Anna Paone, left, and her mom Catherine LaMoreaux, the team behind the Dragonfly Multicultural Arts Center, take a break from casting for an upcoming show. METUCHEN — Catherine LaMoreaux’s 10-year-old nephew Cristoffer died alongside his aunt and grandmother in a car crash in 1999.
After Cristoffer’s death, LaMoreaux and her family saw dragonflies nearly everywhere, from the boy’s gravesite to vacation spots to the grief-counseling camp that LaMoreaux attended.
In life, Cristoffer was a biracial boy who loved music and the arts. In death, the dragonfly — an ancient symbol of self-realization and finding one’s voice — came to represent Cristoffer and his family’s push to grapple with the tragedy, LaMoreaux said.
“So, I always wanted to start a community theater that had a wide range of activities and was multicultural — for Cristoffer,” said LaMoreaux, a longtime theater teacher.
And in spring 2014, LaMoreaux and her daughter, Anna Paone, established the Dragonfly Multicultural Arts Center in Metuchen. The community-theater troupe strives to involve underserved individuals in their productions and classes, bringing quality performances to the borough, according to LaMoreaux, who is the executive director.
“We’re trying to find the best actors, but also have diversity within the cast,” she said. “The actors need to be good, but they don’t need to be greatly experienced.”
Dragonfly is scheduled to hold its first production, “The Coarse Acting Show,” at 8 p.m. Aug. 22 and at 2 and 8 p.m. Aug. 23 at the Old Franklin Schoolhouse, 491 Middlesex Ave., Metuchen. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors and students.
The play is a British comedy that focuses on a community theater company that must battle a series of mishaps as they attempt to perform renditions of classics. The lighting is botched, the props off the market, and problems with the set abound, LaMoreaux said.
“But they try their best to keep on going,” she said.
While the cast includes several young actors from New York City, residents of Metuchen and nearby municipalities are on the bill, too, she said. Volunteers also have local roots, she said.
LaMoreaux said she hopes Dragonfly will help locals who wish to perform onstage to follow their dreams. The convenience factor might help parents, which LaMoreaux remembers lacking when her daughter was involved in theater as a teenager.
“I had to drive her far and wide to the rehearsals before she could drive when she was in the shows,” La- Moreaux said. “This way, it’s closer to home.”
The mother-daughter team plans to host theater classes on Saturday afternoons in the fall, according to Paone, Dragonfly’s artistic associate. She said she hopes to include programs for individuals with special needs and disabilities.
“I really want to get everybody of every age involved with all aspects of it,” Paone said.
That could eventually turn into a one-week theater camp in the summer, she said. Both LaMoreaux and Paone have extensive experience with such programs through the mother’s career and Paone’s time as an intern at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick.
“That’s something that’s very close to our hearts,” the daughter said.
While Metuchen does boast a performance group — the Forum Theatre hires professional actors — Dragonfly could fill a void in the area. Regardless, the troupe will be another avenue for residents to enjoy their evenings, Paone said.
“We love Metuchen, we live in Metuchen, and this is for the people of Metuchen,” she said.
For more information, visit www.dragonflyartsnj.com.