Roberta Cullen has been teaching children’s acting and movement classes in Alexandria for 14 years, leading programs at the Little Theatre of Alexandria and Burgundy Farm Country Day School. Now, with the launch of Alexandria Children’s Theatre, Cullen is breaking out on her own.
While Cullen was teaching theatre at Burgundy, head of school Jeff Sindler approached her about starting a program for children from the wider Northern Virginia area. The program would operate out of Burgundy’s new arts building, the Logan Loft.
“To be at Burgundy, and be able to have a space and a theatre where children can come and go freely and be welcomed and celebrated, is a wonderful opportunity for me,” Cullen said.
While Cullen had positive experiences teaching children at other theaters, she believes the Burgundy facilities, which were designed with children in mind, are better suited to her programs.
“No one is going to be annoyed with children being loud there,” Cullen said. “It's a place intrinsically for kids, so it just makes sense, to be there and have another opportunity for local children to explore the arts.”
“It seemed like a wonderful opportunity to be at Burgundy, where there's a brand new stage, and also an outdoor amphitheater and other places on campus we can use,” Cullen said.
The launch of Alexandria Children’s Theater marks a new page in Cullen’s teaching career. However, she still plans to use the same techniques that she has developed for years.
Cullen chose “Come Play with Us!” as a tagline for the business because her ethos is that the creative process should be play-based for children.
“I'm going to still use the basic foundations of starting movement and self-expression to help children build their confidence. … and help them develop an understanding of the performing arts and theatre.”
Cullen organizes her programming into age groups. Children ages four and five take a class called “Imagine If,” where they use costumes and creative thinking to complete movement-based activities. The older the children get, the more they build on their knowledge and engage with more complex programming. However, no matter how old or young, all the children will do an onstage presentation for their families at the end of the season.
For these presentations, Cullen often uses stories children are already familiar with, such as Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. Cullen will also take some artistic licenses with these famous tales; for example, she turned the Rainbow Fish into a musical.
Cullen has also written her own shows for her students to perform. One such show is “The Mischevious Unicorn,” which one of her camps put on this past summer. The plot centers around a unicorn who is put under a spell that causes it to wreak havoc throughout famous fairy tales.
Coming up with creative ideas to inspire children is easy for Cullen. However, as with any new business venture, there have also been challenges. As a brand new children’s theatre, it can be difficult to get the word out. However, Cullen hopes that the unique benefits that Burgundy’s campus offers will draw people in.
“The summer program at Burgundy is amazing,” Cullen said. “Children have the opportunity to have swimming lessons and be in a theatrical production in the same week.”
As for the future, Cullen’s ultimate goal is the Alexandria Children’s Theatre becoming a staple performance location for area children. She hopes to have main stage performances throughout the school year in addition to summer classes.
Learn more about the opportunities at www.actheatre.com.
