WHO WE ARE
The Imagination Players are a group of 35+ talented area children and teens (ages 7 to 18 years of age) who use song and dance to entertain families in the Wilmington area. A portion of all proceeds generated by The Imagination Players will benefit area children's charities including but not limited to A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children, the Ronald McDonald House, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Delaware, and Read Aloud Delaware, as well as national organizations such as St. Jude's Children's Hospital and Alex's Lemonade Stand. This community service based group is a division of Pure Imagination, LLC and was founded by Pure Imagination's founder/owner, Debbra A. Johnson.
OUR MISSION
To serve Delaware families & children by 1) performing age-appropriate numbers which are entertaining and offer positive messages pertaining to today's youth issues, 2) assisting Delaware youth by raising funds and awareness for area children's charities, 3) to provide a quality performance outlet for talented Delaware-area children -- a forum where they can not only perform and share their talents on a regular basis but to hopefully instill a love of community service and volunteerism at the same time, and 4) teach our young members about the importance of "getting involved". All members of our group are required to participate in at least one "hands-on" community service project each year and are encouraged to research various children's charities and make recommendations to the group regarding possible beneficiaries.
THE ARTISTIC STAFF
DEBBRA A. JOHNSON (Founder/Artistic Director)
Deb has been involved in children's theatre in the Wilmington area for more than a decade. She developed her company, Pure Imagination, LLC in 2003 to provide affordable creative arts services (music & movement, interactive story time, drama, etc.) to youngsters in the Wilmington area. A seasoned actress/singer, she has performed with the Delaware Children's Theatre, the Brandywiners, Ltd., Artist Theatre Association, Candlelight Dinner Theatre, OperaDelaware, Chrysalis Players, and Premier Centre for the Arts. Besides the work she does through her own company, she also teaches for The Child Drama Workshops in Wilmington and The Delaware Children's Theatre.
BETTY MOUDY (Musical Director)
Betty is a retired Christina School District music teacher who is still very musically active in the Wilmington area. She currently teaches piano at the Sanford School, as well as privately. She has served as music director and accompanist for many area organizations, including The Delaware Children's Theatre, Chrysalis Players, Candlelight Dinner Theatre, the Brandywiners, Ltd., and Chapel Street Theatre.
JESSICA BENNER (Choreographer)
Jessie is a junior at DeSales University where she is majoring in Theatre. She is a graduate of Padua Academy where she was heavily involved in the music and theatre programs and starred in several shows including West Side Story, Grease, and Jesus Christ Superstar. In addition, Jessie spent many years performing and volunteering at The Delaware Children's Theatre where she appeared in many shows, including starring as Snow White in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She has been an invaluable asset to both Pure Imagination and The Child Drama Workshops in her capacity as Assistant Educator.
LAURA MULLAN (Assistant Artistic Director)
Laura recently graduated with honors at Aquinas Academy and truly enjoys working with children in the creative arts. A veteran of many shows at The Delaware Children's Theatre, Laura originated the role of Eeyore in Pooh & the Enchanted Forest at the tender age of 12 and proceeded to reprise the role in several consecutive original Winnie the Pooh musicals before tackling the very challenging role of Tigger in The Search for Other Tiggers for the past two DCT spring seasons. Laura has served as assistant educator for DCT's summer theatre workshops for the past four summers as well as serving as assistant educator for The Child Drama Workshops and Center for the Creative Arts. She recently started her college life at DeSales University where she is studying Theatre Arts and Psychology.
JENNY TORGERSON (Project Coordinator)
Jenny recently graduated with a degree in Theatre from New York University and just like the rest of her artistic IP colleagues, is a veteran of many shows at The Delaware Children's Theatre, including the title role in Cinderella in 2001. She has enjoyed many summers teaching drama to young students at the Jewish Community Center in North Wilmington. In addition, she has coordinated and directed the Sunflower Benefit Cabaret for the past two years which has raised in excess of $4,000 for the Sunflower Orphanage in Peru. Jenny currently makes her home in Brooklyn, NY, but ventures back to Delaware regularly to help stage numbers for the group and helps to coordinate our performances/activities.
THE ENSEMBLE
Many of the children and teens involved in the group are veterans of the Delaware Children's Theatre, Chrysalis Players, Delaware Dance Company, and other performing institutions. Others have been referred to us by choral music directors and teachers, as well as local vocal and dance instructors. When necessary, open auditions will be held to fill openings within the group. We keep a balanced number of youth active in the group at all times so that we can work our programs around their many other school, community, and church obligations.
OUR GOALS
To plan one major annual concert event called "For Kids' Sake Follies" which will take place in a permanent theatre venue as a major fundraiser for children's charities. During the rest of the year, we hope to tour a slightly condensed version of our show to different community events as a means of outreach. The youth who perform in The Imagination Players not only contribute to the charities via their talents and performances, but are also required to learn who & what each charity benefits. Any youth member of our organization is also encouraged to recommend a children's charity to receive a portion of The Imagination Players' proceeds.
Currently, all positions within The Imagination Players are volunteer. Proceeds, if any, from appearances will pay for various expenses (sheet music, performance/accompaniment CDs, costumes, props, etc.) and any remaining amount will be donated to charitable children's organizations. At this time, there are no paid staff members. All work involved with The Imagination Players, both by the youth performance troupe as well as the adult artistic team is on a volunteer basis. Youth members of the ensemble pay a one time fee of $50 when they are accepted into the group which pays for their t-shirt, and helps offset the cost of sheet music, rehearsal CDs, costume accessories and other miscellaneous supplies. The membership fee is discounted for families with more than one child in the group.
CONTACT US
For further information, you may contact Deb Johnson at (302) 463-1792 or email us at
INFO@IMAGINATIONPLAYERS.COM.
