City Theatre

Kids get G-rated version of festival

Miami-Dade children now have their own version of the popular Summer Shorts Festival, with Short Cuts for Kids!

BY CLAUDIA SOLIS
Special to The Miami Herald

Stephanie Norman has nothing against singing purple dinosaurs or blue furry monsters with cookie addictions. But as an artist and a mother, she knows there's a better way to entertain kids -- and their parents -- during the summer.

After 12 years of working with Miami's City Theatre group, the folks who present the popular Summer Shorts Festival, Norman put together a G-rated version of the show just for kids.

City Theatre actors will present Short Cuts for Kids!, four, one-act plays at locations in Coral Gables, Hialeah and Miami Beach. Besides the performances, there will also be an improv segment and a chance to talk with the actors. The plays were chosen specifically for children ages 10 and older, but Norman hopes to entertain parents, too.

''We're going for that Shrek-factor,'' said Norman, co-founder, producing artistic director of Summer Shorts, and the person behind developing Short Cuts for Kids!

``We wanted something that kids would enjoy but we also wanted it to be smart and interesting. We want something that parents won't roll their eyes at -- that's really important.''

As a mother of three, Norman knows what she's talking about.
''We felt it was time to do a festival for kids,'' she said. ``It will be nice to watch something with my kids and not have to worry about covering their eyes or their ears.''

For the past three years, City Theatre has organized a summer outreach program. But this is the first year for a summer festival strictly for kids and their parents.

''It's perfect for kids,'' said Norman. ``It's the kind of theater that will take them to different lands, and they like that. It's not Barney. This is good, interesting writing.''

Marco Ramirez would agree for two reasons. Finding the best plays is his job. And, one of his plays was chosen for the festival.

Ramirez is the City Theatre literary manager, meaning he reads through piles of scripts looking for the plays that would fit the concept.

''This is not Sesame Street. Theater requires a lot of imagination,'' Ramirez said. ``This is about finding new ways to entertain a 10-year-old and keep them. It's about building an audience with theater and imagination.''

Imagination is a big thing with this group.
''We want to take this channel-clicking generation and require them to use their imaginations,'' Ramirez said.

Ramirez knows this crowd well. Last year he taught drama to middle school students at Gulliver Academy. But he has been writing and performing since he was a kid growing up in Hialeah.

His play, Regina Spector Wins the Science Fair, was chosen for the festival.
Norman thinks Ramirez's play demonstrates how Short Cuts for Kids! can appeal to everyone.

''There's jokes in that play about plastic surgery that I know my daughter won't understand,'' Norman said. ``But I know there will be a mother or grandmother in the audience who will get it.''