After eight weeks, 200 workshop hours and more than 150 students participating, this summer’s activities are officially “a wrap”. The results of all that talent, creativity and hard work were vibrantly on display at the Mo’Magic Summer Showcase, where Handful Players performed for more than 300 kids from the Western Addition community. The showcase took place July 26 at the SF Jewish Community Center’s Kanbar Hall and featured 13 performances of everything from theater and dance to puppetry and spoken word. The performances celebrated- self-empowerment, multiculturalism and the heroic legacies of Cesar Chavez, Wilma Rudolph, Rosie the Riveter and others. The students, ranging from kindergarten-age to 20 years old, participated in summer programs at the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center, the Don Fisher Boys & Girls Clubhouse, Buchanan YMCA, Margaret Hayward Rec-Connect, Magic Zone and Up on Top. Handful Players’ own Ryan Marchand and Samantha Jackson directed the mini musicals, which were skillfully adapted from the Mo’Magic summer reading list by playwright Chinaka Hodge, with costumes by Rene Walker. The event also featured keyboardist Imanuel Junaedy, spoken word led by poet/rapper Trey Amos, salsa/hip-hop dance choreographed by Jessica Recinos and puppetry developed with Virginia Barrett. Ready for an encore? Watch this space for news of what we have on tap this fall!
