EAST LONGMEADOW – Recreation Department Deputy Director Kristine Foster was looking for a different kind of program to offer youth in town.

“We run great sports programs,” Foster said, but the Recreation Department was interested in offering more programs that are not sports related. Foster and Recreation Department Administrative Assistant Jessica Stacy brainstormed and decided on theater.

Foster and Stacy worked with St. Michael’s Players Producer and Assistant Director Rose Stella to develop an introductory theater program. The program, “Kreative Kids: Intro to Theater Arts,” is open to East Longmeadow children in grades 3 through 8.

Two teachers from the local elementary schools will be facilitating the eight-week, which will meet twice a week at the First Congregational Church by at the rotary. There are under 20 people signed up so far, but the program has room for 30.

“Our goal is to run it seasonally,” said Foster. She said the department wants to be able to put on a performance for each season.

Kreative Kids will not just be about acting. Participants will also have the chance to explore stage set-up, costumes and technology of the stage. The Recreation Department brochure stated kids will work on “role-playing, improv games, vocal techniques, dance, character understanding, and expression through voice and movement.”

For those not interested in theater, the Recreation Department offers other non-sports programs for youth. These include summer camp, aquatics, STEAM programs and sensory programs for young children. Recreation Department Director Donna Prather said the department recently ran a sports broadcasting and filmmaking class with East Longmeadow Community Access Television Director Don Maki. Later this year there will be a Valentine’s Day “Someone Special Dance,” egg hunt and Earth Day cleanup.

A full calendar of programs can be found at https://eastlongmeadowma.myrec.com.