Photos: Outcry Youth Theatre presents TREASURE ISLAND

Outcry Youth Theatre brings Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure, TREASURE ISLAND, to new audiences in this stage adaptation by Ken Ludwig. At the center of this stunning yarn of piracy on the tropical seas are Jim Hawkins, a 14-year-old boy who longs for adventure, and the infamous Long John Silver, who is a complex study of good and evil, perhaps the most famous hero-villain of all time.

The extensive fight choreography and authentic sea shanties support the transformation of Outcry Youth Theatre's talented actors into bloodthirsty pirates. Excitement abounds and the actors do not disappoint with their exceedingly physical and precise performances that allow a twelve person fight with eight swords to seem deadly real in the space of a black box theatre.

While audiences will relish the adventure, it is the relationship between Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver that attracted director Becca Johnson-Spinos to this particular adaptation. "The heart of the show is their bond. A good boy learns to become a great man from one of most infamous pirates of all time. There is a depth to the characters in this adaptation that spoke to me."

Whether your interest is in a fast moving, fun, treasure hunt or the evolution of Jim and Long John Silver's complex relationship, grab your matey, and set sail for the incredible journey that is Outcry Youth Theatre's TREASURE ISLAND.

Tickets are on sale now at: https://www.outcrytheatre.com/treasure-island

More about Outcry Theatre: Outcry Theatre's hallmarks are bold artistic vision, highly physical staging and an energetic and visceral performance style. In 2017 Outcry Theatre's professional productions, Bat Boy and My Name is Asher Lev, were both featured in the annual Column Awards Best of DFW Theatre. Johnson-Spinos brings the same style and unwavering dedication to excellence to Outcry Youth Theatre.

More about Outcry Youth Theatre: "This is not children's theatre. This is theatre." Outcry Youth Theatre's motto describes how they approach each of their productions. The goal is not for the plays to be good "for kids," but for them to be as good as any adult production. Outcry Youth Theatre opened its first show, Love/Sick, in July of 2016. In the year and a half since that first show, youth actors from McKinney to Ft. Worth have performed in eleven major productions. Outcry Youth's A Wrinkle in Time was recognized with the 2016 Broadway World Dallas Best Youth Play Award.

More about Becca Johnson-Spinos, Director: The Artistic Director of Outcry Theatre, Becca received her MFA in Directing for Theatre from Baylor University, Her thesis production was of The Seagull. Becca earned her BFA in Music Theatre from Elon University, and attended Playwrights Horizons Directing Lab and Shakespeare's Globe and Washington University's Shakespeare Intensive. She wrote, directed, and performed a one-woman show for the New York Fringe Festival. Previously, Becca worked as an assistant to the Artistic Director at Burning Coal Theatre Company in North Carolina, where she also assistant directed and performed. In the Dallas area, she directed over twenty-five productions at Plano Children's Theatre and also served as their daytime show manager. Becca and her husband, Jason Johnson-Spinos, a film and theatre artist and educator, founded Outcry Theatre in 2012 with the mission to draw young adults to theatre. Outcry Youth Theatre, started in 2016, is an expansion of Outcry Theatre in which Becca has created the perfect vehicle to meld her extensive children's theatre experience with the artistic vision of Outcry, creating a unique theatre offering for DFW audiences and youth participants.

Logan Beutel and Will McDonald in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Logan Beutel and Will McDonald in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Will McDonald and Logan Beutel in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Logan Beutel in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Logan Beutel in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Logan Beutel in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Will McDonald and Logan Beutel in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Will McDonald and Logan Beutel in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Logan Beutel and Will McDonald in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Logan Beutel and Will McDonald in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Harrison Polen and Ben McElroy in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Harrison Polen and Ben McElroy in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Ben McElroy and Harrison Polen in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Harrison Polen in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Harrison Polen in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Ben McElroy in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Ben McElroy and Harrison Polen in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Ben McElroy and Harrison Polen in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Harrison Polen and Ben McElroy in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos.

Will McDonald in Treasure Island. Photo by Jason Johnson-Spinos