classmates they may not otherwise talk to, which Kenworthy said is one of her goals.

“It’s been a great experience for my students,” Fetter said.

“If they stay with the program, they’ll get it. They may not get it all from me, but they’ll get it from all of the teachers,” Kenworthy said. “… A lot of kids nowadays get prescribed what they can do and what they can be. Here, I want you to be crazy and use your imagination to become the weirdest thing you can think of.”

“They are so enthusiastic and so funny. Some of the stuff they tell me is hilarious.”

The Neighborhood Conservatory is supported by Barbara Roberts and Brooke Roberts-Webb, the Doreen Marshall Fund, the Birches Foundation and an anonymous donor. If you know of a school in need of a Neighborhood Conservatory class, or you would like more information, please contact the Education Office at [email protected].