A DAY IN THE PARK

Northridge Community Center

18300 Lemarsh St., Northridge

Size: Four acres (attached to lower park section of 24 acres).

Facilities: 660-seat auditorium, featuring a specially made theater and stage.

Staff hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays to Fridays.

Telephone: (818) 349-7341.

Nestled at the top of bustling Northridge Park, the Northridge Community Center is sometimes in a world of its own, according to its director, Judy Taylor. Usually it’s a world of music, dance, and theatrics that rivals any program in the Valley.

The center’s summer theater has put together full-length musicals for the past 14 years and this summer did “Pajama Game.” The theater company, open to children ages 7 to 17, usually rehearses from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for six weeks before giving four evening performances for the community, the last of which was on Sunday. The productions involve complete costumes, makeup, lighting and a professional sound system as well as the center’s stage and other props.

“Many of our young actors, singers and dancers have been involved in the summer theater for several years now, and each summer they can’t wait to begin on the production,” Taylor said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for them, and most of them make friends they keep for life.”

Past productions include “Annie,” “Oliver,” “Annie Get Your Gun” and “Bye Bye Birdie,” as well as several opera productions that took place in the late ‘70s. Cost for the summer program, which usually lasts from June through the performances, is $225.