South Bay arts institution gives children onstage opportunities
SAN JOSE -- Children's Musical Theater San Jose kicks off their 56th season this fall with children of all ages starring in a variety of shows beginning in November and continuing into the spring.
The theater has a long tradition of bringing families together and finding a place for everyone who auditions, giving them opportunities they might not otherwise be able to pursue.
"I always worry about young people who have this seed inside of them. And the fact is, can we help water them so they can find their true destiny," said Kevin Hauge, the artistic director of CMT San Jose.
Hauge has been with the organization for 29 years, including when they moved into their new creative arts center in 2021. It was in the middle of the pandemic, but the challenges of COVID-19 were not anything they hadn't dealt with before when it comes to distance learning.
"What I take away is, if you look in some of the pictures, you'll see people that are young. And if you really know what you're looking at, you'll see them 10 years later. And you can really remember the journey that they've taken," Hauge told KPIX while walking down the main hallway of the creative arts center.
An in-house team works hard all year to make sure the productions maintain a high standard of quality with each performance. Staff are already working on sets for the next show premiering later this fall, while auditions are scheduled for later this month.
"It's sometimes weeks or months before I see that, so you just kind of grind through it. But it's a lot of fun to work every day with your hands," said Terry Swartz with CMT San Jose.
Decades of successful shows have graduated a number of impressive alumni from the theater, including some who have made it to Broadway. But that is never the goal for Hauge, who says the mission is simply to help their students become better members of the community.
"We are every bit as proud of our doctors and our lawyers and our architects," said Hauge. "When I look at this wall what I see is people that have gained confidence, and skills, and have gone on to great careers in just about every field you could possibly imagine."
To learn more, visit https://www.cmtsj.org/.
