In the butterfly world, emerging from a chrysalis marks the beginning of a whole new journey as a stronger, mature and more confident being. Emerging from the chrysalis means a butterfly is ready for flight and bold new experiences.
Chrysalis Youth Theatre stays true to its symbolic name by helping young actors grow and transform on the stage and in their personal lives.
“Chrysalis provides an opportunity for [the kids] to discover who they are in a nonjudgmental environment,” says Steven Brown, the theater group’s 23 year-old founder. “They can really just be who they are and explore and discover new things about themselves and other people.”
Brown, a Sunnyvale resident, founded the Cupertino-based theater group in 2012. He and his actors are currently working hard in preparation for a production of “Beauty and the Beast.”
For Brown, Chrysalis Youth Theatre is a culmination of his own personal journey toward new paths in life. Before Chrysalis was formed, Brown’s life wasn’t always a happy one.
“I had gone through a very serious struggle with depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, which kind of destroyed my life,” he says. “When it got to the point of I didn’t want to live anymore, that’s when I really realized I needed a change.”
From his early to mid-teens, Brown struggled to find his place and faced myriad of challenges that many adolescents wouldn’t dream of confronting.
“The OCD got so bad that I couldn’t walk down the hall. It would take me a half hour to walk down the hall because I had all of these obsessions,” he says. “That got really, really bad and I made a lot of dumb choices and had a lot of guilt. I saw no future for myself except death or jail or something like that. I just needed a change more than anything.”
Brown’s parents struggled with finding ways to help him during those difficult years.
“It was beyond anything that my wife or I felt equipped to deal with and was easily the most difficult part of our lives at that time,” says Steven’s father Larry Brown. “There were some days that all he could do was lie on the couch. He was effectively saying to his life, ‘I can’t.”
Brown feels that a higher power helped him rise up from his struggles.
“I went and saw a movie called the “Ultimate Gift.” I’m a strong Christian, and I really believe that God worked a miracle on my life that night,” he recalls. “About half way through that movie, my obsessions, for the most part, completely disappeared and mostly never came back. That was really the turning point there.”
Soon after, Brown’s life and motivations began to head in a brighter and unexpected di
rection. At age 17 he was encouraged to try out for the fall production of “Pride and Prejudice” at The King’s Academy in Sunnyvale. He auditioned and was cast in the role of Mr. Wickham, the sometimes villainous and unscrupulous character in the Jane Austen classic.
The role was quite the departure from Brown’s true self.
“All of it was so totally not me at the time,” Brown says. “That was kind of crazy because I had always been shy and awkward and not really dramatic or anything. The thought of standing in front of a bunch of people, acting, was crazy.”
The theater environment introduced Brown to a whole new world.
“Walking into that room the first day, everybody was so welcoming, so friendly, just so inclusive and loving and accepting,” Brown says. “That environment and that unconditional love, so to speak, that really turned my life around. [It was] a place where I didn’t have to worry about fitting into anybody’s idea of what is good, or right or special.”
From that philosophy and his Christian faith, he gained inspiration to start a youth theater group and has since been the director for eight productions since 2012.
According to Brown, about half of the actors at Chrysalis are Christian, but sometimes the themes and messages of a production are relayed as Christian-based values and morals for the children to contemplate while in their roles. The experience can sometimes be thought-provoking.
Fourteen-year-old Whitney Moore, who is playing Belle in the “Beauty and the Beast,” said that Brown uses a unique approach to encourage getting into character.
“He really likes us to get our own interpretation of the role,” she says. “It was really unique to try to really understand your role rather than a director just telling you what to do.”
Brown encourages the actors to use this method because he uses it himself when preparing for a role.
“Doctor Craven in ‘Secret Garden’ is my favorite role I’ve played,” Brown says. “He was more complex because he was not just a villain but he had this unfulfilled love. I kind of tapped into my past experience for that. It’s a very healthy outlet.”
Helping the actors develop their stage presence and character skills feeds into the overall educational experience of helping the kids come into their own.
“We want to provide a chrysalis environment in which the kids have a safe, healthy place where they can develop into that next stage,” Brown says. “It was drawing from my experience where theater provided that for me, going from this vulnerable person to developing self confidence and belief and being able to perform in front of lots of people.”
Larry Brown says that through improvisation exercises and confidence games, his son teaches the young actors not only how to have fun and put on a good performance but also valuable life lessons.
“How do you react when life doesn’t go right? And how to you adjust and improvise and learn from situations?” he asks. “One of the beauties of Chrysalis is that he’s teaching these kids resilience. I watch it happening and think, ‘I wish someone would have done this with me as a kid.'”
Actors come to Chrysalis from all across the Bay Area, though most are from the Santa Clara Valley. Generally, cast members are 8 to 20 years old.
“Theater is my passion. Chrysalis gives so many opportunities to pursue that passion,” says Whitney Moore. “Everybody is so supportive and you don’t have to worry about being judged or politics or cliques or anything here. It’s really great.”
Kevin Jasper, a 21-year-old theater major at San Jose State University, has been in three Chrysalis productions including “Le Miserables,” “Peter Pan” and now “Beauty and the Beast.” He is also serving as staging manager for the current production.
“I came to Chrysalis with barely any singing experience and not very much acting experience,” he says. “And then they cast me in singing and acting roles with dancing, too.”
Jasper has played several lead villain roles for Chrysalis now, including Captain Hook and Gaston in “Beauty and the Beast.”
“Chrysalis is a very positive environment,” Jasper says. “It’s hard to find that in theater companies. It’s very big on everyone getting along. It’s not competitive; it’s not hateful. It’s always very positive.”
Brown’s younger sister Melissa is playing the unique role of an “opera-singing wardrobe” in “Beauty and the Beast” and says that the theater group offers an unbeatable experience.
“I love the feeling when you step on stage and you just get this thrill when you’re performing. It’s an amazing feeling,” she said. “In Chrysalis, everyone can come and just be themselves. There’s no bullying, nothing like that. We’re pretty much one big family.”
Above all, Brown wants the kids to walk away from Chrysalis with their heads held high.
“I really want them to take away the life skills more than anything, being confident in who they are and trying new things and conquering obstacles to be that happy healthy functional person,” he said. “I think it’s really important for kids to know that they are special, they are talented and they can do things that seem impossible.”
It’s showtime!
Chrysalis is performing “Beauty and the Beast Jr.” at the Anthony Soto Theater, 701 Vine St. in San Jose on May 2, 3, 9 and 10. Saturday performances begin at 7 p.m. and Sunday matinees begin at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $10 for children, $15 for students and seniors and $20 for adults, not including a service fee. Purchase tickets at brownpapertickets.com or at the door for an additional $5.
For more information, visit chrysalisyouththeater.org.
