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December 2013 Renee and Rena
Serving the Lafayette Community Writing Contest By Fran Miller
By Fran Miller
Perhaps it was more than serendipity that brought Renee DeWeese and Rena Wilson together seven years ago. Friends, family and clients might call it destiny. The two best friends share more than their similar given names; they both love Lamorinda, they both love teaching, and each is incredibly talented. This potent amalgam is further enhanced by a shared entrepreneurial spirit that has led the two to success both on-stage and off. It was 2006 when DeWeese and Wilson met during auditions for Diablo Renee (Tiger Lily) and Rena (Wendy) performing in Theater Company’s (DTC) Diablo Theatre Company's '07 production of Peter Pan. production of Peter Pan. Each was in awe, and envious, of the other’s talents, and each was relieved to learn they were auditioning for different roles – DeWeese for Tiger Lily, and Wilson for Wendy. “Renee is a fabulous dancer,” says Wilson. “I asked her for help with my choreography.” “And Rena is a fabulous singer,” echoes DeWeese, who sought Wilson’s help with her vocals. They got the parts, and spent the following three months in happy collaboration. Not content to let their partnership end with Peter Pan, the two sought opportunities that would allow them to continue to work together in the East Bay while continuing to pursue their individual performance dreams. An “arts” void within the public school system eventually led them to create an extracurricular after school arts education program for Lamorinda elementary and middle schools. Students and parents alike were taken with their appeal, their approach and their talent, and before they knew it, they had developed a following.
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Local Boy Appears in S.F. ACT A Christmas Carol
Lafayette native Blake Levinson is 11 years old and attends St. Perpetua School where he is in the 6th grade. About a year ago, Blake took an acting class at the Young Conservatory at American Conservatory Theater (ACT) in San Francisco and was introduced to the possibility of trying out for the holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. He was chosen from over 300 current conservatory students to play the role of young Dick Wilkins, or Boy Dick, in the mainstage musical-infused production. The production will feature 29 young actors from the Young Conservatory ranging in age from 8-13. Performances will be held December 6th - 28th. To buy tickets visit https://tickets.act-sf.org/online.
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Growing up in Lafayette’s youth-sports oriented community can be isolating for kids who choose to focus on other interests. Athletic achievement is so often heralded with trophies, plaques, and team pictures in the newspaper. But where does one find a local outlet for extracurricular artistic endeavors? And how might such endeavors be acknowledged? Two local students think they may have the answer. Linnea Johansson, an eighth grader at Stanley Middle School, and Uma Unni, a freshman at Acalanes High School, have joined forces to create the Lafayette Youth Arts Society (LYAS), a place for Lafayette kids to showcase their writing and photography talents. The two girls have always loved writing, and they each started early. Linnae Johansson - left and Uma Unni - right. Johansson’s motivation came from an elementary school teacher who told
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Horses with the Heart to Heal
By Jody Morgan
Horses need more than even temperament, sound physique, and special training to successfully handle the arduous demands of therapeutic riding. They need the stamina to sustain long periods of carrying an unbalanced body or standing absolutely still. They have to be approachable from every angle and fearless in the face of flying objects and strange sounds. They need the heart to pass along their own wellbeing to humans struggling with a variety of physical, cognitive, and emotional problems. Inspired by polio-impaired equestrian Lis Hartel’s silver Alana Koski has recently introduced her daughter's Zone to SonRise programs. 14-year old Zone medal triumph in Grand Prix horse was a cutting horse until he lost one eye. dressage in the 1952 Olympics, Europeans developed the first therapeutic riding programs. Americans soon learned of the Volume VII - Number 12 benefits. Founded in 1969 as the North Ameri3000F Danville Blvd #117 can Riding for the Handicapped Association, Alamo, CA 94507 the organization now known as Professional Telephone (925) 405-6397 Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship Fax (925) 406-0547 editor@yourmonthlypaper.com International (PATH) currently embraces a variety of protocols aimed at enriching Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher lives and promoting excellence in equine- The opinions expressed herein belong to the writers, and do not necessarily reflect that of Laassisted therapies. Cerebral Palsy, Spina fayette Today. Lafayette Today is not responsible the content of any of the advertising herein, Bifida, ADHD/ADD, Bi-Polar Disorder, for nor does publication imply endorsement.
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