FOR THE KIDS : Youths Taking Their Cues on Stage at the Civic Arts Plaza : The new Gold Coast Theatre group caters to student thespians, ages 8 to 18. They’ll make their debut in Wilder’s ‘Our Town.’

The Gold Coast Theatre Conservatory’s inaugural production, Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town,” opens Saturday at Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks.

A new group affiliated with the Gold Coast Performing Arts Assn., the conservatory works with actors from 8 to 18. It offers courses on Saturday mornings for 16 weeks.

Stephanie Angelini, the group’s artistic director, said the conservatory’s three-hour sessions teach students about the major aspects of the theatrical arts, such as how to run lines, write dialogue and even slug it out on stage without injuring one another.

The 40 or so students are divided into three groups. Each spends one hour studying each of three subjects. On any given day, the topics could be diction, writing or character development. Angelini said the rotating method works well because the students don’t have time to get bored with a subject.

One student, Geoffrey Plitt, 14, said he had plenty of comedy parts before enrolling in the workshop.

“I was pretty experienced when I started,” he said. “But I learned more about in-depth emotional acting.”

That’s part of the reason the conservatory picked an adult play such as “Our Town” rather than a youth-oriented production.

“We have a group of students who are dedicated and mature enough to handle a play which has great depth and meaning,” said director Stu Levin.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning play has practically no set or props to hide behind, and the last two acts, “Love and Marriage” and “Death,” definitely do not end on a “sun will come out tomorrow” note.

“ ‘Our Town’ might not be a big Broadway production,” Angelini said, “but the kids are going to learn why Thornton Wilder put their character in the play.”

Details

* WHAT: “Our Town.”

* WHEN: 2 p.m. Saturday and May 6.

* WHERE: Civic Arts Plaza’s Forum Theatre, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

* HOW MUCH: $5.

* CALL: 375-6509.