The Park Dale Players
has been a fixture in North County Children's theater for
the last 25 years. Beginning as a company of adults performing
original plays for children and teaching drama workshops in
the schools, PDP began its student musical theater program
in the Encinitas School District in the fall of 1999. Since
then, we have produced four original
musicals a year, all of them written by PDP's own playwright
and lyricist Pat Lydersen with music by
composer Wendy Woolf.
With Pat and Joanna Lydersen directing, Wendy as musical director, and Joanna adding her talents as a choreographer, this program
has provided hundreds of students the opportunity to hone
their acting, singing, and dancing skills, and to experience
the excitement of working with others to present a polished
performance on stage.
The Park Dale Players is not just for the experienced student with a strong
interest in theater. It is for everyone, whether they are outgoing or shy,
whether they have been in numerous shows or have never set foot on stage.
We believe that theater is the perfect vehicle to help foster a child's natural
creativity and to help him or her gain in confidence, self awareness, and self
esteem. With that in mind, our plays are written specifically to give every
child a special character to play. There are no "chorus" parts in our
productions—everyone has lines, everyone sings, everyone dances. Our
goal is to have our students come away from a Park Dale Player experience
with the sense that they have taken part in something very special.
Fall, Spring & Summer Break Productions:
We run this program in the Encinitas School District during
their fall, spring and summer breaks. During these two week
periods, we rehearse and perform a full scale musical. Rehearsals
run Monday through Friday from 9 until 12 for the drama and
singing segment of the program and, after a half hour supervised
lunch break, the dance segment runs from 12:30 until 2:00.
Performances, complete with full costume, props, sets and
lighting, are on Friday and Saturday evenings of the last
weekend. The Fall and Spring sessions of this program are
open to 3rd through 6th graders. The Summer session is open
to 3rd through 10th graders.
Musical Theater, Acting & Dance Workshops (Grades 3-6):
Throughout the school year, we run various after-school programs for grades 3-6. We
have a Musical Theater Production class which culminates in the presentation of a full-
scale musical, as well as Acting/Dance and Musical Theater Workshops which help
students interested in musical theater to develop their performing skills.
Tell-A-Tale Theater:
Younger students in grades K-2 can participate in TELL-A-TALE THEATER, a creative drama workshop which focuses not only on teaching children the basics of drama and dance, but also on developing their natural imaginative skills. Each class centers around a grade appropriate story which students will be helped to bring to life through theater games, improvisations, movement excercises, and role-playing.
For more information about current programs, please go to our Programs page.
Contact Us: pat@theparkdaleplayers.com
