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MANSFIELD - Below, is a reversal of a splendid life standard. If you read it, you will be lifted by, rather than lifting, a flute of Champagne. Andrea Champagne, that is.

The former Andrea DeCataldo, who turns 28 on March 28, is the Center Director for the Hockomock YMCA-Mansfield Arts and Education Center. She runs the arts center day-to-day, hires and trains staff, creates the program schedule and directs and choreographs shows.

"Steel Magnolias," which opened two weekends ago, was her 31st overall production since leaving college.

She has worked with casts which range from 10 to 102.

Prior to coming to Mansfield, Champagne - who received her bachelor's degree in theater and English from Boston College in 2002 - worked at the Bernon Family Branch YMCA (also Hockomock). Before that, she was the director of education for Fantasy Works Youth Theatre in Saunderstown, RI. This vivacious, energetic whirlwind of ideas and intentions started her own community service-based theater company out of college while working retail at a high-end clothing store. The Johnston, R.I., native adores her husband, David, beyond the fabulous surname - and potential soap opera stage name - they now share.

SUN CHRONICLE: You have told friends and acquaintances that theater saved your life. How?

ANDREA CHAMPAGNE: Without getting into too much detail about a very personal issue in my life, I had a theater director who said, "I believe you," at a time when I had forgotten how good it felt to have people take you at your word.

The memory of that exchange, as well as the man who said it, are always in my heart. I think it makes me a better teacher to know that everything I say, even if it's just in passing, can be exactly what a student needs to hear in that moment to make a positive change.

SC: You also exclaim that you love cold weather and skies getting dark so early in winter. Why? Do you have stock in a heating, power and lighting company?

Ha! I am the only person I know who gets excited if the groundhog sees his shadow and jumps back in the hole. Six more weeks of winter! I actually was deathly afraid of fire drills when I was in elementary school, so I loved it when it was cold, snowy or rainy because then I didn't have to worry.

I still get nervous when the buds appear on the trees and the birds start chirping.

SC: One usually associates the YMCA with athletics and fitness, not arts and entertainment. How successful has it been and has it transformed the general image of the association?

CHAMPAGNE: When I left my job at a children's theater to work at the YMCA, people thought I was crazy. But the truth is, the YMCA, especially the Hockomock, is a place that really fosters creative work no matter what area you're in.

I've managed to get over 50 kids who are loyal participants in the productions, so that certainly says something. And, hopefully, with the Arts Center in full swing, we can get the same numbers in our other arts programming areas in the near future. SC: Did you marry your husband because you'd have such a great new name? I mean, Andrea Champagne, it sounds like a heroine in a Harlequin romance.

CHAMPAGNE: I met my husband in college and our common interest in theater, coupled with his dashing good looks, really sealed the deal. When we first met, I called my mom and said, "I met a boy," and she responded with, "Not to jump the gun, but Andrea Champagne is a GREAT name," so, it was meant to be I suppose.

SC: Do you like champagne? What does DeCataldo mean, anyway, "Of the heart?"

CHAMPAGNE: I love the name and I also love that you can find a lot of cute decorations that say "Champagne" on them at Home Goods, but I don't really enjoy the taste of the drink.

DeCataldo, hold onto your hat, actually means "Of Cataldo," which is a region of Toronto, Italy, where my Dad's grandfather came from - so the story goes.

SC: You once started your own community-based theater company while working retail at Ann Taylor Loft in Rhode Island. How hard was that to do? I mean, selling clothes, of course.

CHAMPAGNE: Ha! Retail is no easy job and I never excelled at opening credit card accounts or having the highest monthly sales, but I did enjoy standing at the front of the store, folding shirts and greeting people.

I was the best folder at store 734, but you didn't get a bonus for that title, just bragging rights. It was definitely more in my wheelhouse to start a theater company and work with kids.

SC: What's it like working with a cast of 102? Bet you didn't spring for pizza during tech week.

CHAMPAGNE: Working with a cast of 102 is actually easier than working with a cast of 10, because once you hit a certain number, even the kids feel the chaos in the room and it is easier to get everyone's attention. It also takes the pressure off the choreography. When that curtain opens and there's 100 kids on one stage, the audience starts clapping before they even move.

SC: I always ask everyone I interview who is involved in theater to tell me their best on-stage/backstage anecdote, because they are often hilarious or heart-breaking. What's your best?

CHAMPAGNE: Funny one: First dress rehearsals always seem to have some really precious moments because the kids are running all around and they can't find their costumes, their microphone just fell in the toilet, or whatever. One of the first shows I directed I had finally gotten everyone seated and they have a million questions, so every kid has a hand up and I tell them we have to keep moving and we only have time for maybe one or two super-important-just-can't-wait type of questions, and this little boy, my little Patrick Rice, raises his hand and says, "I just wanted to tell you Miss Andrea, that I'm really glad it's Wednesday, and not Tuesday, because on Tuesdays I have to take out the trash."

And that is why I love my job.

Visceral life changing one: I got a letter from one of my teens after a show and the first line of the note said, "Andrea, theater saved my life." It was the single most incredible full circle moment I've ever had, and it's why I do what I do every day, knowing that for some kids, being in a play is a life-saving opportunity, just like it was for me.

SC: Do you often get asked why you work with kids, rather than perform yourself?

CHAMPAGNE: Oh, all the time, even by my own family members. I performed in college, but once I started teaching at summer camp, I found my true calling. I consider myself a teacher above anything else because I don't even think I'm that great of a director.

I just truly love being with the kids because they make me laugh and they teach me just as much as I teach them.

SC: What other career, besides working at the YMCA, would you like to pursue?

CHAMPAGNE: My secret dream is to be on "One Life To Live" as the recast of Shannon McBain, but only for one storyline. That way, I would just take a sabbatical from the YMCA and try to win a Daytime Emmy. That's my Plan B.