Young actors needed for VPA

Having three young talented actresses in Hillarie Putnam, Sarah Hendricks and Aurora Pease has been a welcomed delight for Valley Performing Arts. Getting other people their age to come out for productions is more of a trying experience, however.

The three girls have grown up on the VPA stage (see related story). But VPA could benefit from other students, and getting them to show up at auditions hasn't been an easy task.

"These girls have had to leap into young adult roles because there are very few 20- to 30-year-olds who audition," said director Grant Olson. "A production like 'Sweet Charity' is a perfect example. We couldn't have done it if not for these girls' abilities to play characters older than they are. They play up very well in fact."

Recruiting young men is an even harder task, Olson said.

"There just aren't a lot of men in that age group who want to come out and audition," he said.

That makes the role the three girls play at VPA even more important.

"These ladies are a valuable asset to VPA. They have grown by leaps and bounds in their performance skills," Olson said. "There are wonderful opportunities for other people their age to get involved, too."

The three young actresses agreed that getting their peers involved isn't always an easy proposition.

"They are normally enthusiastic at first, but getting a commitment is tough," Pease said.

Hendricks said it takes a big investment of time, and that's something her peers aren't willing to do oftentimes.

"It's sad to say, but I've missed every one of my homecomings, but this is what I do," Hendricks said. "I'm a bad example, I guess, but you don't have to be fanatical about it like I am to get involved.

"There are a lot of kids who don't give theater a second thought," she said. "They are tentative to get involved at first."

Putnam said she has plenty of support for her endeavors on the stage, but that doesn't necessarily mean there are more young people turning out for productions.

"A lot of my teammates come and watch the plays," Putnam said, "but it isn't something a lot of my friends would get involved with I guess."