Arroyo Repertory Theatre, a Pasadena-based nonprofit theatre organization, is partnering with Cool Beans Comedy to run a free two-week theatre workshop this month for children ages 8 to 14 who were affected by the Eaton Fire, according to a press release from Arroyo Repertory Theatre.
The workshop, which the release calls the Eaton Fire Youth Theatre Project, runs Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon, July 15 through 31, at the Ahiah Center for Spiritual Living, 150 N. El Molino Ave. in Pasadena. It comes about 18 months after the January 2025 fire tore through Altadena and parts of Pasadena.
Dr. Jude H. Lucas, principal officer of Arroyo Repertory Theatre, is leading the program along with mental health professionals, according to the release. Arroyo Repertory Theatre is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has operated in Pasadena for about 20 years, according to the organization and public nonprofit filings. Cool Beans Comedy is a Pasadena comedy education business based at the Ice House comedy club; the release refers to it as “Cool Bean Comedy,” a name that does not match the business’s public listings.
According to the release, the workshop will include three components: improvisation and movement exercises, a collaborative session in which participants write an original theatrical piece, and a public performance built around environmental and community themes.
“We aren’t just putting on a play,” Lucas said in the release. “We are giving these children the tools to turn uncertainty into agency, building a resilient future for Altadena and Pasadena starting today.”
The release describes the program as trauma-informed and says it draws on evidence-based methods to help children process loss and fear. It states the workshop is supported by the Pasadena Community Foundation and the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America — a Bentonville, Arkansas-based national nonprofit that funds theatre-for-young-audiences programs. Neither organization’s role in this specific program could be independently confirmed as of publication.
The workshop is free. According to the release, registration is being handled by email at arroyoreptheatre@gmail.com.
Arroyo Repertory Theatre said in the release that capacity is limited “to ensure clinical and artistic depth.” The organization did not respond to a request for additional detail on total program capacity or number of children currently enrolled.
