Mechanics Hall Inspires Musical Theater Among Local Youth

Unless you have been in Austria, Italy or Slovenia over the course of the last ten or eleven summers, attended the Life is Good festival in Boston, caught EY’S live broadcast on FOX 25 news, or heard one of the groups four professional CDs, you may not be familiar with “Electric Youth”, a dynamic ensemble of talented young singers and dancers. Trained at FSPA, The School of the New England Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin and backed by an eight piece band of Boston’s finest musicians, Electric Youth will bring their live show to Mechanics Hall in Worcester in an effort to promote and inspire the performing arts among area youth.  Electric Youth performances offer exciting family entertainment with an extensive repertoire of pop, rock and Broadway music staged and choreographed to entertain and delight audiences of all ages.

Electric Youth will engage young people between the ages of 10 and 18 from Worcester and surrounding cities and towns by offering musical theater workshops and master classes at Mechanics Hall during the afternoon of Sunday, May 31st.  The two hour workshop will consist of drama activities, dance, group singing and musical theater instruction.   Students will be grouped by age and those who attend may audition to perform live on stage with Electric Youth during a 7:00 pm “Pops” style performance that same night.  There is no cost for the workshops, but attendees are required to purchase two $15.00 tickets for the evening performance.

Bob Kennedy, Executive Director of Mechanics Hall is enthusiastic about the performance. “Mechanics Hall delights in having young people perform on our stage. Young performers shine in a world-class venue and audiences are inspired by the talent and poise of dedicated and talented youth.”

Raye Lynn Mercer, Executive Director of the New England Center for the Performing Arts and Director of Electric Youth’s creative team notes, “The experience of playing to thousands of people with the feel of a rock concert is something we have done many times in Europe.  We will work to replicate that energy and excitement at Mechanics Hall, both for The Audience and the performers, with a more theatrical Pops style ambiance.

During its summer tour in 2008, Electric Youth enjoyed enthusiastic audiences at Vienna’s famed Muiskverein concert hall, a show at the prestigious Ariston Thteater in Sanremo, Italy and a national television appearance on Slovenia’s Pop-TV while performing in the resort town of Portoroz.  Electric Youth returned to familiar stages and fans in Wildon, Oberwart and Obergrafendorf, Austria and found a new audience in the picturesque lakeside town Zell am See.  The tour included open air venues in the ancient Italian town of Gradisca, the Venetian palace at Villa Manin and in the open squares of the Adriatic resort towns of Lignano and Bibione.  

The Pops Concert at Mechanics Hall will also feature an ensemble of up and coming young performers called “Future Shock” and Electric Youth alumni who are currently pursuing stage careers.  The theme of the evening is Electric Youth – Past, Present and Future.

When not on stage, Electric Youth students go to regular academic schools during the day and then attend music, dance and drama classes in Franklin from three in the afternoon until nine at night, with dinner and homework breaks.  Ask any of this year’s fifteen Electric Youth members why they do it, and you’ll hear words like “passion”, “fun”, “friends”, “opportunities” and the “love” of performing. The mission of Electric Youth is to promote and inspire the performing arts, emphasizing positive values and demonstrating a disciplined approach to the development of life skills through arts education and community service.  Electric Youth members serve as mentors and peer leaders, exhibit impressive talent and are dedicated to representing the best of America’s youth. Electric Youth members have just completed their third “Movement to Music” workshop as part of a pilot program connecting individuals with special needs to their typical peers, providing a chance to sing, dance, perform and participate at whatever level possible while fostering friendship and peer relationships.

The members of Electric Youth 2009 are: Meg Charbonnier, Meghan Dean, Pat Dutton, Jill Gleason, Galen Hancock, Avery McStay,  Catherine Weiss and Ali Whitney of Franklin, Michael Egan of Hopkinton, Jacquie Hurley of North Attleboro, Jay Vita of Mansfield, Callie Liljeberg and Corrine Falotico of Wrentham, Ali McCurdy of Medfield, Katie Ryan of Millville. The musicians performing with Electric Youth are Kenny Hadley on Drums, Jeff Hoyer on Trombone, Arnie Krakowsky on Tenor Sax, Raye Lynn Mercer on Piano, Walter Platt on Trumpet, Mark Poniatowski on Bass, Ken Ried on Sax and Mark White on Guitar.

For more information about the workshops and auditioning for the evening performance, please contact FSPA at the New England Center for the Performing Arts at 508-528-8668 or visit www.electricyouth.com.  For tickets to the event, please contact the Mechanics Hall Box Office at 508-752-0888 or www.mechanicshall.org. For a preview of Electric Youths performance, visit https://www.youtube.com/user/38Main.

To post a comment, you must register and login.