Stoneham Theatre Announces Its Young Company Summer Programs

By: Mar. 23, 2011
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Stoneham Theatre is pleased to announce the long-awaited summer schedule for its very popular young company programs. Stoneham Theatre's upcoming Lights Up! Auction, to be held on April 1st, will raise scholarship money for local area youth who are interested in participating in this summer's activities. For more information on the summer programs, contact Caitlin Lowans, Director of Education at caitlin@stonehamtheatre.org or 781-279-7885.

Those interested in participating in the Lights Up! Auction or receiving more information, contact Kelly Gaudet at 781-587-7901 or kelly@stonehamtheatre.org. Stoneham Theatre's Lights Up! Auction is not only an occasion to raise funds for the summer programs, it is also the much awaited yearly event to hear, before anyone else, what will be the next season's line-up of Mainstage shows and programs. The theatre's Season 12 (2011-2012) will be revealed that evening and attendees will be entertained by a medley of short performances that will highlight several of the shows planned for the new season.

Early enrollment for the young company summer programs has a deadline of April 10th. Those who register by that time would be guaranteed a slot in the program and will also receive an early bird reduction in registrations costs. An application form is available for download at http://stonehamtheatre.org/documents/RegFormForWeb.pdf -- and a financial aid form is also available at http://stonehamtheatre.org/documents/FinancialAidApplication2011Summer.pdf.

Students enroll by delivering the registration form and a non-refundable deposit to Stoneham Theatre's education office Monday thru Friday between 9am and 5pm. Individuals can also mail the registration and non-refundable deposit to: Education Department, Stoneham Theatre, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, MA 02180. Upon enrollment, students receive a confirmation e-mail that includes a welcome letter, workshop descriptions and forms. Specifics related to the summer programs can be found at http://stonehamtheatre.org/yc_summer.html.

the young co. summer program is divided into "four acts" according to grade level. Each act is limited in size, with spaces filling up on a first-come, first-serve basis:
Overture for students entering grades 1 thru 3;
act 1 for students entering grades 4 thru 6 (limited to 40 students);
act 2 for students entering grades 7 thru 9 (limited to 50 students);
act 3 for students entering grades 10 thru 12 & 2011 high school graduates (limited to 50 students).

[young company production of Assassins]

During the first few days of the program, the program facilitators holds auditions and callbacks to determine the best role for each actor. All students enrolled in the program will be cast in one of the shows. After auditions, students spend their mornings in rehearsal for their productions with a staff of professional theatre artists. In the afternoons, students have workshops in different performing disciplines. During the final week, students experience the technical process of a professional show, adding lights, sound and costumes for three public performances on Stoneham Theatre's stage.

The first four weeks of each program are held at Stoneham Middle School. In the final week, students transition to Stoneham Theatre main stage for technical rehearsals and performances.

During the summer program, actors work under the guidance of professional theatre artists. In addition to learning from the directors, music directors and choreographers for their shows, students also take workshops in various theatre disciplines to further develop as artists. Over the course of the summer program, students take four workshops, each culminating in an informal sharing with family and friends during the program day. Previous workshops have included stage combat, music theory, Fosse and more! After enrolling, students have the opportunity to indicate their preferences and previous experiences, and then are placed into workshops that will provide them with a balance of acting, singing and dance.

[young company production of Cats]

The shows for this summer are as follows:

Bugsy Malone Jr. (musical)
[for those enrolled in the act 1 program for grades 4-6]
Performance dates:
August 5th 10:00am;
August 6th 12:00pm;
August 7th 12:00pm
The pie-flinging, pinstripe-wearing, pint-sized classic has finally made it to the musical stage in this adaptation of the hit film that catapulted a young Jodie Foster to stardom! In this film noir spoof, the message is one of good fun; the characters are wonderful cartoon cutouts; and the weapons of choice are "splurge" whip cream guns, flour bombs, and custard pies. Members of the act 1 program will play Prohibition-era mobsters in this tongue-in-cheek tribute to the 1920s gangster flick. It seems Fat Sam, who runs one of the most popular speakeasies in town, is in danger of being closed down by his "business rival" Dandy Dan. Enter baby-faced Bugsy Malone, a definite asset to Fat Sam. Unfortunately, Bugsy has also caught the eye of Sam's girlfriend Tallulah though he's set his designs on the showgirl Blousey Brown.

Curtains (musical)
[for those enrolled in both the act 1 program for grades 4-6 and the act 2 program for grades 7-9]
Performance dates:
August 5th 7:00pm;
August 6th 3:00pm;
August 7th 7:00pm
It's the brassy, bright and promising year of 1959. Boston's Colonial Theatre is host to the opening night performance of Robbin' Hood!, "a new musical of the Old West." The only problem? It's terrible! The curtains rise on the show's merciful finale. Act Two. Scene 23. Chief among the problems is the leading lady of the production, a former film star who can't act, can't sing, and can't dance, not even a little. But when the curtains fall to reveal her mysteriously "passed on," the entire cast & crew are suspects. Enter a local detective, who just happens to be a musical theatre fan! With wonderful songs by Kander and Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret, Kiss of the Spider Woman), this backstage whodunit is populated with delightful (and delightfully horrid) characters that all audiences will enjoy and a cast of 30 students from both act 1 and act 2 will sink their teeth into!

