Each month, dedicated volunteers or community partners will be recognized for the time and talents dedicated to Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS).
Sibel Galindez came from a family of doctors and lawyers, but neither career appealed to her. She always had a love of acting and singing, so when the opportunity to work at Zeiders American Dream Theater presented itself, she knew it was something that she would enjoy.
“I had my career as a professional actress, but I had been away from the theater for about 10 years, being a mom and loving that, so when I met everyone at The Z I felt like, I know these people; they are my kind of people, theater people.”
Zeiders American Dream Theater, a non-profit theater company known as “The Z”, celebrated their grand opening with the weekend-long Proteus Festival. The festival kicked off Friday, Oct. 5, partnering with student theater groups from across the school division to give students a place to put their talents front and center and perform.
“The Proteus Festival was created to spread our vision of building a vibrant creative community,” said Galindez, community liaison for Zeiders. “The Z’s support allows young artists to safely explore, take risks and immerse themselves in the creative process.”
High schools’ theater teams took part in the festival by participating in the creative team challenge. Each creative group was given a prompt Friday evening for acts in music, theater and film and were then required to develop their shows and perform them in front of a live audience on Sunday.
Salem High School’s teams led the way, winning first place for Best in Theater and Best in Film.
To promote creativity and art in the Virginia Beach community, Galindez wishes to be a mentor for students wanting a life in theater.
“It’s exciting to get to talk to kids. This is a crucial age where you get to decide if you are going to go for it or not. Also, it’s an age where I think kids still believe they can go for things,” Galindez said. “I wonder all the time if I didn’t have support from family, friends and mentors in my life if I would be where I am now.”
She intends to introduce more students to “theater life” and all the different avenues The Z allows performers to travel. “I love creating, the act of allowing your imagination to take you on a journey to wherever you desire,” said Galindez. “There are no boundaries to our imaginations and the power of that imagination blows me away.”
“The Z is dedicated to helping our community, and especially the children in our community, achieve their full creative potential,” said Galindez.
Become a volunteer or community partner today and make a difference in student’s lives. For more information on volunteering visit vbschools.com.