ABOUT
OUR NEIGHBORS Children's Theatre has been busy since January 2020 when we opened in Anchorage, Alaska. As of May 2022, with the retirement of Director, Annette Janka, we are in transition. Check back here in the fall of 2022 for new updates.
OLIVER TWIST
A modern adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" was presented in November 2021, with a cooperative effort of Our Neighbors and the Anchorage private school, PNA. 60 kids presented the play in a movie format because of the restrictions of covid. They did a quality, awesome job and had a full and safe theatrical experience.
JUNGLE BOOK
The Jungle Book
OUR NEIGHBORS Children's Theatre production of The Jungle Book was presented live on October 16, 2020 on ZOOM, bringing the animals of the jungle right into the homes of approximately 150 people.
Answering the question of whether real live theatre can be experienced over zoom with many actors, the answer was a resounding "Yes!" These 20 talented kids brought Rudyard Kipling's classic characters alive during an hour of fun, sharing the message that despite our differences, it is in being together that we are strong.
OUR NEIGHBORS Children's Theatre production of The Jungle Book was presented live on October 16, 2020 on ZOOM, bringing the animals of the jungle right into the homes of approximately 150 people.
Answering the question of whether real live theatre can be experienced over zoom with many actors, the answer was a resounding "Yes!" These 20 talented kids brought Rudyard Kipling's classic characters alive during an hour of fun, sharing the message that despite our differences, it is in being together that we are strong.
Princess and the Magic Pea
THE PRINCESS AND THE MAGIC PEA was a live musical puppet show presented in February 2020, before the pandemic.
These 12 puppets were created and hand-sewn by OUR NEIGHBORS director, Sister Annette Janka, and their medieval costumes were perfect for this fairy tale story. The specially built, multiple-level puppet stage allowed for string puppets as well as hand puppets and human people to interact together. It was a lot of fun!
You may be seeing these puppets and stage appearing in future productions of the Anchorage Theatre of Youth.
See photo gallery below.
These 12 puppets were created and hand-sewn by OUR NEIGHBORS director, Sister Annette Janka, and their medieval costumes were perfect for this fairy tale story. The specially built, multiple-level puppet stage allowed for string puppets as well as hand puppets and human people to interact together. It was a lot of fun!
You may be seeing these puppets and stage appearing in future productions of the Anchorage Theatre of Youth.
See photo gallery below.
Princess and the Magic Pea Gallery
Instrumental Lessons
Private instrumental lessons has been a big interest for our families.
Music provides opportunities for fun social connections,
brings joy to our hearts and builds a life-long skill.
Instrumental private lessons have been available on:
Guitar, Piano, Ukulele, Mandolin, Dulcimer,
Tin Whistle, or Celtic Harp.
Music provides opportunities for fun social connections,
brings joy to our hearts and builds a life-long skill.
Instrumental private lessons have been available on:
Guitar, Piano, Ukulele, Mandolin, Dulcimer,
Tin Whistle, or Celtic Harp.
Crew and stage support gallery
Who we are
The director of the OUR NEIGHBORS program, Sister Annette Janka, has loved living in Anchorage and bringing her love of kids, puppets, musical instruments, theatrical experience and musical expertise here with her. She has enjoyed meeting many new talented young artists to collaborate with, and discovering the unique gifts that each young person brings. Now with her retirement in May 2022, the future of the program is open and being developed.
The vision of OUR NEIGHBORS has been to provide a healthy and safe environment where young people can discover and develop new skills and find the joy of working closely together to reach a common goal.
OUR NEIGHBORS is multi-faceted, and has three separate programs. The Children's Community Theatre and the Music Center serve all kids of varied cultures, backgrounds and religions and is not religious in content. The third component is participation with programs at Christ Our Savior Lutheran in Anchorage. Sister Annette is deeply grateful for the support of Christ Our Savior Lutheran, the Alaska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Deaconess Community of the ELCA, the national ELCA and grants from donors. The OUR NEIGHBORS program's motivating purpose is to be a service to the community, offering kindness and compassion to the children of Anchorage.
The vision of OUR NEIGHBORS has been to provide a healthy and safe environment where young people can discover and develop new skills and find the joy of working closely together to reach a common goal.
OUR NEIGHBORS is multi-faceted, and has three separate programs. The Children's Community Theatre and the Music Center serve all kids of varied cultures, backgrounds and religions and is not religious in content. The third component is participation with programs at Christ Our Savior Lutheran in Anchorage. Sister Annette is deeply grateful for the support of Christ Our Savior Lutheran, the Alaska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Deaconess Community of the ELCA, the national ELCA and grants from donors. The OUR NEIGHBORS program's motivating purpose is to be a service to the community, offering kindness and compassion to the children of Anchorage.
