THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 16, 1994 TAG: 9406150122
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI LEWIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940616 LENGTH: Long
In May, they packed their belongings, boarded a van to the Richmond Airport, and found themselves in the Bahamas not long afterward. It was the first time any of the children had been out of this country. Many had never before been out of the state, and for some it was the first time out of Norfolk.
{REST} Talent. That's what propelled these children to the nest of islands off the Florida coast where they were treated like celebrities.
The children are members of the Bowling Green Players, a repertory group made up of children 8 to 16 years old, who live in Bowling Green. They sing, they dance, and they do improvisation.
The Players group was created as a vehicle to relate positive messages through the performing arts by children and for children, said trainer and director Renee Williams-Walke. The group is sponsored by the Tenant Management Corp. of the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
It was a performance at the Wells Theatre in August of 1993, as part of a program featuring the Marie Brooks Dance Troupe of New York, that brought the Players some international attention, along with their performance before the International Club at Norfolk State University. The club served as a liaison between the group and the Bahamas.
To finance the trip, the Players accepted donations from local companies, churches and organizations, the NRHA, and from Williams-Walke herself. They also sold candy, popsicles, held teen dances and ``Fun Days,'' and sponsored a Grandma's Attic sale.
In the Bahamas, the talented youths and the adults who accompanied them were met by the director of the Ministry of Tourism and given T-shirts.
During the three-day visit, they performed on television in Freeport, performed on a cruise ship, and taped footage for a promotional video at the International Bazaar. Stories were twice written about them for the newspaper.
Williams-Walke said that residents and tourists flocked around them as they were taping at the bazaar. The children were dressed as the performers they impersonate in the group's Motown Review: Tina Turner, Patti LaBelle, the Supremes and the Temptations. During the taping, the kids took on the personae of the real performers, while the merchants reacted to them like they were the real stars.
For fun, the group went snorkeling by a coral reef and tried out that bargining skills during a shopping trip. LaToya Mason, who plays Patti LaBelle, was captivated by the clear blue water, the white sand and the tall trees.
The trip, she said, ``was the chance of a lifetime.''
The Bowling Green group has been featured in a segment of ``Rainbow,'' a TV production of the CBN Family Channel, and has performed at the Wells Theatre, the Tidewater Dinner Theatre, and at conferences, schools and community centers. Recently, they appeared with former principal Joe Clark - subject of the movie ``Lean on Me'' - at a anti-drug rally in Norfolk. Their anti-drug video, ``Freedom of Choice,'' won the National HUD Award for at-risk youth performing arts production.
Williams-Walke, the group's trainer and director, is a professional singer, dancer and choreographer. She has appeared in the movies ``Navy SEALs,'' and ``Mother's Day'' in addition to Cox Cable productions, industry films and live theater. She was also the winner of the Leontyne Price vocal competition.
As an independent contractor, Williams-Walke was hired by the NRHA Youth Executive Council to start the group. ``They were looking for an innovative way to reach youth,'' she said.
Looking back to four years ago, when the group was formed, Williams-Walke said that she was amazed at the amount of talent that she found among the children in Bowling Green. Talent, she said, that ``would not see training like theirs because they wouldn't be able to afford it. The kids were hungry for instruction.
``These kids could really sing. The kids who couldn't had acting abilities.''
Everyone who showed up for the initial auditions was given the opportunity to appear in the video, ``Freedom of Choice.''
Membership in the Bowling Green Players is fluid. It is open to all the children who live in the neighborhood, but they must audition for certain parts. There are about 25 active members now, but that number is expected to blossom to 40 or 50 during the summer, and than drop during the fall.
The players rehearse at Norfolk State University and the Bowling Green Community Center. Williams-Walke picks the children up and drives them to the rehearsal site in her van. She is known to the kids as ``Miss Renee.''
Many members of the Players have been participating from the very beginning, such as 13-year-old Donna Spann, who has also auditioned for ``Star Search.''
Williams-Walke's partner in many of her ventures is Anke Otto-Wolf. They have a production company called the AnRen Team. Both have a history of working with disadvantaged youth. They met through a mutual business acquaintance and decided to combine their talents and social concerns to create videos, scripts, books and manuels. Otto-Wolf said that she and Williams-Walke hope to bring ``beauty and gentleness to the lives of the children.''
And she believes that for the children of Bowling Green, Williams-Walke has already done that.
``She's made a lifelong impact on these children,'' she said.
by CNB