FESTIVAL FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES AT CAL STATE L.A.

On the surface, a $3 ticket would seem to make the 13th annual Theatre Festival for Young Audiences’ mixed bag of offerings a good gamble. But only a few hundred patrons were willing to take the chance at Cal State L.A. over the weekend.

Attendance was so sparse that three food vendors packed up hot dogs and popcorn and went home at mid-morning of the first day. There was no wait at the makeup and puppet-making booths, and bright balloons floated forlornly at their posts.

Though the quality varied during the two days of college, community and professional children’s theater sponsored by the Southern California Educational Theatre Assn., several mimes, puppeteers, storytellers and theater groups offered ample entertainment.

For excellence, the Mark Taper Forum’s Improvisational Theatre Project’s “One Thousand Cranes” topped the list. Colin Thomas’ sensitive play deals with nuclear war anxiety and the project’s production is exquisite.

Any chance to see Carl Weintraub’s innovative We Tell Stories troupe is welcome. Usually seen in public schools, this company brings books to life, using wit, imagination and an old trunk full of props, to promote reading.

Kids were delighted to be invited on stage to take part in Lewis Carroll’s “The Jabberwocky,” playing “slithy toves,” “mome raths” and “borogoves.”

Another not-to-be-missed group, the L.A. Moving Van & Puppet Company, charmed Sunday’s audience with wacky Martians, cardboard creations and its beautiful Asian folk tale, “Tien Lee and the Fish of Gold.”

San Diego State University proved that a college show doesn’t have to mean amateur hour, its fine production of “Step on a Crack” doing justice to Susan Zeder’s thoughtful drama. Sharon Oppenheimer’s staging and the cast’s true performances, with Jeannette Thomas first-rate as a disturbed and unhappy little girl, brought clarity to the emotional issue of step-parents and step-children.

Bakersfield College’s production of the Armand Harris “Androcles and the Lion” and Cal State Fullerton’s “Dream Weaver,” were mixed, but scored well when it came to design.

Costume designer Gwynne Osborne created a nightmarish monster in “Dream Weaver” and the commedia dell’arte style of “Androcles” was enhanced by set designer Larry Starrh and costumer Linda Burgess.

Synthaxis Theatre Company’s “Stars in Her Eyes” has had problems in the past, but the show was at its best on the Music Hall stage, a space that did justice to Robert Garrett’s lovely score and the cast’s fine voices.

Cal State L.A.’s “Moving Dance Images” was an entertaining, witty demonstration of dance, well put together and creatively executed.

The Bilingual Foundation for the Arts’ “Young Moctezuma,” written by Estela Scarlata and Carmen Zapata, aims to deliver many messages, from reverence for nature to being friends. But the pace is erratic, the humor is forced, the actors shout their lines--the whole production needs to slow down and take a breath.

Overcoming the obstacles of handicap and unacceptance, Theatre Unlimited, a group of mentally and physically disabled actors, did its own version of “Alice in Wonderland.” Sweet-faced Isabel Cordova was Alice, coping with some of the wackiest characters ever to inhabit Wonderland. Bruck Campbell’s Mad Hatter was a kick.

A plethora of puppets was literally on hand, with the Sierra Puppet Theatre, the Puppets Plus Traveling Theatre and Teatro de Los Puppets bringing legends and history lessons to the stage.

Other groups performing were South Coast Repertory’s Educational Touring Program, Storybook Theatre, Cal State L.A.’s Sunrise Youth Theatre, the L.A. Troupe’s “Burn and Safety Show”, the Jay Miller Mime Theatre, the Firebird Theatre Company, the Imagination Company and Artists Unlimited.