WWT Workshop Showcases Young Talent
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
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And not only are students learning about the craft of theater, but they're also having fun. Those are ingredients that not only keep students coming back each year, but also help the Wagon Wheel grow theater lovers in the Warsaw community, according to Andy Robinson, co-workshop director.[[In-content Ad]]Friday was the second day for the students in the workshop. Already, they were reciting lines, rehearsing dance steps and singing songs for their upcoming production of "Bye, Bye, Birdie".
The musical is Aug. 2 at 1 p.m. at the Wagon Wheel Theatre. Tickets are $5 for students, and $10 for adults, and can be purchased at the box office now.
This is the fourth year for Ashley Skaggs, 17, in the workshop.
"I love working with different shows and especially with Ben and Andy. It's always a great experience," Skaggs said.
During her four years she's grown emotionally and learned "everything". She's had the opportunity to dance, sing, do Shakespeare, and help with stage managing.
Colton Johnson, 15, is attending the workshop for the first time this summer. He said he was interested in the workshop "for the experience as an actor. It's great to get a bigger part once in a while. I've been working on my singing. Ben and Andy are great with kids."
Johnson said he's improved his singing and has been working on his sight-reading. He's found the stage direction to be more challenging than he's used to, but, he said, "that's been a great experience."
"I want to go into this as a career, it's so fun. It's an accepting atmosphere. You get paid to play pretend," Skaggs said.
"The opportunity to entertain people night after night is great itself," said Johnson.
Robinson said the workshop students will put on "Bye, Bye, Birdie" on the same schedule as the professional actors at the Wagon Wheel do. In fact, it's three days shorter.
"A lot of the principal actors got their script last week," Robinson said, so they can learn the lines. Before the workshop started, students had to audition for the roles.
"What we love," Robinson said, "I would say nearly half the kids in this workshop had already been in a show in this workshop or at the Wagon Wheel. It's a great way to continue to grow these kids. Every moment is a teaching moment for us."
Robinson and co-director Ben Dicke may be staging the students, but they're also teaching them about theater along the way, he said.
As for why Robinson and Dicke chose "Bye, Bye, Birdie" for the workshop's show this year, Robinson said the musical offers a lot of roles, it has a really fun ensemble with a lot for everyone to do, there's a lot of little parts, and it wouldn't look wrong on the "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" stage. "Molly Brown" is the current WWT show. "Birdie" also is a great show for the students to do, Robinson said, because it's about teenagers.
"Everyone comes in with a strength in one area," Robinson said of the students. "We try to spotlight that area, but also give them a chance to grow, too."
Robinson and Dicke aren't the only WWT performers offering the students their expertise. Kira Lace Hawkins, who played Aunt Em and Glinda this summer in "The Wizard of Oz", is serving as musical director, while Adrian Aguilar (Ren in "Footloose") is handling the choreography.
"It's all the style of the show," said Aguilar of the choreography. "There's a lot of fun, wild dancing."
"I'm so happy to be here," Dicke said. Doing six productions over the summer, the workshop allows the WWT performers a change of pace. Dicke said it's great to do the workshop at this point of the season because they themselves have learned so much this season that they can pass on to the workshop students. They have more ideas to use from the season for "Bye, Bye, Birdie".
Robinson said the theater has invested a lot of money into the workshop because it feels so strongly about the importance of it. Dicke said with the theater doing newer shows, like "Footloose" this summer and "High School Musical" in 2009, it piggybacks on what the workshop is doing. And Robinson said the Warsaw area has a lot of talent, as well as students from Fort Wayne, South Bend and other surrounding areas who participate in the workshop.
"I think it's a great opportunity (for students) to spend 1-1/2 weeks on one creative project," said Robinson.
"Bye, Bye, Birdie" is a satirical musical about a small Midwestern town situated in the late fifties. Lampooning Elvis Presley, "The Ed Sullivan Show" and the newly created teen marketing demographic, the show uses broad characters to highlight what happens when a teen sensation comes to a modest town.
