Education: REALL Program for 8th Graders

GETTING REALL…IT’S TIME FOR REALITY ENRICHMENT AND LIFE LESSONS Middle School Students Learn How Choices Affect Their Lives By Meagan Friberg

hanks to the efforts of two Paso Robles women, local 8th graders are learning about ways to make good choices in their lives now, and how those choices might affect their future. Founder of The Kayla Peach Memorial Foundation, Donna Kelley, and Patti Lucas, para-educator at Liberty High School and Leadership Student Advisor, are kicking off their fourth year of bringing the REALL (Reality Enrichment and Life Lessons) program to the Flamson and Lewis middle high school campuses. “REALL gives students the opportunity to role-play with the choices they make in life,” Lucas said. First introduced locally in 2016, the chance for Paso Robles youth to participate came about when Kelley’s mother-in-law, Deerdra,

having a child as a teen. They move through four 15-minute periods that represent one week to figure out life.

“They have to get their pay check, get their baby to child care, get rent and utilities paid,” Kelley said. “Maybe they get arrested and go to jail, or they haven’t paid their rent or utilities, and have their utilities shut off or get evicted. They really see how hard it is to survive when you don’t have an education, have kids too soon, or commit a crime.” Next up: Good Choices. In this alternate “life” students graduate high school, secure a good job, or suggested the program after learning about it in Missouri. Kelley and Lucas decided to give it a try. Liber ty Leadership students, along with volunteers from the community, bring the program to Flamson and Lewis. The auditorium is set up to reflect a community, with various tables representing real-life places such as a bank, workplace, unemployment office, social services, and child care center. Chairs in the center of the room are the students’ “home”. The students role-play after being assigned a “name” and description of their “life”. F irst up: Poor Choices. The students’ new “life” may include not graduating from high school, or move on to higher education. The future is starting to look much brighter. The hope is for students to recognize how choices make a dramatic difference in their lives. “It’s a very positive program,” Lucas said. “Students find out what it takes to live with poor choices and good choices. Most decide that the good choice is the better path to take. Some of our Leadership students are actively living with choices they have made, and many have said they wish they had a program like this before they started high school.” A nd what has the reaction been from the students and school staff? “ Everyone has loved it!” Kelley said. “The kids think it’s great, and the teachers, staff, and the district have seen how valuable this is in teaching our youth.”

Meagan Friberg can be reached at Meagan @pasomagazine.com

Moonlight & Magnolias Three men have five days to finish one iconic screenplay

Moonlight and Magnolias, Ron Hutchinson’s Off-Broadway comic celebration of one of the greatest movies of all time, opens Friday, Sept. 21 and runs through Sept. 30 at the Park Ballroom, 1232 Park Street in downtown Paso Robles.

Wine Country Theatre continues its fourth season with the zany comedy directed by Lisa Woske. This wildly funny and engaging tale illuminates the behind-thescenes business of movie-making during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

The premise is based on a true story: Unhappy with the incomplete shooting script for Gone with the Wind, legendary producer David O. Selznick has shut down production on his new epic. He sends a car for famed script doctor Ben Hecht, pulls director Victor Fleming off the set of The Wizard of Oz, and proceeds to lock them all in his office in order to finish the script. Subsisting on a diet of bananas and peanuts, the three men spend five days rewriting a screenplay that will become the blueprint for one of the most successful films of all time.

“If only Hecht had read the book!” elaborates director Lisa Woske. “With no time to read 1037 pages, Selznick and Fleming attempt to act out the story for him – which may or may not be helpful…but it sure is comical. Hecht also provides a bit of social commentary as he types, so there are layers beneath the laughs.” Wine Country Theatre’s Executive Director Cynthia Anthony adds, “Moonlight and Magnolias is a great production to present this season. Our audiences will love the fast-paced humor and enjoy the behind-the-scenes antics that surround such a wellknown movie classic.” Featuring four outstanding local actors – Chad Stevens, Ed Cardoza, Tony Costa and Jo Jackson – the comedy embodies the mission of Wine Country Theatre, which is to offer a professional-caliber theatre experience for Central Coast audiences. The show runs Sept. 21–30; Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. at the Park Ballroom in downtown Paso Robles. Wine, snacks and desserts are available for purchase; generous table seating allows refreshments to be enjoyed during the show. Tickets are $25 general public; $20 for groups of 8+; $15 student.

For ticket information go the website: winecountrytheatre.com or contact Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006. Screwball comedy opening at Wine Country Theatre Sept. 21