Young Creators Bring Art to Life
Arts@Clark brings children’s theatre to Child and Family Studies students
Nearly seventy children joyfully paraded through campus on May 7. Some donned colorful
butterfly wings, crafted from cardboard. Others waved handmade flowers at their spectators.
But all were wearing smiles as they skipped, hopped, and bounced through the doors
of Gaiser Hall, where cheering staff members looked on. 
The parade-goers — children from Clark’s Child and Family Studies, joined by staff and family members — ended their festivities in front of the Culinary Institute, where the little artists snacked on fresh cookies and basked in the beauty of their creations.
“The children were remarking with pride that their grown-ups were going to see them,” said Rose Witteveen, Director of Educational Services for Child and Family Studies. “They were very excited to show off their work to their family.”
One child, Athena, shared with her mom that it was “so much fun to walk with all my friends in a parade!”
The parade was the culmination of the Oregon Children’s Theatre’s six-week residency with the program, which brought arts and performance to life for the kids. The partnership was coordinated by Ruth Wikler from the Clark College Foundation as part of the Foundation’s Arts@Clark Presents series.
The Oregon Children’s Theatre was on-site for two days per week during the residency, leading small group activities, songs, and games with the children in a classroom transformed into a design space for the troop. They helped the students put together props and art projects, and in turn, drew inspiration from the children’s ideas.
The process truly tapped into the kids’ creativity, allowing them to embrace their inner artist. They were given open-minded prompts about what gardens, plants, and neighbors look like to them, then transformed their ideas with art materials.
Child and Family Studies welcomed four members of the Oregon Children’s Theatre residency team to campus: Assistant Director Rae Davis, Design Advisor Jessica Lagunas, Director Lauren Jost, and Producing Artistic Director Jenn Hartmann Luck.
“It’s an exciting way to think about how to make art engaging for this audience and be part of the experience,” Lauren said of the residency. “The magic of seeing them play...they’re brilliant, abstract creators.”
Ruth explained that the collaboration with young children is intentionally built into the theatre’s residency. “When artists make theatre for very young children, it’s considered best practice for artists to include young children in the creation process so their way of seeing and experiencing the story and the world of the play is incorporated from the very beginning,” she said.
Wishing to highlight Child Family Studies’ important role in the community and to increase the availability of high-quality children’s performances available to families, Ruth sought out the Oregon Children’s Theatre and connected them with Child and Family Studies. The Foundation’s Arts@Clark also provided the commissioning funds for the project, helping to guide the residency from conception to finale.
The work the kids did during this residency will have a lasting impact. The residency team will use its time at Clark to inform its production of Mariposa/Butterfly, a bilingual one-act play by Sandra Fenichel Asher and José Casas for audiences ages 2–5. The play is currently in development, meaning the artists are determining how it will look, feel, and sound, and how young audiences will interact with it. The activities the artists did with the students, including making puppets and other visual elements, will inform the play’s full production.
The children who helped bring the play to life will also have the opportunity to see it on stage. Arts@Clark Presents intends to host the world premiere of the production at Clark in Spring 2027.
About Child and Family Studies at Clark
Clark College’s Child and Family Studies provides a variety of services to families, which are open to Clark students and employees, as well as members of the greater community, and serves children ages 12 months to five years.
The Child and Family Studies program is founded on a belief in the importance of early childhood education, and that children learn best in environments that foster inquiry. Classrooms are designed to encourage young learners to engage with materials that interest them. Every classroom is overseen by an experienced teacher; Clark students enrolled in the Early Childhood Education program are also present, as well as aides, college faculty, and other parents. Learn more on the Child and Family Studies website.
About Clark College Foundation's Arts@Clark Presents
Arts@Clark is an initiative of Clark College Foundation that elevates Clark College’s visual, digital, performing, literary, and culinary arts programs while strengthening connections between the College and the Southwest Washington community. Through partnerships with faculty and visiting artists, Arts@Clark Presents offers a curated series of performances, workshops, and other public events — many free or low-cost and family-friendly — that introduce national and international artists to Clark County while creating meaningful, hands-on learning opportunities for students. Community members are invited to attend events and support this work through the Foundation’s Performing Arts Initiatives Fund or other Arts@Clark programs, helping ensure the arts remain a vibrant bridge between college and community. Learn more about Arts@Clark on the Foundation’s website.
Photos: Clark College/Maureen Chen-Hefflin, Malena Goerl, Rose Witteveen, and Clark College Foundation/Ruth Wikler
Story by Malena Goerl, Staff Writer, Communications and Marketing