The Mystery of Edwin Drood (musical)
[for those enrolled in the act 2 program for grades 7-9]
Performance dates:
August 4th 7:00pm;
August 6th 7:00pm;
August 7th 3:00pm
Winner of the Tony Award for Best musical! This wildly warm-hearted theatrical experience kicks off when the Music Hall Royale (a hilariously loony Victorian musical troupe) "puts on" its flamboyant rendition of an unfinished Dickens mystery. The story itself deals with John Jasper, a Jekyll-and-Hyde choirmaster who is quite madly in love with his music student, the fair Miss Rosa Bud. Now, Miss Bud is, in turn, engaged to Jasper's nephew, young Edwin Drood. The title character disappears mysteriously one stormy Christmas Eve - but has Edwin Drood been murdered? And if so, then whodunnit? But this show's most memorable attribute is a no-holds barred finale in which the audience votes on the suspect they think is most guilty, leading to any number of alternate endings! The Mystery of Edwin Drood will be directed by John Howrey, part of the team that brought to life Oklahoma!, Les Miserables, and Footloose.

The Rose and The Rime (drama)
[for those enrolled in the act 3 program for students in grades 10-12 and 2011 high school graduates]
Performance dates:
August 11th 8:00pm;
August 13th 2:00pm;
August 14th 2:00pm
Radio Falls, Michigan, has been trapped in perpetual winter for a generation, and the constant blizzard surrounding the town means there's no way in or out. The last moment of heated passion brought the town its only remaining youth: a young girl named Rose. It is up to her to save Radio Falls from the vicious curse of the Rime Witch. But when she succeeds, Radio Falls discovers the witch's magic coin has two sides. This ensemble-based, physical theatre piece will be unlike anything audiences have yet seen from the young company. This remarkable modern myth from the House Theatre of Chicago's creators of Mainstage Season 10's magical The Sparrow reminds us that anything powerful enough to fulfill your dreams is powerful enough to destroy them. This production will be directed by Caitlin Lowans, director most recently of the young company's 13 and Cats, and the Mainstage productions of Sunfish, The Turn of the Screw, and My Fair Lady.

Assassins (musical)
[for those enrolled in the act 3 program for students in grades 10-12 and 2011 high school graduates]
Performance dates:
August 12th 8:00pm;
August 13th 5:00pm;
August 14th 8:00pm
Bold, original, surreal, disturbing, thought-provoking and alarmingly funny, Assassins is one of Stephen Sondheim's highest achievements and a recent Broadway revival starring Neil Patrick Harris, Marc Kudisch and Michael Cerveris. This most American of musicals lays bare the lives of nine individuals who assassinated or tried to assassinate the President of the United States, in a one-act historical "revusical" that explores the dark side of the American experience. From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman bend the rules of time and space, taking us on a rollercoaster ride in which assassins and would-be assassins from different historical periods meet, interact and in an intense final scene. Assassins combines the intellectual inquisitiveness of Summer 2010's columbinus with the musical complexity of Summer 2008's Sweeney Todd, in an event that is sure to be memorable.

Chicago (musical)
[for those enrolled in the act 3 program for students in grades 10-12 and 2011 high school graduates]
Performance dates:
August 12th 5:00pm;
August 13th 8:00pm;
August 14th 5:00pm
In roaring twenties Chicago, chorine Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband Amos to take the rap ... until he finds out he's been duped and turns on Roxie. Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another "Merry Murderess" Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines, ultimately joining forces in search of the "American Dream": fame, fortune and acquittal. This sharp edged satire features a dazzling score that sparked immortal staging by Bob Fosse. One of Kander and Ebb's best scores features immortal Broadway classics like "All that Jazz," "Cell Block Tango" and "Mr. Cellophane." Chicago will be helmed by Chris Carcione, the same director who brought to life Oklahoma, Les Miserables and 42nd Street.

The Overture Program
[for youngest actors in grades 1-3]
July 5-August 7
Overture students have the opportunity to participate in up to five week-long workshops, devoted to developing performing arts skills in a safe and creative environment. Each week focuses on exploring a particular theme or set of tales. Under the guidance of professional actors, dancers and voice instructors, students spend the day playing acting games, learning theatre skills, engaging in arts and crafts activities related to the story, and finally writing and rehearsing an original play. Each week culminates in a public performance for friends, family and the members of act 1, act 2 and act 3. The weeks are designed to support each other, but not repeat subject matter or material; a student who only attends one week will not feel out of place, but a student who attends all six weeks will work on a variety of skills. To accommodate families with busy schedules, students may be dropped off as early as 8:00am and we offer a late pickup from 2:30-5:00pm.

Stoneham Theatre, a professionally producing regional theatre, is the only company founded within the past ten years ranked by the Boston Business Journal among the area's ten most popular performing arts organization. It is consistently praised by critics and audiences for its superior caliber of production, its connection to the communities it serves and its comfortable atmosphere. The mission of the theatre's young company is to develop confidence, self-discipline, and collaboration in order to prepare our local youth for the challenges that lie ahead. The young company is also a great place to have fun and learn the joys of teamwork, the major criterion for pulling off any theatrical production. Weylin Symes serves as Stoneham Theatre's Producing Artistic Director. Visit www.stonehamtheatre.org.

 



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