Carmel Magazine

inside that building," Higginbotham recalls. All the "Peter Pan" sets had been struck and stored and the troupe would not have access to the venue until the morning of the performance. Worse, the youthful cast had learned the show on a stage with a 20-foot proscenium and would perform on one with a 60-foot prosceni- um…without rehearsal. "We pulled it off," Higginbotham says. And that led to annual productions performed by and for school children throughout Monterey County. Higginbotham founded the nonprofit ARIEL Theatrical Inc. in the mid-1980s. Although during one year, more than 17,000 children saw ARIEL productions throughout the county at Sherwood Hall, Sunset Center and school audi- toriums, the organization had no permanent home. "We rehearsed in garages, driveways and barns—anywhere we could," Higginbotham says. "The kids would never see a performance space until the day of the show." In 1999, following a grass-roots fundraising effor t, ARIEL purchased the former Ford's Department Store building in Salinas, brought the earthquake-damaged building up to code and finally had a stage of its own. Though work is ongoing, the facility has enabled Higginbotham and ARIEL to further their unique mission. As stated on the ARIEL website: "At ARIEL, we feel our finest productions are not our plays but the development of responsible young people who come together in a positive, collaborative spirit to learn, perform and share experiences that they will carry with them for a lifetime." So, at ARIEL, it might not necessarily be true that "The play's the thing." "What matters to me is giving kids expo- sure to a context in which treating people respectfully is the norm," Higginbotham says. "Some children have it at home, some don't. ARIEL is a place where it's safe to behave well, a place where kids feel safe, where they can learn and grow." Higginbotham is highly dedicated and pas- sionate about her work at ARIEL Theatrical. "If through their experience here there's one child whose life is different because they hear they don't have to be defined by their circumstances, that they can choose who they want to be and how they respond, I've done my job." Upcoming ARIEL performances include a brand- new production of "A Charlie Brown Christmas," the popular holiday television cartoon that has been recently adapted for the stage. To learn more, go to www.arieltheatrical.org. (Top) "Little Red Hen" is among the beloved children's musicals presented by ARIEL. (Bottom) Gail Higginbotham portrays the White Witch in "The Chronicles of Narnia." C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 4 1 4 5 Photos: Kelli Uldall

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