The 18 students of 20 Performing Arts Academy, a new Brantford-Brant based musical theatre school for youth in Grades 6 to 12, have been hard at work in preparing for their upcoming performance of FAME Jr.
Brantford residents Theresa Noon-Hunter, owner and artistic director of There’s A Production, and her long-time best friend, Kristen Henderson, created the school program as a way to give children a safe place to learn about the performing arts and the fundamentals that go into building a theatre production from the ground up.
“We really felt there was a need for the kind of programming where kids can learn to hone their craft and understand what it takes to make a production happen in a space that is comfortable for them,” said Noon-Hunter in an interview with the Brant Beacon back in August. “We’ve designed the academy to focus on personal and artistic growth so it’s going to help not only instill confidence, but with things like public speaking, self-discipline and putting in the time, effort and commitment into putting on a show. It’s not just about being the best actor on stage; Obviously, we want to give them the tools to be able to be that, but we really want them to find their people and find the parts of themselves that they didn’t know existed.”
The students have been meeting every Saturday since September 14, and each week they’ve been learning something new including things like character’s lines, lyrics, choreography, stage blocking and more.
Chase Kovacs, the 14-year-old who landed the role of Schlomo Metzenbaum, and Taite Bowman, the 15 year-old playing the role of Serena Katz, said that while neither of them are strangers to the world of theatre, they’ve both been enjoying the program and what it has to offer.
“I find having a slightly smaller cast you get a lot more one-on-one opportunities,” said Bowman. “For example, when I’m working with my scene partner, I’ve gotten to know how to say the lines and how the audience will react based on how I say them. Sometimes in bigger programs you don’t get as much of that and so I feel like I’ve learned more about acting opportunities and strategies.”
Kovacs added that the process and his role has challenged him to play a character he isn’t typically used to.
“The character of Schlomo is kind of different from any other character I’ve played because he tends to be more emotional and sad during certain moments,” said Kovacs. “I’ve never really played a character like that, usually I play either funny and happy characters or angry characters, so the program has really helped push me out of my comfort zone and tap into that other side of me.”
Zachary Purdon, a 12-year-old member of FAME Jr.’s ensemble, said that while he too is no stranger to the stage, he’s also been enjoying his time at 20 Performing Arts Academy.
“I’ve made a lot of friends so far and that’s really nice, I’m also really liking the show itself as well as the choreography, “ he said. “Since we started in September, I think I’ve really learned that it takes a lot of work to be an actor, a dancer and a singer but it’s been really fun. Being in the ensemble it’s kind of nice because we get to do our own thing with improv and that’s become one of my favourite parts.”
Noon-Hunter said that while they still have six weeks to go until their performances, she’s proud of how far the kids have come.
“We’ve got kids that have a plethora of experience and kids who are doing their very first show ever and I’m just in awe of all of them,” she said. “We started from the ground up and to see everyone show up and bring their A game every week, it’s just amazing. At this point, we’re really starting to cruise through the material and we’ve been getting into the production aspect of the show with the costumes, and props and getting them used to wearing their show shoes, so it’s stuff like that and it’s getting pretty exciting over here.”
The students are currently in a friendly competition to see who can sell the most tickets and the winner is set to get a cash prize at the end.
“Our show will take place at Sydenham-Heritage United Church and the performances run on Friday, December 6 at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, December 7 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.” said Noon-Hunter. “Tickets are on sale now and now, the kids are having a friendly little competition to win a cash prize, so when you purchase the tickets online at www.theresaproduction.com we’ve added a little box there indicating which one of the students you’re supporting.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
