THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 10, 1994 TAG: 9411080130
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Four-year-old Christopher Simons missed the rehearsals of the Clubhouse Kids the week before, but on this day he is ready to recite his part.
As fast as he can, in a little more than a whisper, this wide-eyed preschooler from Norfolk's Christian Academy spills forth his handful of lines for an upcoming Christmas program.
After he's finished, the boy smiles a shy, yet satisfied, grin.
``That was fun,'' Christopher told a bystander. ``I like to tell my part.''
For Christopher and about 50 other kids like him, being a Clubhouse Kid means they get together each week with their friends to sing, dance and act in plays with ``good, Christian morals.''
``I haven't met any parent who doesn't want their children to learn these values,'' said the program's director, Yvonne Rice, a former schoolteacher and nun who created the Clubhouse Kids in Florida 16 years ago.
``American kids have no real role models . . . but they see themselves in these plays we do,'' Rice said. ``We do shows about race relations, adoption, a new baby coming into their home, dealing with the elderly, child abuse, disabilities. . . . These are subjects that touch kids' hearts.''
Rice established the non-denominational group after overhearing her two boys, then 4 and 5, talking with friends in their backyard playhouse. She turned their innocent prattling into plays. After giving the neighborhood kids a few acting and singing lessons, Rice began putting on plays throughout Florida.
The kids were a huge success.
Eventually, Rice and her troupe began producing award-winning TV shows for Florida public television.
After remarrying, Rice moved to Chesapeake two years ago to be with her new husband and formed a Hampton Roads chapter of the Clubhouse Kids out of the Rivercrest Community Center in River Walk. Since then, dozens of parents from Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake have signed their kids up to participate.
``Some kids come in here at first, and they're so shy,'' said Rice's son, David Cummings, now 22, who helps her coordinate the program. ``They come in here, and we build their confidence right up. We start them right off, singing and dancing.''
``She will even write a part especially for certain children,'' added Sandy Jung, the children's pastor at Bayview Baptist Church in Norfolk. Jung's daughter, 13-year-old Elizabeth Morris, has been a Clubhouse Kid since 1986.
``Everyone gets to participate, no matter what,'' she added.
The cost for 13 weeks of training is $139.
The kids, aged 2 to 16, regularly perform throughout the community at special events like last month's Christian Business Expo at the Virginia Beach Pavilion and the ``Rise Up'' rally in Suffolk in September.
They're also featured the last Saturday of each month in their own show on WAVY-TV.
On Nov. 18, Rice and the kids will present their Christmas program at Kempsville Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach. Featured will be vignettes on the homeless, the Little Shepherd Boy and other seasonal subjects.
The program will include dinner. Tickets are $14 for adults, and $5 for children under 12. Reservations are necessary. Dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m., and again at 6:30. The show begins at 7:30. For more information, call 523-0342. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY C. KNAPP
Four-year-old Christopher Simons rehearses with the Clubhouse Kids.
by CNB