THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 24, 1994 TAG: 9406220156
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 2P EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLENE CASON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940624 LENGTH: Medium
According to Burt, many children and teenagers can identify with those in her play, ``Hidden Treasure.''
{REST} The dramatic play, geared to children 10 and older, deals with a teenage girl who is the butt of jokes at her school. It includes a play within a play, ``The Cookie Nobody Wanted.''
Proclaim Productions, Burt's year-old theater company, presented ``Hidden Treasure'' in four performances earlier this month at the Virginia Beach Center for the Arts. Debby Burt wrote the play last September, and rehearsals for it began in April. The cast includes 29 children and adults, but 25 cast members are under 17.
The company's goal is to ``offer a Christian alternative to secular programs,'' according to Don Burt, 41. He and his wife said they want to provide an outreach to homeschoolers and Christian schools.
``We want to exercise our faith, and show our faith. We hope to train people, to reintroduce drama back into the church, so it will be a part of religion like it was in the early days,'' said Don Burt.
He, a director and drama teacher, and she, an actress and writer, have been teaching acting, primarily to children, for the past two years. The recent production was really more of a recital for those students than an auditioned play, they said.
They charged admission for the play, and also took up a ``love offering.'' Proceeds went to two missions, one in Virginia Beach and one in Israel.
They hope to present ``Hidden Treasure'' at the Arts Center again next spring. In the meantime, they will take parts of the 90-minute play to area churches.
``A lot of teenagers can relate to the play because of something in their past,'' said Julie Cruz, the 16-year-old Greenbrier Christian Academy student who plays Mandi, the main character.
``I think that type of hurt is pretty common, but they don't show it. They put up a good front. They just need to know that inside themselves is a very important person,'' she said.
Julie plays an 18-year-old high school student who is the mother of a 4-year-old child. Her character, Mandi, lives with her grandmother because her parents abandoned her when they found out she was pregnant. The other students think Mandi's child is her little sister. They ridicule the teenager because she rides a motorcycle, wears clothes from the thrift store and ``acts tough,'' a ploy to hide her pain.
Debby Burt said she wrote ``Hidden Treasure'' to ``reach out to people who are hurting. I wanted people to look beyond appearances, to see the treasure in others. It has certainly been healing for me, and I think it has for other people, too.''
The Burts' 12-year-old daughter, Naomi, and their 8-year-old son, Ari, appear in the play. The family lives in Kempsville, and they are members of Beth Messiah Synagogue, which meets in the Landstown Community Chapel. by CNB