Moorpark College is making sure that theatre is an art that can be enjoyed by all ages by bringing a new type of theatre to the campus. Last Thursday, the students of the Theatre for Young Audiences M52 course presented, The Internet Is Distract- Oh Look, A Kitten!

The purpose of the performance was to remind people to be mindful of their use of the Internet and media devices. While these things can be very useful tools for education and entertainment, they can also become major distractions as well as hindrances in our daily lives.

During the Spring 2017 semester, Moorpark College added a new course to the Theatre Arts program called Theatre for Young Audiences M52A. This course is designed to teach Theatre students to perform to capture the attention of younger audiences. The aim of this course is to bring Theatre Arts to younger audiences and teach college students the importance of communication and collaboration.

Due to the fact that the performance was presented by the students of the Theatre for Young Audiences class, significant time and effort was put in by the students to in order to deliver a quality show. The students of the course prepared and rehearsed all semester leading up to multiple local performances around the community such as senior living centers, preschools, elementary schools, middle schools and Moorpark College.

“We did not have a traditional audition process because basically when you sign up for the class you are automatically in the show,” said Suzanne Fagan, Co-Director. “We sat in a circle and read the script a couple of times.”

Fagan and Moira MacDonald, Co-Directors of the play managed to make sure that the performance delivered an important message to the audience in a very humorous and light way. The audience watched Gillian Mansfield and Rachel Rysso play the double casted role of Micah, the main character. Micah was a high school student struggling to finish her essay on The Great Gatsby due to the multitude of distractions provided by the Internet and social media.

The performance incorporated many popular websites and platforms that contribute to the distracting element of the Internet such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, Wikipedia, Shmoop, YouTube and Clickbait sites. Each of these sites were incorporated in very creative ways. Facebook, Google, Amazon, Wikipedia and Clickbait were personified and given their own characters. The characters were meant to capture the essence of each of the websites through their costume and on-stage personalities.

Viewers such as 19-year-old Psychology major Alya Mezzi, enjoyed the performance while gaining awareness of the effects of the Internet.

“I think it’s very important for children to learn the importance of social media and the internet in popular culture and how dangerous it can be if you’re not careful,” said Mezzi.