By Khalida Sarwari
Come fall, Jack McCarthy will leave the comforts of home in Saratoga for a new beginning in Los Angeles, where he plans to pursue a degree in theater and business on a full-ride scholarship at USC. But before he takes one of the most important trips of his young life, the new Saratoga High School graduate has one last “GIFT” to share with his hometown.
McCarthy is the executive producer of Giving Individuals Fabulous Theater, a theater group he created in January of 2013 to give students an opportunity to share live theater with those who are unable to experience it on their own, such as the hospitalized and elderly. The majority of the actors in the group hail from Saratoga High, but many also come from neighboring cities, including San Jose and Los Gatos.
Over the past year and a half, the group has staged seven shows and grown incrementally, tothepointofgeneratingalarge audition pool and raising nearly $12,000 for charities across the Bay Area. Somehow, in between all of that, McCarthy found time to finish high school, get accepted into 24 colleges across the country, and when time permitted, be a regular teenager.
The impetus to continue his work with GIFT were his grandparents, said McCarthy. Seeing them—or anyone else who’s continuously in and out of hospitals—unable to enjoy the simple joy of catching a show or movie has always seemed unjust to him, he said.
“Being able to rekindle that love of life is something I feel almost obligated to do,” he said. “I can do it so it’s almost my responsibility to do it.”
This summer, McCarthy will be staging three shows at various venues throughout the West Valley area, focusing particularly on skilled nursing and health centers.
GIFT’s first production is a murder mystery titled “The Mousetrap.” Considered one of the world’s longest running plays, The Mousetrap is Agatha Christie’s story of a fateful night where a cast of characters assemble at the grand opening of Monkswell Manor Guest House and find themselves under suspicion for murder.
GIFT will perform The Mousetrap four times in July, including a show for the residents at Merrill Gardens in Campbell on July 18, 2 p.m., and a public show at the Saratoga Community Center on July 19, 2 p.m.
Later in the month, GIFT will debut “Imaginary Invalid,” a farce featuring the germophobic Argon who tries to marry his daughter, Angelique, to a young doctor in order to have a doctor always around to tend to him for free. When Angelique refuses, Argan gives her four days to agree or become a nun.
GIFT will present four performances of Imaginary Invalid, including a public show on July 26, 1:30 p.m., at the Saratoga Community Center.
For GIFT’s third and possibly final show, Mccarthy is planning to stage a musical that will run concurrently with Imaginary Invalid. Though he hasn’t selected a title for the show yet, McCarthy said it will relay the story of a widow and her two daughters who move to the U.S. two decades after World War II.
The public can see this show at the Saratoga Community Center on July 26, 2 and 3:30 p.m. Performances are also scheduled at the Terraces of Los Gatos on July 25 at 2:30 p.m. and Cedar Crest Nursing and Rehab Center in Sunnyvale on July 26 at 10:30 a.m.
General admission tickets for the public shows are $10.
For more information about GIFT, visit the group’s Facebook page at facebook.com/theatergift.
