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Acting Up at Wakefield Summer Camp
Acting Up at Wakefield Summer Camp
By Jenna Sindle
What do you get when you combine 63 young actors, an original two-act musical story and script, a state-of-the-art theater, and just 30 hours to put it all together? At the Summer Smash Up (SSU) musical theater camp at Wakefield School in The Plains, the answer was: Simply Magic.
Summer Smash Up was started in 2016 by educators Toby Chieffo-Reidway and Jeremiah Tyler with just 15 campers Nine years later, this unique children’s theater experience has given hundreds of young people the chance to perform in original full-length musical productions. This past summer they did it for the first time in front of a packed house on a professional stage.
“We can’t believe how fortunate we are to perform in Wakefield’s George L. Ohrstrom Jr. Theater,” said Chieffo-Reidway. “When we started SSU we never imagined it would grow the way it has, and to perform in this space is an amazing privilege for our campers.”
This year’s musical, “Stuck on This Island,” follows the adventures of Dr. Alexandra Carmichael (played by Kiera McCrea) as she searches for a mysterious island. She encounters the fearsome pirate Commodore Bartholomew Handsome (played by Patrick Reidway).
The pair end up stranded on the island together, along with the Commodore’s mother, Arnaby Handsome (played by Presley Miner), the gregarious island native Mango Goonie (played by SSU newcomer Zach Laing) and his humanfruit companions, and the mysterious Gino (played by Evan Wall) with his adorably malevolent army of Sand Witches.
As secrets are revealed and old wounds are healed, the musical rockets toward a heartwarming conclusion filled with shocking revelations and happy reunions.
In addition to Chieffo-Reidway and Tyler, SSU is staffed by a team of talented and passionate young adults, many of whom were once actors in the camp. Music director and composer Ella Reidway is a music education major at Gettysburg College and the Sunderman Conservatory of Music. Choreographer Chloe Jornales is an acting major at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. And costumes, props and set design director Sarah Schettini is an art education major at Longwood University and the Cormier Honors College.
“We are so fortunate to have graduates who still want to be a part of the magic,” added Tyler. “SSU has helped shape their lives and love of theater, and now they get the chance to pass that love on to the next generation of young people.”
Summer Smash Up will be back from July 7-18 in 2025, with another all new musical production.
“We’re so excited that SSU has found a new home at Wakefield,” said Katy Benko Miner, co-chair of the school’s Performing Arts Department. “It’s wonderful to see our students work alongside students from Fauquier, Loudoun, and Fairfax, all as part of an innovative program that will shape their lives for years to come.”
