A Hans-On Production

Children’s theater is many things: earnest, slapstick, musical, literary, lavish, bare bones, amateur, professional, youth casts, adult casts. It isn’t always good, however.

To be that, no matter what the style, it needs creative energy, an assured rhythm and an audience connection that sparks. Otherwise, no amount of fancy trimmings, or lack thereof, matter.

Imagination-in-Residency, with performances in the Encino Community Center’s functional auditorium, is about as no-frills as children’s theater gets, but with its deceptively simple storybook romps, this new, vibrant company of adults has been proving it knows what’s good.

A single set piece painted with less artistry than good intentions; occasional echoing acoustics; and the misspelling of “Andersen” in the program are the only flaws in the company’s newest production, “Three Tales by Hans Christian Andersen,” a well-executed, genuinely humorous trio of fairy tales: “The Swineherd,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and “The Princess and the Pea.”

Adapted by Karen Hardcastle and directed by Elizabeth Tobias, the tales cleverly segue into one another. When the princess (Kristianne Kurner) marries her canny, clothes-loving Swineherd (Francis Gercke), he becomes the vain Emperor, destined to be taken in by a pair of charlatan tailors (Kurner and Bonnie Kovar). Properly humbled, the Emperor becomes the father of a silly prince (Gercke again), whose bride must take the pea-under-100-mattresses test to prove herself a bona-fide princess.

(Not reviewed here are Maria Marlowe, Sam Salvaggio and Marnie Olsen, who alternate in the roles.)

With the audience seated no more than a few feet away from the action, the actors need to make very young children comfortable enough to participate in the proceedings; miscues and missteps would be fatal to the flow.

Kurner, Gercke and Kovar, armed with Hardcastle’s funny script and Tobias’ tight pacing, never falter--from the irresistible, rhythmic chorus of words that introduces the show and draws the audience in, to the polished, droll characters they create with quirky accents and actions.

Kurner and Kovar are a most appealing, funny pair of bogus tailors; Kovar is a howl, too, as a ferocious mother defending her child (an audience volunteer) who has been coached to point out that the Emperor (in modest long johns) is “nearly naked.”

Kovar shines again as the dim Pea Princess, as does Gercke as her equally dim Prince. Instead of offering a comic burlesque, the pair infuse their silliness with endearing vulnerability; Kurner provides a strong counterpoint as the Prince’s sharp-witted mother.

Audience volunteers, including adults, add to the fun, playing ladies-in-waiting, advisors, princesses and swine.

* “Three Tales by Hans Christian Andersen,” Encino Community Center, 4935 Balboa Blvd., Saturdays, 1 p.m. through June 13. $5. Running time: 40 minutes.

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Art Work: Middle school and high school students with more than a passing interest in the visual arts are encouraged to apply for a slot in the Ragan Art Academy, an intensive, two-year visual arts academy program held at Barnsdall Art Park.

The program, entering its third year, is named after Friends of the Junior Arts Center founding member Anne Gallagher Ragan, whose memorial fund partially supports it. Developed by the center to provide art training for serious students and prepare them for further arts education, it is a comprehensive program offering life drawing from models, art history, painting, sculpture, design basics, portfolio preparation and presentation and appearances by representatives from art schools.

The students’ final work has been shown at Angels Gate Cultural Center and will be exhibited this year at Riverside Art Museum.

Instructors include artists from Art Center of Design in Pasadena, San Francisco Art Institute, UCLA, Yale University and Otis Art Institute. Master classes have been conducted by such notable local artists as Tony Berlant and Frank Romero.

“It seems our culture is becoming more and more visual, and, in a sense, that’s the backbone of our aim: to give young students an opportunity to educate themselves about the visual arts and assist them in pursuing arts opportunities that are available to them,” said artist and program director Richard Godfrey.

An application form, a statement of interest, a recommendation from an art teacher or artist and a sample of a representative original drawing or painting from life must be submitted by Sept. 15; classes, held Mondays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., in three eight-week sessions per year, begin in October. Tuition is $135 per year, or $50 per session; scholarships are available to students in need of financial assistance; space is limited.

* Ragan Art Academy, Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., call (213) 660-3362 for application form and information.

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Shadowy Figures: An exhibition and performance of shadow puppets will be held Wednesday at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater. The rawhide, painted puppets, inspired by a performance by the Bali & Beyond ensemble, were created by local young people through a grant provided by the city of Los Angeles’ Youth Arts Services Cultural Affairs Department.

* “Making Shadow Characters,” Bob Baker Marionette Theatre, 1345 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. Free. (818) 768-7696.