Fayette Opera House

Haven’t we all found ourselves Up the Creek at one time or another? Local teens will tell us what it means to be Up the Creek. Participants build performance skills while they write and produce a play about living, growing up, and finding their way in the Bean Creek Valley.

 

The Bean Creek Valley History Center provides stories from the past and not-so-distant past for perspective and local flavor. Workshop participants take it from there led by outstanding teaching artists to write and perform an original play that tells their story.

 

About the workshop...

The Fayette Community Fine Arts Council, the Opera House, and the Bean Creek Valley History Center are excited to introduce the Fayette Summer Theater Workshop. Through grants and community support, we are able to bring outstanding teaching artists to Fayette for three weeks to help a group of teenagers hone their skills in acting, singing, storytelling, and dance and put those skills to use as they create and perform an original play, Up the Creek. We will hit the road for field trips as well. Both professional and community theater performances will inspire and challenge. The Croswell Opera House in Adrian and Tibbits Opera House in Coldwater are on the agenda. The outdoor drama, Trumpet in the Land, will be a highlight of the program -- it is Ohio’s premier and longest running outdoor theatre production, telling one story of Ohio’s early settlement. Local history will come to life as told by some of the folks who lived it and through visits to historic sites and access to archives and artifacts. “The olden days” will be a contrast and catapult from which new stories can be told.

 

About the people...

Terry Boyarsky is a performing musician and teaching artist selected for the Ohio Arts Council Teaching Artist Roster. She has spent her life singing, dancing, playing piano, teaching, and sharing her art with groups from preschool to seniors. Robin Pease is a member of Kulture Kids, a performing arts collaborative in Cleveland, Ohio. She has performed and taught drama, music, and dance and is a noted storyteller. Both Robin and Terry are Kennedy Center trained teaching artists with extensive experience developing original theater works with their students. They enjoy working together and are excited about creating this program.Susan (Sly) Burke created an international summer theatre program that hosted teens from more than 30 countries over 14 summers. That program is now part of the International Schools Theatre Association and Susan has adapted the framework that was successful in the South of France to the Bean Creek Valley.

 

About the places...

The Adrian College campus combines modern amenities with a traditional college campus feel. Locating the program on this campus for the first week allows everyone time to focus without the distractions of home. Participants will get the feel of a college campus from dormitory living and cafeterias (unlike anything you have seen in local high schools) to studios and stages at our disposal. After work sessions are done for the day, the gym, track, sand volleyball, and tennis courts are available. Weeks 2 & 3 of the program are held at the Fayette Opera House. (Thanks to new air conditioning, the work space is actually workable in the summer.) Guest workshop leaders will help prepare all aspects of the production from set design to publicity.

 

About the performance...

The Bull Thistle Arts Festival on August 2 is the occasion and the location for the world premiere of Up the Creek. The Fesital is held at Fayette’s Normal Grove. Attendees at this growing festival are the audience for the performance. Up the Creek fits into the Bull Thistle Festival, a celebration of local tradition, local talent, and tall tales.

 

About the participants...

The most important component...you. If you are age 13 – 18 and ready to try something new and different, this is for you. No special skills are required to join the program. We have outstanding teaching artists who will teach you new skills, sharpen your existing skills and guide the creation of a compelling performance. Please join us.

 

Perhaps you have a grandchild, niece or nephew who no longer lives in the area but would like to visit for the summer. Please encourage them to participate. This is a great opportunity for scattered family members to learn about the Bean Creek Valley and have a great summer experience.

 

Program Cost

Participant fee: $900. Fee covers instruction, field trips, Week 1 accommodation and meals, Weeks 2 & 3 lunch and snacks, and play production expenses.

 

To accomodate family budgets, program fees may be paid as follows:

Deposit: $100 with application

May 1: $300

June 1: $300

July 12: $200

 

Scholarships are available. Contact OperahouseFayette@gmail.com for scholarship application information.

 

Cancellation & Refunds:

The Fayette Community Fine Arts Council reserves the right to cancel the workshop due to low enrollment no later than April 15, 2014 (Deposits fully refunded.) Participant cancellations are eligible for refunds as follows: before April 15, full deposit; April 16 - July 1, 75%; After July 1, 50%.