At a recent rehearsal for DVC Jr., the new all-kid sketch comedy troupe at the Rose Theatre, director Jessie Rose was trying to define the sensibility of her young actors and their potential audience.
These are kids, she said, who have moved beyond Nickelodeon.
Well, maybe not entirely: A chorus of “I like SpongeBob” rang out in response to her assertion.
The “SpongeBob SquarePants” fans will make their debut this weekend with a pair of performances. It's a companion company to the Dawnview Crew (DVC for short), the resident sketch comedy troupe at the Rose.
The grown-up troupe inspired Jude Morales, 9, one of just three boys in the younger company, to give it a try. He saw them perform, he said, and “it was pretty funny. I thought I wanted to try doing it.”
So, besides the residents of Bikini Bottom, what do the kids find funny? Bodily functions, naturally. Guys in girls' jackets. Emily Edwards, 9, finds her brother standing by the dryer, demanding the “Star Wars” T-shirt he wants to wear every day, hilarious. (The brother is 2.)
The young actors, ranging in age from 8 to 16, came into the company from the Kreative Kids children's theater classes that Rose teaches. The rehearsal indicates she made good choices: The kids, working with the scripts for two sketches for the first time, proved to be quick studies, diving right in and finding the funny.