To order tickets to the Aug. 2 show, call 574-267-8041, toll free at 866-823-2618 or visit the box office or online at www.wagonwheeltheatre.com
And not only are students learning about the craft of theater, but they're also having fun. Those are ingredients that not only keep students coming back each year, but also help the Wagon Wheel grow theater lovers in the Warsaw community, according to Andy Robinson, co-workshop director.[[In-content Ad]]Friday was the second day for the students in the workshop. Already, they were reciting lines, rehearsing dance steps and singing songs for their upcoming production of "Bye, Bye, Birdie".
The musical is Aug. 2 at 1 p.m. at the Wagon Wheel Theatre. Tickets are $5 for students, and $10 for adults, and can be purchased at the box office now.
This is the fourth year for Ashley Skaggs, 17, in the workshop.
"I love working with different shows and especially with Ben and Andy. It's always a great experience," Skaggs said.
During her four years she's grown emotionally and learned "everything". She's had the opportunity to dance, sing, do Shakespeare, and help with stage managing.
Colton Johnson, 15, is attending the workshop for the first time this summer. He said he was interested in the workshop "for the experience as an actor. It's great to get a bigger part once in a while. I've been working on my singing. Ben and Andy are great with kids."
Johnson said he's improved his singing and has been working on his sight-reading. He's found the stage direction to be more challenging than he's used to, but, he said, "that's been a great experience."
"I want to go into this as a career, it's so fun. It's an accepting atmosphere. You get paid to play pretend," Skaggs said.
"The opportunity to entertain people night after night is great itself," said Johnson.
Robinson said the workshop students will put on "Bye, Bye, Birdie" on the same schedule as the professional actors at the Wagon Wheel do. In fact, it's three days shorter.
"A lot of the principal actors got their script last week," Robinson said, so they can learn the lines. Before the workshop started, students had to audition for the roles.
"What we love," Robinson said, "I would say nearly half the kids in this workshop had already been in a show in this workshop or at the Wagon Wheel. It's a great way to continue to grow these kids. Every moment is a teaching moment for us."
Robinson and co-director Ben Dicke may be staging the students, but they're also teaching them about theater along the way, he said.
As for why Robinson and Dicke chose "Bye, Bye, Birdie" for the workshop's show this year, Robinson said the musical offers a lot of roles, it has a really fun ensemble with a lot for everyone to do, there's a lot of little parts, and it wouldn't look wrong on the "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" stage. "Molly Brown" is the current WWT show. "Birdie" also is a great show for the students to do, Robinson said, because it's about teenagers.
"Everyone comes in with a strength in one area," Robinson said of the students. "We try to spotlight that area, but also give them a chance to grow, too."
Robinson and Dicke aren't the only WWT performers offering the students their expertise. Kira Lace Hawkins, who played Aunt Em and Glinda this summer in "The Wizard of Oz", is serving as musical director, while Adrian Aguilar (Ren in "Footloose") is handling the choreography.
"It's all the style of the show," said Aguilar of the choreography. "There's a lot of fun, wild dancing."
"I'm so happy to be here," Dicke said. Doing six productions over the summer, the workshop allows the WWT performers a change of pace. Dicke said it's great to do the workshop at this point of the season because they themselves have learned so much this season that they can pass on to the workshop students. They have more ideas to use from the season for "Bye, Bye, Birdie".
Robinson said the theater has invested a lot of money into the workshop because it feels so strongly about the importance of it. Dicke said with the theater doing newer shows, like "Footloose" this summer and "High School Musical" in 2009, it piggybacks on what the workshop is doing. And Robinson said the Warsaw area has a lot of talent, as well as students from Fort Wayne, South Bend and other surrounding areas who participate in the workshop.
"I think it's a great opportunity (for students) to spend 1-1/2 weeks on one creative project," said Robinson.
"Bye, Bye, Birdie" is a satirical musical about a small Midwestern town situated in the late fifties. Lampooning Elvis Presley, "The Ed Sullivan Show" and the newly created teen marketing demographic, the show uses broad characters to highlight what happens when a teen sensation comes to a modest town.
To order tickets to the Aug. 2 show, call 574-267-8041, toll free at 866-823-2618 or visit the box office or online at www.wagonwheeltheatre.com
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