Most of us know the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts as a professional theater company that puts on consistently impressive plays and musicals that are usually, though not always, geared toward a theater-minded adult audience.

Behind the scenes though, many PCPA professionals are working hard to bring the locally-based talent to children around the state of California. This year, under the direction of Outreach Director Leo Cortez, PCPA is implementing changes to make its outreach program more effective.

The crux of PCPA?s Outreach Tour program are its touring plays, offered to schools throughout the state. Unlike most of the PCPA?s performances staged at Santa Maria?s Marian Theatre or Solvang?s Festival Theatre, this program is designed to travel, and has made its way to Monterey, Thousand Oaks and the Mojave Desert.

According to Cortez, the most exciting change this year are the two bilingual shows being offered.

BThe shows are designed so beautifully that the two languages are interwoven,C he said, explaining the plays appeal to both Spanish and English speakers 8 and anyone who is monolingual, in either language, won?t miss anything.

The first bilingual performance is BThe Song of the Oak,C or BEl Canto del Roble.C The musical, written by Roy Conboy, follows a boy named Gustavo whose disrespectful behavior toward a magic oak tree leads to chaos for the ecological system, and leaves Gustavo to find the tree?s missing magical leaves.

The second bilingual play is BAzteca to Aesop,C and was written by Cortez and Lorenzo Aragon. In the play, two storytellers use Aztec myths and Greek fables to bring legendary heroes to life.

More than once this year, Cortez has noticed a Spanish-speaking student translating chunks of a play to an English-speaking student while they watch. Seeing that interaction, Cortez said, has made his efforts more than worthwhile.

BThe experience of this kind of art form just has an immediate impact on children,C said Cortez.

He knows first-hand how theater can change a child?s life.

Cortez, who grew up as the child of Spanish-speaking field workers, said the first theater he ever saw was a PCPA outreach performance of BThe Emperor?s New ClothesC put on at Fairlawn Elementary when he was in first grade.

The first time he saw a performance at a theater was also at PCPA, when his junior high school took a field trip there to see BYou?re a Good Man Charlie Brown.C

BI knew at that time I wanted to do what I was seeing on that stage,C said Cortez.

Cortez began acting in high school and then became a theater student with PCPA, which marked the beginning of his formative training. From there, he attended Webster University in St. Louis, Mo., and became the first in his family to receive a college degree.

BMy heart is very near and dear to this program,C said Cortez.

Another major change for PCPA?s outreach program is the number of plays offered. For the past five years, PCPA has offered two titles, one for kindergarten through 6th graders, and one for seventh through 12th graders. This year, they will offer four titles, and will reach out to broader age groups. BWhich is a huge leap,C said Cortez.

BThe Song of the OakC (for grades K through 6) and BShakespearienceC (for grades 7 through 12) will be presented now through Dec. 21, while BLifeboatC (for grades 2 through 12) and BAzteca to AesopC (for grades K to 6) will be presented from Feb. 6 to May 18.

One of Cortez? favorites is BLifeboat,C which he saw at a theater festival in Scotland.

BI just could not get it out of my head,C he said. BLifeboat,C by Nicola McCartney, recalls the story of a ship that was carrying 90 young evacuees escaping war-torn Britain in the wake of World War II. The ship was torpedoed and sank on its trek, and only 11 children survived. The play is the story of two of the little girls onboard.

The play offers a message about children persevering in the face of disaster, which Cortez sees as timely, considering the state of the world today. Cortez emphasized that the play offers teachers an opportunity to broach the subject with their students, too.

Also currently offered through PCPA?s outreach program is BShakespearience,C an interactive workshop that give students an understanding of Shakespeare?s plays.

Each performance includes a post-performance discussion with the actors, and teacher?s guides are provided online to help teachers with pre- and post-performance activities.

While perhaps the most visible part of PCPA?s outreach program, the touring plays are not the only piece of it.

For example, PCPA is in the midst of a pilot program with Arellanes Elementary School and Arellanes Junior High School called BPCPA in the Schools.C

Through the program, PCPA staff visits classrooms to conduct a series of curriculum-based workshops that focus on writing. Students create poetry, creative writing and journal entries in response to questions prompted by PCPA. The students? work is then taken back to PCPA, where artists develop a script from it and return to the classroom to help the students stage it and present it for their school.

Cortez hopes the program will inspire children to write and to be confident in their abilities.

BThere is value to what they write, and we can see that,C said Cortez.

Cortez has high hopes for the PCPA in the Schools program, and for the rest of his outreach efforts.

BThe opportunity here is great,C said Cortez. BI can?t help but think its going to be exciting.C

For more information on the PCPA?s outreach program, contact Leo Cortez at 928-7731, Ext. 4108, or pcpaout reach@pcpa.org. To learn more about other PCPA outreach efforts, visit www.pcpa.org and click on the Beducation and outreachC link.

Emily Welly can be reached at 739-2220 or ewelly@santamaria times.com.