Concord, Massachusetts art center provides free day care for kids while parents enjoy theater

A Concord, Massachusetts arts center is making theater more accessible for families by having a day care for children while parents enjoy performances. 

It's called KidCare at The Umbrella Arts Center.

Education programs coordinator Riley Borst-Neidhardt said, "Every time I talk to a parent about KidCare, if they don't know about it, they're like, 'I can have a night at the theater and have my kids do something fun as well and then just pick them up afterwards? That's amazing.'"

"It's an interesting way to also introduce kids to the idea of attending theater and making theater a part of their lives," added executive director Eileen Williston.

Class during theater

During the run of each production from The Umbrella Stage Company, there's at least one KidCare class on the schedule.

"Once the show starts, we really do a little bit of a lesson," said Borst-Neidhardt.

"We think about the broad themes of the show. We try to think about what might resonate with young people," Eileen said.

For the production of "To Kill a Mockingbird," Riley said the focus was on symbols.

"We're talking a lot about how innocence can be symbolized within this bird," Borst-Neidhardt said. 

Then it's craft time. KidCare attendee Charlie Layton said, "They're so unique and fun, and all of them are just different in their own way."

"We've done some that are drawing programs, some that our painting programs," explained Rebecca Campbell-McGonagle, the education program manager.

"The activity that they're doing has been designed specifically for the production that their parents are seeing," Williston said

This time, each kid will get the chance to sew their own mockingbird keychain.

Making theater more accessible 

Campbell-McGonagle said programs like this help make it easier to go to the theater.

"A lot of times families don't want to pay for a babysitter. When it's the middle of the day on a Sunday and they'd rather just go and experience something together as a family," she told WBZ-TV.

"Having KidCare in place where there's just one show you always know, you register them for it, and we kind of treat it like a play date. We've told other friends and their kids come and it's kind of a win-win for both the parents and the kids," said Layton's mother, Laurie.

"A lot of our parents love that they can just come here and really trust us with their children, and trust us to make sure that they are having a fun and engaging time while they're also seeing an amazing show," said Borst-Neidhardt.

The KidCare session for "To Kill a Mockingbird " is set during a Sunday matinee on March 15th. The play runs through March 22.