This year’s Family Theatre performance is “We Are Monsters,” based on the book by Denver Casado and Betina Hershey. The story features vegetarian vampires tossing heads of lettuce, “Thriller”-dancing zombies and a peculiar little monster looking for friendship.

The musical centers on monsters who gather in an abandoned theatre to hold a cabaret. Curious humans sneak in to the theatre to uncover their secrets and find that they aren’t so different after all. The 60 kids and adults in the play dress up as zombies, werewolves, humans and vampires.

“Directing kids is a joy,” said director Penelope Haskew. “They are open to trying anything, they have good ideas that they aren’t afraid to share and they absorb all the masses of information coming at them, everything from nuances in the script to routines backstage.”

“We Are Monsters” marks Haskew’s seventh kids show and sixth Family Theatre show at San Juan Community Theatre. It’s also the first time that she’s directed and acted in a production simultaneously.

“I’m not filling a big role but I couldn’t resist the temptation to dance along with my other adults under Lisa Duke’s guidance,” Haskew said. “And, since I still have a daughter in the cast I didn’t feel too guilty about joining in.”

Haskew had her work cut out for her with 60 people involved in this production. With so many people playing so many parts, Haskew said it was difficult to find roles with scripts that would offer enough for the kids to “bite into.” That, she said, and finding dressing room space. In addition, they don’t always have time to get deep into character like a cast that is smaller and older, but they do learn what it means to work together and “learn the mechanics of telling a story on stage.”

“I know that the varied skills they pick up in the process will be useful to them in all other activities they do too,” Haskew added. Her favorite part of putting on kids shows is watching them grow in confidence level, some starting out quietly and then through the years gaining skills and becoming proud of what they can do. The upcoming production features parents and children from kindergarten to sixth grade.

“I think audiences will especially enjoy seeing their friends and family up on stage and that they’ll get a kick out of the spectrum of sizes our actors come in, from about three feet to six feet with every stop in between,” Haskew said. We Are Monsters will play Nov. 19-21 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. The Nov. 19 showing is “Pay What You Can.” Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 student reserved. For a slideshow of photos visit go here.

– By Anna V. Smith, Journal reporter