Topanga Youth Services enlivens the Community House with song, spirit, and vibrant performance. While musical theater is its backbone, TYS extends far beyond, enhancing the canyon community year-round with events like the Fall Talent Show, Open Mic nights, and other performances that entice both locals and non-locals alike into the vintage space with the classic wooden stage.
In her twentieth year with Topanga Youth Services, Director Karen Cooke has been an active player in the evolution of Topanga’s theatrical storytelling magic. In her time with TYS, she’s helped transform the quality of their productions into community celebrations.
“We’re always learning and growing,” she said. “Every show, I’m learning something new. One of the biggest parts of it is about finding community spirit, and embracing volunteers always makes a difference.”
TYS represents the classic essence and goal of community theater: Children of all ages participate. Parents are ample in their backstage help. Topanga teens are also major players, assisting with stage management, set-building, makeup, and sound and lighting up in the booth. The magic of community theater is how acutely involved its participants are in every possible way—a symbiotic coalescence of a community working as a collective feat of joy and good vibes.
Recently, in April, TYS wrapped up a successful run of Beetlejuice, a raucous, gothic musical comedy following a lively and unhinged demon’s outlandish affects on the dead and the living alike. The cast and crew presented the uproarious performance to an enthusiastic audience.
“I always ask the kids what show they want to do,” Cooke explained. Her selections are not only suited to keep the student groups entertained, but also to motivate, inspire and fulfill them. Productions have ranged from contemporary hits to beloved classics, including Footloose, Beauty and the Beast, The Addams Family, and A Christmas Carol. “I’m always of a beginners’ mind, really attentive and listening to the group we have,” she continued. “I try to latch onto their abilities and what they want to do, to encourage them but not to push too hard, to find that balance.”
For Cooke, theater offers a practice that runs deeper than performance. “The stage is like a safety net where you can express yourself in a different way,” she expressed, and reflected on high school, noting how pivotal her first theater experiences were in her youth. “As a young person who felt that freedom through theater, I know firsthand how rewarding it can feel to express yourself in a community you can bond with, and have experiences together you’ll never forget.”
That sense of belonging is what makes TYS so distinctly Topanga. TYS and the canyon complement each other: neither theater kids nor Topangans are conventional, and performance is a classic mechanism to emerge from one’s shell, discover new worlds, and thrive on individuality while learning to operate as a team. Theater becomes a pathway: not just to performance, but to personal development and connection.
“The goal is to have a community atmosphere, a creative, welcoming place where kids can express themselves, grow, learn, feel safe, supported, nurtured, and excited to come back,” Cooke concluded. As someone who found my love of words through performing arts, I know I’ll keep coming back to watch Topanga Youth Service’s productions well into adulthood. It’s simply a joyfest.
Stay tuned for upcoming events! On May 30th, TYS is hosting their annual Open Mic Night from 6:00-9:00pm. Sign up in advance or at the door! Want to get involved? Reach out to Karen Cooke at tys@topangayouthservices.org,or check out the website: https://tys.topangacommunitycenter.org.
