One by one the students file into the Sauganash Park Theater amid a flurry of hugs, hellos and high fives. They make their way through the theater to a small but quaint-looking stage.
“Just gimme a push,” says a 1st grader to a 3rd grader as she struggles to hoist herself up on the stage.
“Will someone pleeeease turn up the lights!” roars a voice from behind the red velvet curtains.
“I need a script-anyone here got an extra script?” shouts a 7th grader from the center stage.
It is late afternoon, and rehearsal is about to begin for about 50 students participating in an after-school theater program sponsored by the Chicago Park District. The students, ages 4 to 17, come from Northwest Side schools and meet once a week at the Sauganash Park Theater, 5861 N. Kostner Ave.
“They’re a great bunch of kids,” drama instructor Deborah Maddox says. “They’re every teacher’s dream. They challenge me and give me inspiration. They make me laugh and make me cry. They’re bright, talented and loving individuals who make my job very rewarding.”
But according to her students, Maddox brings a lot more to the program than just her ability to teach.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret about Debbie,” says Hugo Rosado, 17. “She’s the best there is. She’s my coach, my critic, my counselor-but mostly she’s my friend. She’s one of the coolest teachers around. Without her, there wouldn’t be a theater program. She’s the reason we’re all here.”
“Hugo’s right,” chimes in Cristy DeBacker, 14. “Before Debbie, I didn’t care much about theater. TV and videos were my thing. She showed me how to make theater fun. She’s taught me things like acting, directing and building stage sets. She tells me when I do good work and when I need help. She makes me feel good-like I’m doing something right.”
“Yeah, and she does everything like a pro,” adds Vincent Mallari, 17. “She directs. She makes costumes. She stays awake all night building sets. She’s taught me things about acting that most kids my age have never even heard of.”
“I think she’s funny,” George Coologeorgen, 13, says flatly. “She makes me laugh even when I don’t want to.”
Maddox, 34, was born and grew up in Chicago Heights. She graduated from Bloom High School there in 1978 and has studied theater at DePaul University in Chicago. She is a graduate of the Players Workshop of the Second City Theatre in Chicago. She is single and lives on Chicago’s North Side.
She was hired in 1991 by the Park District to teach theater classes at Calvin Park on the North Side. In November 1993 she was transferred to Sauganash Park to develop a similar program.
She also teaches theater on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at Wilson Park, on the Northwest Side. During the summer she is house manager for the Park District’s Theater on the Lake at Fullerton Parkway and Lake Shore Drive.
“I remember the day I got reassigned,” Maddox says. “I said `Sauga-what?’ I’d never heard of the park. So I looked at a map and jumped in my car to check it out.”
An hour later and a quarter tank of gas lower, Maddox abandoned her search.
“Suffice it to say, it was not an auspicious start,” she says with a chuckle. “I drove around in circles until I finally stopped to call the park. I said, `Uh, Hi. Can you help me? I’m your new drama instructor, and I’m very lost.’
“The person on the phone just laughed. She said most people have a hard time finding the park because it’s one of Chicago’s little-known treasures.”
The park, in the heart of the Sauganash neighborhood, covers nearly four acres. It includes a fieldhouse, an assembly hall with a theater, two baseball fields, four tennis courts, a playground and an ice-skating rink.
The theater, reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting with its picturesque stage, shiny dark hardwood floor and vaulted beam ceiling, dates to the early 1920s.
“It’s a beautiful little theater and perfect for the kind of plays we like to do,” Maddox says. “I fell in love with it the minute I saw it.”
Last season, the group performed Thorton Wilder’s “Our Town” before a packed audience for three consecutive nights in April.
“It was a small miracle,” Maddox says. “It was such an ambitious project, but the kids really pulled it off-and without a single glitch.”
Even so, opening night jitters were nothing compared to a rehearsal two weeks into production, Maddox says.
“It was the rehearsal from hell,” she says, shaking her head.
“Our adult theater group was rehearsing a play at the same time that the kids were. They were using a starter pistol loaded with blanks as one of their props and, of course, I didn’t want something like that lying around. So I placed it inside the piano thinking it was safe there, away from the kids.
“Well, one little boy found it while my back was turned and fired it thinking it was a toy gun. There was a loud blast and everyone fell to the ground-including the little boy.
“My heart started racing and I thought, `Oh My God! Who’s shooting at my children?’ Then I remembered the starter pistol. I looked over at the little boy-his face completely white-and I wanted to kick myself for being so stupid.”
After regaining her composure, Maddox apologized to the children and then launched into a 30-minute lecture on the danger of guns.
“Eventually, I was able to laugh about it, but it took me a long time,” she says with a sigh. “The kids and I both learned a big lesson that day.”
“Some people just have a way with kids, and Debbie is one of them,” says Reenee Nardi, the park supervisor. “She’s a lot of fun to be around, and she communicates with the kids on their level. She puts her heart and soul into the theater program, and that’s what makes it so special. It’s not just another after-school activity to keep the kids busy.”
The theater program runs from September through May and is divided into six seven-week sessions. Classes are offered from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. Class level is based on age and ability.
“Theater can be a wonderful self-confidence builder, or it can destroy an already fragile ego,” Maddox says. “It can have a tremendous impact on a child’s self-esteem.
“I don’t hold anyone back, and I don’t force anyone into a level (he’s) not comfortable with. If someone is in over (his) head, I’ll step in because the last thing I want is to scar (someone) for life.
“But more often than not, I offer the kids a challenge-whether it be a role, a chance to direct or a specific responsibility. I let them know I support them and that I believe in them.”
Aside from classes, the group performs about 10 in-house plays each year and one that is open to the public.
A Student Directors Series is offered to older students who want to learn to direct. A Children’s Touring Company is expected to begin in March for students interested in performing at local grade schools, nursing homes and community events. Adult theater classes are offered throughout the year.
“Working with kids is very gratifying,” Maddox says. “The best part is they trust and respect me. Every day they welcome me into their community. They open my mind and help me see the world as they see it.”
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For more information on the Sauganash Park Theater, call 312-545-9113.
