By Mariah Ruben, Educational Artist
Kidstock was the first place I ever got to perform onstage. My first show was Oklahoma! back in 2002, and I was immediately HOOKED. I came back every summer until I was in high school, and even worked as a summer counselor for a few years as well. Today, I work as an Educational Artist for Kidstock! teaching the next generation of Kidstock! Kids new ways to express themselves, create characters and stories, and work together.
I grew up in a house with a big sliding glass door. A stereo stood right next to the glass door and I would play CDs on it while watching at my reflection performing back at me. I would put on shows for anyone who would watch, oftentimes for an audience of American Girl dolls and Barbies. My mom naturally thought the best thing to do with me was to get me involved in theater as I was a kid who loved to perform and sing and dance and so she signed me up for Kidstock!
Kidstock! made me who I am today. Some of my fondest memories include:
- In 2003, the SUMMERSTAGE Broadway week was The Music Man. I wanted nothing more than to be Marian, the librarian. I showed up on Day 1 dressed for the part and I told my counselors I was destined to play her. But at Kidstock!, we find creative and inclusive ways to cast our shows so we played a game of “musical parts” and I landed on Mrs. Paroo. I remember feeling frantic, but in a twist of luck we did one more round and I got Marian. Was it Kidstock! magic? Was it my counselors giving me one last chance?
- Some of my other favorite roles I got to play at Kidstock! include “Ms. Style” from a very Kidstock! verion of the musical Annie; the BFG in the BFG Jr.; and Cinderalla in All the Way as part of Kidstock’s Lyric apprentice program.
- My Kidstock! teachers and counselors – Maryann, Olive, Larry, Bob, Josh, and Shannon – taught me everything I know about how to lead classes joyfully and how to work with different ages of kids.
- Joining Kidstock’s C.I.T. program made me realize how much I enjoy working with young actors.
Kidstock! helped me discover that I didn’t just love performing, I love working with other young people and creating theater with them. Through the C.I.T. program, I got to spend mornings working with younger campers and afternoons learning about theater education for young kids. That experience was the first time I realized that teaching, directing, and creating opportunities for young people could be just as exciting to me as being onstage. It has continued to influence the work I’ve pursued in theatre and arts administration ever since.
Kidstock! has shown me again and again that every kid should get involved in theater because it gives them a place to be completely themselves, while also encouraging them to try something new. Theater teaches kids how to collaborate, think creatively, communicate, problem solve, and be comfortable taking risks. Most importantly, it gives kids a community. You don’t have to grow up to be an actor or work in the arts for those experiences and life lessons to stay with you; they certainly stayed with me.
Above all as a Kidstock! alumni, I’m honored to be back in the place where my love of theater began and to help create that same experience for a new generation of kids. Kidstock! had such a huge impact on who I became, both as an artist and as a person, and it feels incredibly special to now have the opportunity to be on the other side of that experience.
