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Youth Acting Company: A New Opportunity
Youth Acting Company members attend their first table reading for Romeo + Juliet. Photo by UnityMike, Michael Hendrickson.
In Fall 2019, the conservatory launched the Youth Acting Company (YAC). The company, comprised of students between the ages of 12 and 19, was created to give young, capable actors performance opportunities throughout the year. Actors are selected for the YAC by invitation only, and students rehearse for three performances a year in the fall, winter and spring. In addition, students must attend two or more rehearsals per week while in session and must be enrolled in at least two conservatory classes. The YAC allows actors to perform more frequently than they might at school and exposes them to multiple directors and styles of theatre. “Our conservatory focuses on training and educating students in the arts, but we also understand how important performance opportunities are in order to put that training into practice,” says Meghan Montaner, director of education at the theatre and conservatory. “Together with our Youth Summer Program, YAC students are exposed to four different directing styles in three or more spaces in a single year. It’s a rare experience for a local teen and certainly pushes them to grow and adapt.” To date, the YAC has presented two productions and is currently rehearsing for a third to be performed in June. In October 2019, company members debuted in Roald Dahl’s The Witches, a Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) show directed by Sharon Hart, an instructor in the conservatory since its opening in 2017. As Hart describes, “experimenting with different styles of acting outside of the classroom is immensely valuable for theatre students and contributes to a holistic approach of learning from doing. TYA is a presentational style of theatre that draws upon a different set of performance skills.” The YAC members had the chance to put these skills to the test as they visited and performed for three different schools in the Worcester area, in addition to two public performances of the show at The Hanover Theatre. For many YAC members, this was their first experience performing in the TYA style and touring a show. According to YAC member Denali Herbert, taking part in a traveling production was a new and exciting opportunity. “One of my favorite experiences I have had in YAC was during The Witches. I have never experienced a touring production and hadn’t known how fun it could be performing in new and different places,” says Herbert. “I especially loved the excitement of each audience and watching their enjoyment as we performed.”
The company’s second performance took place in February 2020 and was a collection of original monologues entitled Acts of Love directed by Jenna Lea Scott, a Boston-based actress and director who recently joined the conservatory faculty. For this performance experience, company members were tasked with writing and performing their own stories about love. Company members learned firsthand about the hard work, time and effort involved in creating a show from scratch. “YAC is a fantastic opportunity for teens,” says Scott, “unlike community theatre or high school drama club, YAC focuses on the ensemble. It was a joy to foster this talented ensemble who support each other and work so well together.”
Currently, YAC members are in Zoom rehearsals for a staged reading of Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, directed by Olivia Scanlon, managing director of Worcester’s new BrickBox Theater and a classicallytrained actor herself. Scanlon works with YAC members to demystify Shakespeare’s language and make it their own. “If they can act Shakespeare,” Scanlon claims, with a smile, “they can act anything.”
In tandem with her management of the BrickBox, Scanlon will manage a new initiative called The Hanover Theatre Repertory, or THT Rep, for short. Under its auspices, THT Rep will create homegrown plays and theatrical events to be performed at this new, more intimate venue. Scanlon and Montaner plan to further develop the relationship between THT Rep and the YAC, with an ultimate goal of providing the youth actors perennial opportunities to learn from and work with professionals in fully realized THT Rep productions.
For now, the YAC has already proved enormously beneficial to its members. According to company member Maggie Mussler, “I’ve learned how to improve my acting abilities and have been able to work with some of the best performers I’ve ever met. I am truly grateful to have gotten the opportunity to be a part of this group.” For company member Sophie Szydlik, YAC has offered her unique experiences and taken her training to a new level. “The entire artistic team pushes us and exposes us to things we wouldn’t find anywhere else, allowing us to grow as performers and people,” says Szydlik.
In the future, the hope is to expand the company and continue to offer students exciting opportunities in Worcester’s growing arts scene. “We are so proud of all eight of our inaugural Youth Acting Company members. Getting to know them and watching them take advantage of this opportunity has been an incredible experience for all involved,” says Montaner.
Top: YAC members pose with director, Jenna Lea Scott, after their performance of Acts of Love in February. Bottom: Students at Rice Square Elementary School enjoy a performance of Roald Dahl’s The Witches by the Youth Acting Company as a TYA show.
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