Performing in a different kind of venue, the Alexander Children’s Theatre School will take the stage at the 27th annual Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl at Boston’s City Hall Plaza tomorrow.
The all-you-can-eat ice cream festival starts today and runs through Thursday. The Scooper Bowl raises money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a cause close to cancer survivor Stephanie Mavrides’ heart.
"I think it’s one of the most important performances that my group can do and that the kids individually can do," said Mavrides, a Waltham resident and head of the theater school. "They’re giving of themselves. It’s not about them, it’s about raising money and supporting this cancer drive and helping people in this way."
She said many of the children in the company have lost family members to cancer.
Often, Mavrides said, children can get swept up in the performances, but the Scooper Bowl represents what she believes the arts is supposed to be - "giving to the audience and doing it for a reason."
The theater school members performing at the Scooper Bowl range from age 10 to 22, including alumni, Mavrides said.
The group will perform a medley of musical numbers from shows including "42nd Street," "Annie," "Les Miserables," "Oklahoma" and "Thoroughly Modern Millie."
"It’s really two great, wonderful organizations coming together to help children fight cancer and bringing children on stage for such a cause," said Lenni Kmiec, an alumna of the theater school and a Waltham resident, who will be performing selections from "Funny Girl" and "Oklahoma."
Kmiec’s mother is a cancer survivor, and her brother Paul - also a member of the theater school - has friends who have lost mothers to cancer recently, Kmiec said. She said the performances this week demonstrate the "art and healing of performance and song."
"It’s how we give back to the community through our talents instead of keeping them for ourselves," Kmiec said.
Noting the extent to which cancer has affected everybody in the theater troupe, Kmiec called the Scooper Bowl performance a "pertinent moment" for those involved.
"It’s a relevant experience for these kids to be having to be part of the Boston scene and performing," she added.
Gillian Gordon, a sophomore at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School and a member of the theater troupe, said that this week’s performances will differ from others she has done.
"You get a different vibe," Gordon said. "You really get to connect with the audience and love knowing that what we’re performing is to support an organization."
Like in any performance, Gordon said, the actors will try to please the audience, but "it’s lovely to also help an organization. I think it’ll cheer up everyone."
Gordon will perform numbers from "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and "Les Miserables," which opens June 19 at the Turtle Lane Playhouse in Newton.
The Scooper Bowl takes place, rain or shine, from noon to 8 p.m., and the Alexander Children’s Theatre School will be performing tomorrow from noon to 1 p.m.
