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Summer means theater to kids, too

Spring is in the air and young Vermont thespians are on stage. Spring plays and musicals are being performed in schools across the state. Over the next few weeks, audiences can see "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" at U-32, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" at Montpelier High School, "The Threepenny Opera" at Spaulding, both "Mulan" and "Anyone Can Whistle" at Harwood, and more musicals and dramas at other area schools.

However, opportunities for students to learn and hone stage skills do not end with the school year. Here is a sampling of summer youth theater programs in central Vermont.

Lost Nation Theater, Montpelier's resident professional theater company, has had summer Youth Theater Labs for students since 1996. "We have seen kids come up through the ranks, starting in the labs, then interning with us, and now in their own theater careers," said co-director Kathleen Keenan.

This year, Lost Nation is offering two five-day labs and a two-week Youth Musical Theater Production Lab, a collaborative program with the Monteverdi Music School. The five-day theater labs run June 26-30 and July 17-21, and have sessions for students ages 8-11 and 12-15.

These labs, Keenan said, have "skill development workshops where students do some voice work, movement, improvisation. We have a kind of buffet, depending on the tastes of the kids." Students get an introduction to technical aspects of the theater, usually see a LNT show, and learn about theater protocol.

"The Musical Theater Production Lab," Aug. 7-18, for ages 9-16, "is more product-oriented," explained Keenan. Students will take classes in theater and voice as well as rehearsing and performing a fully staged musical, "The Wind in the Willows." Tim Tavcar, executive director of the Monteverdi Music School, will lead the voice instruction. Theater classes will be led by LNT directors, stage managers, and guest artists. Tavcar and Keenan are providing the musical adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic tale of Toad, Mole, Ratty, and those marauding stoats and weasels.

"This is theater for kids and by kids," said Keenan. The program concludes with four performances of "The Wind in the Willows," complete with costumes and scenery.

Children from age 5 through their teens can work on the "triple threat" of singing, dancing and acting skills at Performing Arts and Sports Camp 2007, based at Harwood Union High School in Duxbury.

Program director Tara Dawn Bach-Martinez ran a similar program in the Mad River Valley for 11 years. Now, after a short hiatus, she is back with this expanded camp which also offers a sports training option. With a background in dance and musical theater, Bach-Martinez is an exercise physiologist in New York City.

"Getting kids connecting to their bodies and expressing themselves" is central to her approach, Bach-Martinez said. "Physical fitness: crunches, breathing exercises, some pilates, yoga, and calisthenics," are part of her students' daily routine. The dance component of the camp includes tap, jazz and some musical theater.

"With tap," she explained, "even the youngest children get a feeling for rhythm. They can learn time steps and tap within a couple of weeks and it teaches them coordination."

Bach-Martinez emphasizes the confidence-building parts of her program. "I find that if a child is apprehensive in one area, they inevitably shine in another," she said about how the breadth of her program helps students find their strengths. "I get such a rush out of seeing the kids getting more confidence in themselves. Each day they stand up taller and taller."

The three-week program, July 9-28, ends with a performance. This camp also has a sports option, directed by Victor Martinez, who trains competitive teen athletes.

The Skinner Barn in Waitsfield is again home to two sessions of Vermont Musical Theater Camp. Peter Boynton, Skinner Barn owner and program director, has more than 20 years of professional theater credits including starring as Tonio on "As the World Turns" and Broadway roles.

Vermont Musical Theater Camp for students ages 13 to 18 is offered July 9-20. For students ages 7 to 12, a one week session is offered from June 18-22.

"What sets us apart is that these kids get a chance to work with past and present Broadway professionals," said Boynton. Among this year's instructors, he said, "Nick Corley is in 'Mary Poppins' on Broadway and Jono Mainelli has been playing in the pit orchestra of 'Beauty and the Beast.'"

"The students get to work with six to eight instructors and get a broad range of disciplines," Boynton said. The faculty includes Bill Reed and Andrea Bonamico teaching voice, dancer and choreographer Tracy Martin, and Robin Fawcett, who, besides being an actor and theater arts instructor, is a skilled fight choreographer.

"Each day begins with physical movement and vocal technique," said Boynton. "After lunch every day is a different master class." These include song interpretation with a focus on Broadway repertoire, neutral mask, improvisation, and stage combat. Students end each day working with Boynton on individual and group songs for the public camp performance.

The Chandler Music Hall in Randolph continues its annual tradition of the Fourth of July Youth Musical Production this year with "Brigadoon."

Every year since 1999, students from schools around the region have come together in late June for a short intense rehearsal period, resulting in a full-blown musical production. "South Pacific," "Grease," and "Oliver" have been among past Independence Day shows.

Auditions will be held on March 31. Pre-registration is required. Most students in the musical are in high school, but some middle school and younger students participate. The program is very inclusive and in years past there has always been something for everyone.

After the show is cast, students start working on their parts. They are expected to come to the first rehearsal, June 18, with their lines memorized. Students must commit to daily rehearsals, usually spending the entire day at the theater, and the July 5-8 performances. When not in rehearsal, students help with other preparations for the show.

This year, as in the past, Charlie McMeekin is the producing director and Marjorie Drysdale the musical director.

"People thrive on the intensity of the experience," said Becky McMeekin, executive director of the Chandler. "It immerses kids in the arts and connects them with mentors and peers. It's about community building, and about making connections between communities and kids."

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