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By MELINDA SACKS / Special
to the Mercury News
victoria
Ramirez was on her way to becoming a statistic when she found Red
Ladder Theatre Company.
The San Jose teen had run away from a troubled home more than once,
spent time at Juvenile Hall and even had lived on the street for
two years, where she became addicted to drugs.
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Victoria Ramirez, 20, a member of the Red Ladder Theatre Company,
plays the role of a shark with Alicia Nelson, 8.
(Susanna
Frohman / Mercury News)
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Ramirez was a student at the Foundry School -- a last-chance alternative
school for at-risk kids -- when she attended her first Red Ladder
workshop. She found herself immediately drawn to the intense theater
games and the welcoming staff.
"You walk into the theater company and everybody is happy to see
you, even though they don't know you,'' says Ramirez, who is now
20, living on her own and working for Red Ladder, in addition to
holding down another full-time job.
Created in 1992 as a social outreach project of the San Jose Repertory
Theatre, Red Ladder uses theater to help disenfranchised teens deal
with their problems in a safe, supportive setting. Groups lead by
trained volunteers and paid facilitators help youth facing harsh
economic problems, special needs, racial discrimination, homelessness,
teen pregnancy and incarceration by engaging them in theater, music,
movement, writing and visual art. The goal is to build decision-making
and problem-solving skills.
"They don't tell you, "Do this, do that,' but they want to know
what is going on in a person's mind,'' says Ramirez. "They want
to know what you are thinking about and they ask how can you contribute.
It gave me a chance to be open and be myself. You can let go of
everything and let your spirit play again.''
That revelation led Ramirez to become a volunteer for Red Ladder
after she graduated. Recently, she was invited to join the staff.
Now she leads groups of young people in the same sort of exercises
that made such a difference in her life.
Once she saves up enough money, Ramirez hopes to study theater
and psychology in college. Today she is supporting herself and has
made amends with her mother, two accomplishments she says she never
thought would be within reach.
In the meantime, having a computer ($500)
would allow her to start taking some classes online. Gift certificates
($25
each) would pay for some small luxuries like clothes, which
are not in her budget.
Donations to Red Ladder ($50)
will help the non-profit purchase costumes, props and writing materials
so important to its unique program for troubled teens, autistic
and handicapped children -- and others like Ramirez. She calls the
theater company "a little safe haven where kids can be free from
all the stress in everyday life.''
For
more information on Red
Ladder Theatre, go to
www.sjrep.com.
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