Created: Friday, June 19, 2009 5:54 p.m. CST FONT SIZE:   Crash Course: CCT campers take charge in production of 'Miss Saigon'By DAILY CHRONICLE
On Wednesday, after three hours of rehearsing in a practice room with a broken air conditioner, actors participating in Children’s Community Theatre’s Advanced Imagination Camp could not deny the irony. The sweat-drenched dance number they were rehearsing, “The Heat is On in Saigon,” was all too appropriate for the sweltering conditions. It also was fitting in a less literal sense. While it was only the third day of camp, the heat was on to perfect the number because only nine days remained until the curtain went up on their production of “Miss Saigon: The School Edition.” The show is a debut of sorts. It is being produced by special arrangement with Music Theater International, which is rolling out a slightly shorter version of the Broadway hit with material more suitable for younger actors. The camp attracts actors between the ages of 12 and 18 from across DeKalb County and challenges them to stage a high-quality musical on a very tight schedule. Most participants are veterans of school shows and local theater troupes. However, most shows they have done are produced on a schedule that stretches anywhere from three to five months. “Miss Saigon,” a hybrid of an opera and a musical, will be pulled together in just under two weeks. “It’s extreme, intense,” said Rebecca Whittenhall, 13, of Genoa. “With other shows, you can kind of pace yourself. Here, every day is crunch time. It’s awesome.” No one is more aware of that than Susan Webb, the band and choir director at Plano High School, who is music director for the show. “There is so much music in this show – 34 songs, and it covers a tremendous range of styles,” Webb said. “It’s very demanding. The entire production is done in song, so essentially it’s an opera.” “This is a very concentrated camp; there is no downtime,” Webb added. “From 1 until 6 p.m., they work in rotations, and if they aren’t singing, they are dancing, or working on blocking, or making costumes – and they just can’t get enough of it. These kids are so dedicated that some of them come in three or four hours early to work on their music.” But work on stage is only part of the story. During the course of the camp, they will paint sets, aim and focus lights, create their own costumes and learn how to apply their own make-up. There also are workshops on stage combat, diction and dialect, vocal warm-ups and character development. “We want them to learn all of the mechanics of a show,” said Kris Pagoria, who has directed many shows for CCT, including all three Advanced Imagination Camp productions. “When they leave here, we want them to understand what it takes to put on a show, and to realize that they are capable or excellence.” Sharon Pagoria, Kris’ mother and camp coordinator for CCT, says she marvels every year at what the students accomplish. “When you watch the work and effort they put in, and see how beautifully they pull it off, it’s just exhilarating,” Sharon said. “They are an amazing and talented bunch of kids.” If you go When: 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday Where: O’Connell Theatre in the Stevens Building at Northern Illinois University Note: Tickets are available at the door prior to shows or online at www.cctonstage.com CCT’s young bloggers Follow the CCT’s Advanced Imagination Camp online. A group of participants in CCT’s Advanced Imagination Camp are hosting a special Daily Chronicle blog highlighting their experience. Their stories can be found at www.daily-chronicle.com/blogs/. There, you can find accounts of their progress on “Miss Saigon,” see pictures of them in action and videos of camp organizers and participants. |
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