Floral Park — When she joined the Cardboard Box Theater Camp at Our Lady of Victory Church here years ago, says Jihan Killikelly, 16, youth ministry was the furthest thing from her mind.
“I just wanted to be in a play,” said Jihan, the recently elected president of the parish youth ministry group. She enjoyed the camp, which teaches younger children how to perform a play, so much that she wanted to stay involved.
James Peterson, 18, immediate past president of Our Lady of Victory’s youth ministry group, also enjoyed performing plays with the Cardboard Box Theater, where he met Eileen Tracy, parish youth minister. She encouraged him to join the youth ministry group.
“I went every week. None of my friends did,” James said, “but I always told them about it. After a while, most of my friends joined.”
Mary DeBorger, 19, another graduate of the Cardboard Box Theater, has directed the camp for the past two years. “It was so much fun,” said Mary, who is now studying theater at Wagner College. “I made friends that I’m still friends with. It was my introduction to theater and I wanted other kids to have that.”
Other graduates have also become active in the parish and its summer programs, including theater camp, a teen theater and vacation Bible school, Tracy explained.
“It was fun for me and I wanted to give back,” said Maggie Rhatigan, 21, a student at the University of Scranton. Years ago she participated in Cardboard Box and now is one of the three directors of the parish’s vacation Bible School
“I’m really proud of these kids,” Tracy said, noting that they have persevered with the different projects even as the parish experienced the tragic deaths of three of its young people who were killed in a car crash on the Meadowbrook Parkway. They were on their way to work as counselors at Camp Anchor, a camp for kids with special needs.
“It was terrible,” said Mike D’Agostino, 19, a sophomore at The Catholic University of America, who worked with the stage crews for the Cardboard Box Players. “Fortunately, we were able to support each other.”
“The biggest complaint that many kids have over the summer is that they have nothing to do,” notes Tracy. “So, I think shutting down youth ministry for the summer would be crazy.”
Instead, for many summers she has recruited teens to work with Cardboard Box, the theater camp for kids; Outside the Box, a theater program for teens; and the vacation Bible camp. She also takes a dozen or more teens to Hartford, Conn., for a week to help at soup kitchens and a shelter for people with AIDS. They went the first week in August this year.
Tracy, who has worked in communications and theater in New York City, brings in people she knows who work in the theater but who also have a faith commitment. “It’s a great way for them to learn about the theater, but it’s also an opportunity to think about their faith in a different way. We pray before each performance.”
This year, the Cardboard Box Theater performed “Cinderella.” The kids came for camp daily during July from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to prepare for the show, which they performed the last weekend in July.
One booster was Maureen Russell, whose daughters Therese, 12, and Bridget, 10, have participated in the program. “It helps fosters their gifts for singing and theater.”
In addition, Russell said, “it connects them to the parish in a different way than simply going to Mass or religious ed or through their parents. They get to know other kids in the parish. I think it’s particularly good for kids who go to public schools. They can see that the parish is their home, too.”
“I love doing plays,” said performer Sarah Lindskog, 10.
“It’s good to have teens teaching us,” said Therese Azzara, 12, a third-year participant who played Cinderella. “They can relate to you.”
“It’s easier to talk to kids who are close to you in age,” said Grace Woodruff, 12, who played the queen.
“I think what all of this shows,” said Father Bruno Dekrem, associate pastor at Our Lady of Victory, “is the wonderful spirit we have in the parish and the willingness of our young people to serve others.”
