A theater gives hope to poor children in Caracas

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A non-profit school is offering refuge to young people from the poor areas of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.

The Musical Theater of Petare acts as a training space to engage children and young people.

Petare has been one of the poorest areas in Caracas. And for many of the young people who live in the city, life on the streets has become fodder for their creative pursuits at a seven-year-old performing arts venue, the Musical Theater of Petare. The school acts as a free training space for children and young people.

Life lessons are part of the mission of the school.

"Training citizens requires lots of values, including tolerance, solidarity, teamwork, and cooperation. These values seem to have disappeared, but through theater, we are implementing them so kids can live their lives with them," said Viana Pietri, director and co-founder of the school.

Students perform at the Musical Theater of Petare in Caracas, Venezuela. /CGTN Photo

Through acting, singing and dancing, teachers at the school show their students, who range from 7 to 19 years old, a reality that reaches beyond what they see around them in the Petare area.

Nathalie Rego, who is an actress and singer at the theater, said she feels responsibility when working with children. "Anyone who is working with children should take responsibility in knowing that part of what you do with then would help shape what they would be as adults, and if we want a better world, we definitely should try to give them the best of us.”

Some of the plays performed at the school are originals – others are well known around the world.

Teachers and students believe that lessons learned through the performing arts can be applied to the broader world. That seeds planted at the school can inspire people to reach higher in life, and make a difference in their world.

Besides performing, the school also provides food and drinking water to children who might otherwise not eat during the day. And it allows children who are not currently enrolled in traditional schools to participate in the theater.

A child colors a graphic design in the shape of Venezuela in Petare, Caracas, Venezuela, February 22, 2018. /VCG Photo

"Helping other people, through what I do, is what I really like. Here, I've been taught to be confident, and that I am capable of having a positive impact on other people's lives if I want to," said Esleiker Gonzalez, a theater student.

Another student Daivelis Briceno also learned a lot from the theater.

"This theater helps me to grow artistically and as a person. After I finish here, I see everything in a different way. The theater helps us to be critics and have opinions in an artistic way," she said.

Sixteen teachers and more than seventy students enrolled at the theater school are showing a different side of what Petare could be.

The group has learned there is perhaps no better time – to experience the magic of theater.