OCTOBER 2015
Each year, Selah produces two original productions that regularly sell out. Additionally, Do’zia-Earley runs an outreach program in cooperation with the Warren County School System. The collective array of programming provides an opportunity for students of all ages—from preschool to high school—a chance to experience theater.
The small stage where those students experience theater has really become an oasis for those inclined to the dramatic life. Students from all counties in the Top of Virginia Region have participated
in Selah
programs, with many having had to drive to the D.C. Metro area to get involved in theatrical productions previously. “I’ve discovered that we need to be here,” “These
Do’zia-Earley relays. students often come
to call this place their ‘home,’ because it’s a place where
they can really produce great work that helps them deal with the pressures of growing up. It’s a place where they form their community and
they
meet others who understand how they use performance to express things and discuss things and, most importantly, to understand things that are new to these emerging adults.” That home was established in 2011 in Winchester but was relocated to Front Royal in 2013 after Do’zia-Earley recognized the county’s great need for theatrical education and programming.
Selah, a
fi scal nonprofi t, fi lls that need in a way that many program participants refer to as “life changing.”
Janet Jewell says that her
son has been experiencing that life changing participation for three years. “My son Ray loves it,” asserts Jewell. “As a parent, I love knowing that Tasha
opens up a means of expression in many different forms, making it accessible to kids and people of all different abilities and learning styles. It’s a safe, fun, welcoming environment and you can’t help but love it.” Selah parent Tammy Ruggiero agrees. “My daughter, Suna, says Selah is a place of good energy where she feels that people are nice to her and she feels accepted,” she says. Relaying that her daughter has “not always fi t in at school” and has been subjected to bullying from time-to-time, Ruggiero indicates that she asked her daughter to focus on an activity that would lift her self-esteem. “Because she thinks so highly of La Tasha and the Selah group she decided she wanted to put her focus on acting, comedy, and storytelling. I would say Selah is a place of acceptance and development.” Other parents indicate that
the program does more than simply
offer a place where
young adults explore and grow. “Not only is Selah a safe place for kids to express themselves, it is a theatre where kids who are serious about the arts can receive pre-professional training and nurture their dreams,” explains Dee Sparger, whose daughters Katherine Sparger (14) and Rita Sparger (11) have been involved with the program for several years. “I love that the kids have the opportunity to be fully involved in every aspect of theatre including writing, performing, stage management, and even arts promotion. I also love that La Tasha gets the kids out in the community, both to perform and to support other theatres and artists.” In addition to the Sparger, Ruggiero, and Jewell families, Do’zia-Earley has touched the lives of more than 600 young
27
people, including students from the Selah and
other programs with
which Do’zia-Earley has been involved. “This work speaks to my soul,” she confesses. “It’s important, and I am humbled to have been invited into the lives of so many amazing young people. I’m appreciative of the patrons who buy tickets to the shows and the sponsors who help us continue this work. The folks who support us get it. They understand that for some people, theater is as natural as breathing. It’s their way of fi nding themselves. It’s not a means of escaping reality; it’s a means of observing reality and fi nding meaning in the even the simplest of actions. That’s something to see, and I am thankful every day that I was called to this work.”
program
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