Youth Theater is for 3rd-9th graders in Jackson County. Youth are taught about nearly all aspects of a production, from auditioning, blocking, learning to show emotion on stage, applying stage makeup, and more. No experience is necessary! Youth Theater is a great way for youth to learn basic theater skills before trying high school or Main Stage productions.
Two Youth Theater productions are put on each season: One play in December (with auditions in September), and a musical in March (auditions in January). Each production does three performances. See below for info on this Season’s productions.
The Enchanted Bookshop
Performances: December 2,3,4 2022
Location: Jackson’s First Presbyterian Church
Synopsis: During the day, A Likely Story may look like any other used bookstore. But at night, it’s a place where magic happens. That’s when the characters inside the books come alive! Six of those characters — Dorothy Gale, Robin Hood, Pollyanna, Sherlock Holmes, Heidi, and Tom Sawyer — long to help Margie, the scatterbrained owner, save her struggling store. But they’re not allowed to leave the building or be seen by human eyes. So when a pair of smugglers comes looking for a stolen necklace hidden inside one of the books, the characters are torn. Should they warn Margie and risk disappearing forever? Or can they find a way to defeat the crooks without being seen? Featuring additional appearances by such beloved literary characters as the Queen of Hearts, Long John Silver, and Doctor Dolittle, this charming comedy celebrates the joy of reading in a fresh, fun-filled way.
Cast:
Bombalurina – Jillian Rolfs
Book Fairy – Jaida Zegarlowicz-Wagoner
Doctor Dolittle – Faith Martin
Dorothy – Josephine Blackwell
Eddie – Henry Soltis
Fagin – Clive Seydell
Fingers – Lily Peterson
Frankenstein – Jeromy Campbell
Heidi – Julia Billman
Hop A Long Cassidy – Kaeden Salee
Lady in Red – Brenleigh McCort
Long John Silver – Leoben Ruoff
Margie – Tiffany Taylor
Mom – Kelsea Salee
Officer Ketchum – Lyla Rickman
Pollyanna – Aubrey Reynolds
Queen of Hearts – Gretta Dorbin
Robin Hood – Keegan Akers
Ms. Sherlock Holmes – Serena Fleming
Timmy – Jeromy Campbell
Tom Sawyer – Darwin VanSumeren
Toto – Emma Sullivan
Virtual Readings – June 2021
“Once Upon a Zoom” and “Alice in Cyberland”
June 4, 2021
Once Upon a Zoom
Ava wants friends, which is why she agreed to work with some classmates on a project about the modern relevance of fairy tales. But as Ava finds herself once again waiting for her partners to show up online and feeling like she has to do all the work herself, she’s suddenly “Zoom-bombed”… by fairy tale characters! Ava soon gleans a lesson from timorous Cinderella, brash Maid Marion, besotted Robin Hood, and evil Evil Queen: her story is her own to write. Newly determined not to be taken advantage of, Ava is ready to tell the others that their partnership is over. Instead, she comes to find that her classmates have also learned a lesson about just how relevant fairy tales can be.
Alice in Cyberland
Procrastinating on her homework, Alice falls asleep as she plays solitaire on her computer and is awoken by a white rabbit. As the fuzzy bunny rushes off, the Cheshire Cat appears, informing Alice with a smile that she is now in Cyberland. Alice learns that she must find the dreaded Queen of Hearts in order to learn the password that will allow her to regain control of her computer. But everyone she meets along the way — a caterpillar, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and a duchess — tells her that she doesn’t want to meet the Queen of Hearts! When Alice finally encounters the Queen, her majesty accuses the visitor of stealing her password and puts her on trial in a most ridiculous manner.
Sign up by 6:00pm on Friday May 14 to be a part of this reading! Sign up here.
Jungle Book
TBD: Youth events are currently on hold!
Youth Theater Musical at The Middle School at Parkside’s Kiesel Auditorium
Come hear the incredible tale of Mowgli, a young boy raised by wolves. With the help of his friends — the bear Baloo, the panther Bagheera and the python Kaa — Mowgli learns the ways of the jungle. Some of the jungle boy’s adventures are gripping, like the time he encounters the hooded cobra who guards the treasure vault in the Deserted City. Others, like the coconut-tossing monkeys who take him prisoner, are hysterical. But the jungle is also dangerous, for it is the home of Shere Khan, the man-eating tiger who has vowed to destroy Mowgli. With his fawning jackal follower, Shere Khan plots to take control of the jungle. Mowgli must use all his strength and courage to stop Shere Khan before it is too late.
Auditions are to be held in January 2022. Check out our Auditions Page or sign up for our email list to get Audition announcements throughout the year.
