If dreaming large dreams is the special province of youth, a group of Earl Marriott Secondary students are going about it the right way.
The seven students, all involved in some sector of the arts – have already seen huge benefits in their own lives from extracurricular training they have been fortunate to receive.
They want to make sure that other local students who can't afford often-expensive tuition can share some of the same advantages they have enjoyed.
To that worthy end, they have just created a new non-profit organization, The Playful Palette Foundation, officially incorporated and registered in B.C., to help other students pursue their dreams, in all disciplines of the arts.
The foundation has already held an initial bake-sale fundraiser.
But members are planning an even more ambitious launch event – a family-friendly variety show scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Oceana PARC Playhouse, 1532 Johnston Rd.
The venture, and the foundation itself, is the brainchild of Grade 10 student Sabine Lapointe, 15.
She's also director of the show, and president of the foundation – and local audiences will remember the considerable comedy and musical theatre know-how she displayed as Mildred, one of the nasty stepsisters in December's White Rock pantomime, Cinderella.
"But I'm not going to be able to perform this time – there are just too many things to do behind the scenes," she explained.
For the show, she and other foundation members have assembled an impressive line-up of some 20 performers, including professional comedian/actor/writer/producer Cliff Prang and popular White Rock panto dame Bryce Paul Mills, as well as other fellow panto performers from 2023 and 2024.
These include Lauren Fisher (Winifred, the other nasty stepsister from Cinderella); well-known music and theatre performer, and last year's panto director, Dann Wilhelm (who will be singing a song with Sam Silver); Paige Thomson (who will perform a song and sketch with Parker Brann); noted local singer Miriah Reitmeier; versatile actor/singer Adrian Shaffer (who will sing a number with Tallya Lalonde, costar in the most recent Fraser Valley Musical Theatre panto, Rapunzel) and Mills' daughter Victoria (who will be featured in a number from The Rocky Horror Show).
"Most of the performers in the show are people we currently have connections with," Lapointe told Peace Arch News.
Also performing will be younger talents, including singer-songwriter Lucy Prior (the foundation's vice-president) performing her original song, Somebody, Somewhere, to her own piano accompaniment; singer Trinity Sullivan, dancers Livia Pighin and Isabelle Rivett; harpist Chelsea Huang; singer Nex Wendell, and flautist and dancer Rhys Watt-Marsh and Bloom.
"Our harpist is only in Grade 9," Prior, 15, said. "But she's super-talented – an incredible musician, who is also a member of our school's senior band."
Providing the right light touch in hosting the show will be the foundation's chair Hanna Hakak and secretary Bella Endersby.
"We thought it would be good to have a lot of youth performers in the show, as we're doing this to benefit other young people," Lapointe said.
"Teenagers fundraising for other kids – that's a nice dynamic," Prior added.
Still, there were some daunting moments, Lapointe said – particularly when only five acts had signed up by the original performers' deadline in December.
"But we all cared enough to work for it," Prior said.
"We really want to get the foundation out there and let the community know what we are doing."
Lapointe's idea for the foundation, and doing the variety show fundraiser, was immediately, and eagerly, embraced by Prior and Hakak, they explained.
Close school friends, all three also attend classes at South Surrey's Smash Musical Theatre School.
Fellow board members Endersby (secretary), Viola Fairbrother (treasurer), Iva Popadich (social media manager) and Daria Komarova (photography) were also quick to sign on and contribute their own various skills to making the venture a success.
"We all have unofficial roles that we also play in the foundation," said Prior,
Endersby, for example, will be helping with lighting in the tech booth, while Komarova will be contributing some simple choreography for a closing number featuring all of the show's participants.
Not the least impressive thing about the students' initiative is that it only came together late last year.
"I really wanted to start a non-profit, but I wasn't sure what I wanted it to be," Lapointe said.
But as soon as she thought of starting something that would help other students in the arts, she realized she was on the right track, she said.
"We're all theatre kids and we know how much taking classes in the arts has meant to us. But they can sometimes be very expensive – it's not fair that other talented kids don't get that chance."
She acknowledged that the idea crystallized at a time she was not only finishing up school assignments for the year – but also busy rehearsing and performing in the pantomime.
"I do a lot of things at the same time," she noted, matter-of-factly.
"Sabine is overwhelming," Grade 9 student Hakak interjected, with a smile.
"But we all wanted to do this – we came from it (an arts background) and it relates to us. I do guitar and art classes. It's an advantage and a privilege, but one a lot of kids don't get."
Creating a foundation might seem daunting to most of us, but Lapointe said the application process was relatively easy.
"The hardest part was writing the bylaws so that people of our age could be on the board," she said.
"We've also had to make a bank account for the foundation."
Hakak's talents in design and marketing came to the fore in contributing the foundation's appropriately colourful spiral-style logo.
"I wanted it to be sunny and cheerful," she said. "I used very light colours to suggest childhood and kids and happiness – because we want to help kids have the same passion as us."
Lapointe said the aim of the Playful Palette is to be able to support the artistic endeavours of children and youth by partnering with various area arts schools who are able to provide a limited number places in their classes at a reduced cost.
"Then we, as a foundation, would pay the rest of the discounted price," she said.
"It works out better that way than giving out grants that might not end up going to pay for classes. If we can help just one young person get a good start on being involved in the arts this way, then it will be worth it."
To support the Playful Palette Foundation Variety Show, tickets (only $20) can be purchased online, at jumpcomedy.com/e/playfulpalettevariety
