Las Vegas natives return home to put together children’s play

Kimberley McGee

Friday, April 6, 2001 | 7:49 a.m.

The stage schooled Daniel Kucan and Maite Garcia in more than just their craft as professional actors.

It also taught them some of life's enduring lessons -- discipline, a strong work ethic and joy.

The pair honed their art with the local Rainbow Company Youth Theatre in the early '80s, and return to the company to direct "Fool of the World," which opens today at the Reed Whipple Cultural Center.

The play is an adaptation of the Russian folktale about a young peasant who is carried away on a magical flying ship. He comes back to Earth at the palace of the great Czar of Russia, where he competes with rich suitors for the love of a fair princess.

"Fool of the World," unlike most large productions, depends upon a young audience to move the story along.

"Children's theater relies on the actors and the audience," Garcia said. "They both work to make (fantasy) happen."

The audience is engaged by the cast, ages 6 to 16, during the 60-minute play. The crowd clucks like chickens, howls like wind and shouts out suggestions to guide the peasant and the princess on their journey.

"It gets them excited about acting, too," Garcia said. "They can act out and help the actors."

At one point the child actors onstage toss balloons to the audience and whisper, "Magic." The children are to gently tap the balloons back and whisper the word back to the actors to ensure the enchanted ship will fly.

Garcia and Kucan, professional actors living in Los Angeles, have been commuting weekly since March to direct the play in the 40-seat studio theater.

They contribute their dedication to lessons they learned in children's theater -- something they want to pass on to the current cast.

"Having been the same kids onstage here, we knew what fed us," Garcia said. "What stayed with us will stay with them for the rest of their lives."

Garcia moved to Laguna Beach, Calif., after she graduated from UNLV in 1988. She's had a string of small film roles and opened her own business, Mortise and Tenon furniture store, with outlets in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. She dabbles in theater as a producer, an actress and in set design.

Kucan left Las Vegas in 1989 to attend New York University and to pursue an acting career.

He said he was disappointed by the lazy work ethic and whining of the experienced actors and dancers he worked with at such venues as the Metropolitan Opera, where he performed in a show featuring Luciano Pavaroti. Kucan also worked in television, on "Guiding Light" and "All My Children," before he moved to Los Angeles in 1996.

Garcia and Kucan have wanted to direct for a few years.

"This turned out to be perfect because we get to work together and come home," Garcia said.

The Rainbow Company taught every actor discipline and accountability, Kucan said.

"The most important thing for anybody is that this makes them professional, dedicated and hard working people.

"This (company) taught me respect for the theater, for the business," Kucan said. "I don't see a lot of that in the real world anymore. Here (at the Rainbow Company) you have to step up to the task or be out."

The stage continues to offer lessons to be learned. As directors, the two agree that the young actors shouldn't overact for the crowd.

"You have to be sincere," Kucan said. "Otherwise the audience feels it and you go nowhere."