GCPA to Host Youth Auditions for New Musical Reading GREENWOOD

Gateway Center for Performing Arts has announced youth auditions for its upcoming Staged Reading Workshop of the new musical GREENWOOD.

The creators of GREENWOOD include Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter Tor Hyams, playwright Marc Palmieri and professional writer, director, and performer Adam LeBow.

Actors cast in GREENWOOD will work hand-in-hand with these prestigious industry professionals to develop the show into its next phase, culminating with a Staged Reading on September 26th, 2016 at the Emerson Theatre at Harris Stowe State University.

Auditions are by appointment only starting May 28th, 2016 and are open to actors age 12 through high school seniors. Full information on auditions, commitment, and the creative team is available at www.gcpastl.org/greenwood or by emailing artistic@gcpastl.org.

Hyams stated, "I couldn't be more thrilled to work with GCPA on the next incarnation of GREENWOOD. Since GREENWOOD was written somewhat in homage to the spirit of being a kid in the performing arts, it makes perfect sense that actual kids will be workshopping this production."

GREENWOOD is an original musical comedy about recapturing the vitality of lost youth. It tells the story of its characters by following their journey in two time frames: during their young teens, and a quarter-century later, in the present day. The title comes from the name of the summer camp where the protagonists first met -- a very special place whose magic is not of the supernatural variety, but, rather, comes from the power of acceptance, creative freedom, and love.

The score of GREENWOOD draws on pop, rock, and R&B styles inflected by jazz and contemporary Broadway influences to create a fun, high-energy, upbeat soundscape that allows the full emotional range of the characters' human experiences to be expressed-from youthful passions to the complex yearnings of adulthood.

Most recently, GREENWOOD enjoyed an eight-performance run at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2011. Now, the creative team is ecstatic to work with the young actors at GCPA to move GREENWOOD into its next phase!

Lebow adds, "GREENWOOD is a musical about adults recapturing the fire they had found in their youth as part of a community of passionate young artists. What better way to develop that story than to explore it in a community of passionate young artists?"

Visit www.gcpastl.org/greenwood for more information on the auditions, rehearsals, the show, and performances.

Gateway Center for Performing Arts is a non-profit organization that seeks to strengthen, enrich, and shape the communities of St. Louis by providing exceptional performing arts exposure, education, and expression. Founded in 2013, GCPA has provided musical theatre education and performance opportunities to over 250 children in the St. Louis community. GCPA believes that musical theatre, at its core, is a performance art, and one cannot truly have a complete experience without live performance. The GCPA Youth Theatre Company was created in 2014 to fulfill an important part of GCPA's mission to provide opportunities for St. Louis youth to express and experience high quality performing arts.