As you may have noticed, there’s a new face on the website. Cassie Welliver has purchased the Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Bothell, etc. territory from Lisa Loomis as of September 1, 2022. Lisa now manages a daycare in the Greenlake area, and occasionally teaches Drama Kids classes and musicals so thatshe won’t be a stranger!
From Cassie: One of my new teachers asked me ‘why did I choose to purchase a Drama Kids franchise?’ I said that there were three reasons: first, because as a kid in a dysfunctional family environment, the theater was a wonderland of positive relationships, meaningful work, and interesting characters who were all accepted as they are, and I wanted to provide that for new generations of children; second, because, after managing theaters and art centers for the past 25 years, I wanted to get back into acting and teaching; and third, because I wanted to provide teaching artists with employment that offers both meaningful work AND a livable wage. But even beyond those soul-level reasons, I love that Drama Kids is about the kids’ development and joy of learning when at play and how that leads to significant social and emotional development.
The model offered by Drama Kids is not to work towards the perfect performance, but rather, our special sauce is using drama techniques to help kids find their confident voice, learn friendship skills, and try on a variety of roles that they might not otherwise have the opportunity to inhabit, to think creatively and listen actively. In my estimation, every kid needs Drama Kids, but we are especially remarkable when presented with exceptional children who are behaviorally and/or cognitively challenged. For… example, I had a little girl join my musical theater camp who was diagnosed with a selective mute, she only spoke to her parents. She looked absolutely miserable every day, and barely whispered a word, but her mother said that every evening she would sing the entire musical, everyone’s parts, loudly and joyfully through the house! We continued to work with her in a few more camps and classes, and this year she actually had lines that she was able to say out loud to an audience! Frankly, it’s stories like this, that happens all the time, that kept me going during the pandemic.
No matter what obstacles I face, or what mood I’m in, I find joy in our classes
and camps, and it is my sincere wish that all the kids who go through our program also find that level of happiness. Feel free to send me an email to let me know how we can improve, or what additional offerings you’d like to see. Together, we will make a dramatic difference for this next generation!