Empowered Through Theater

Twelve-year-old Dasha Slezko has had one incredible month, living in the dorms at UCLA alongside a dozen kids from Los Angeles and another dozen from South Africa.

The North Hollywood girl said she has learned a lot about her new friends, namely that young people from opposite ends of the world and different walks of life share many of the same concerns.

This week, as the four-week Soze Project program ends, the children shared things they’ve discovered about each other while under the wing of 13 mentors from the United States and South Africa.

Through monologues, rapping, dance and art, the students addressed topics ranging from AIDS to divorce, and in the process asserted their newly discovered sense of empowerment.

The monthlong program ends with performances in which the children tell a story using their talents, said Mike de la Rocha, 23, the program’s managing director. It begins, he said, with “This is who I am and it’s difficult to be me because of . . . but I have the power to change.”

“I’ve learned I can believe in myself and I have the power to change what I do,” said Dasha, who this fall will attend Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Glendale, where her mother lives.

The UCLA program is unusual because it combines international cultural exchange with a residential performance arts workshop, said Michael Skolnik, 22, co-founder and executive director. Skolnik graduated from UCLA last year as a theater major.

Skolnik said the goal of the Soze Project, named for late UCLA professor George Soze Vilakati, is to empower young people through theater.

UCLA students founded the sponsoring organization, Equal Opportunity Productions, in 1997. Skolnik and his friend William W. O’Neill, a film and music producer, established a foundation in 1999 in O’Neill’s name to help finance the program. Additional money was raised this year from private donors and grants. Each summer program costs about $200,000, Skolnik said. The participants’ fees are all covered by the program.

During the school year, the program’s staff teaches performing arts at Los Angeles schools affected by budget cuts and conducts a Saturday workshop for children.

To audition for a place in the summer program, kids must participate at their schools and in the Saturday workshop. The South African children were chosen by the staff of the Market Theatre, a noted playhouse there.

Since the children arrived July 1, Skolnik said he has noticed a difference in their self-esteem. For example, one shy South African girl is now dancing and singing at the front of the stage, he said.

The children are also raising their self-confidence and self-reliance by doing their own laundry, budgeting their money and eating in the UCLA dining halls with students twice their age, he said.

Some who had not thought college was possible are now asking if they could study someday at UCLA.

Although the program helps children learn to tackle issues, Skolnik said he doesn’t want the kids to get the impression they can change the world overnight. He suggests they start with small projects and work from there.

“Do something you can get a ‘yes’ answer for immediately. You will continue to get ‘yes’ answers if you tackle it one problem at a time,” said Skolnik.

As a result, one Los Angeles student wants to start a food drive to help the homeless. A South African child would like to publish a newspaper to give youth a more prominent voice.

Dasha is one of five returning students who went to Cuba last summer in the program’s first cultural exchange. Next summer, Los Angeles participants will go to South Africa.

For now, though, everyone’s attention is focused on performing Saturday at the 1,500-seat Apollo Theater in New York, where the participants will fly today. After the show and some sightseeing, the California delegation will return Monday and the South Africa group will fly home.