Youth sample stage in summer theater program

WASILLA — Whether it’s building confidence or understanding the nuts and bolts of playacting, budding young thespians are bound to learn something during Valley Performing Arts’ summer theater program.

Since at least 2002, Valley Performing Arts (VPA) has invited youth to participate in its Summer Theatre Arts Program, which this year saw 130 students age 7 to 17 embark on three 2-week theatrical journeys.

“The attraction to it is that young people get the opportunity to really see what goes on in a theater production,” said VPA Executive Director Garry Forrester.

Forrester said the program is designed for young people with no previous theater experience, but many students come back year after year, until they turn 18.

Madison Ortega, for example, has participated in the program for the last five years, ever since her elementary school music teacher, Kai West, started directing a VPA summer session.

“West made me do it,” Ortega admitted.

Now 16 and preparing for her junior year at Colony High School, Ortega said she probably wouldn’t be as bold performance-wise if not for West’s continued encouragement at VPA.

“(The program) definitely helped me gain confidence,” Ortega said.

Ortega was last seen onstage in “Anne of Avonlea” at VPA last fall, and prior to that was involved in Colony High’s production of “Shrek: The Musical” at the Glenn Massay Theater. This summer, she plays Minnie, the “sassy janitoress” in “Rocky and the Rainforest,” a kind of spoof on the story of Tarzan from the perspective of a TV film crew.

Ortega said her involvement in the summer program has helped her make friends and other valuable connections over the years.

“You meet new people really fast,” she said.

That goes for directors of VPA’s regular season shows, as well. Sometimes they pop into the summer sessions to scope out talent for the adult productions.

“You learn here and if you like it you try out for one of the bigger plays,” Ortega said.

Teeland Middle School student Mason Knudsen, a first-time summer program participant this year, said he enrolled at his parents encouragement in an effort to explore a potential new hobby. “So far it seems like a positive group,” he said on day three of the third and final summer session this year.

Knudsen said his only experience onstage was when he played a bush at age 5, and the only play he remembered seeing was “The Lion King” in Anchorage two years later. As a guitarist, though, he said he was interested in performance, said hoped the summer program would help him calm his stage fright.

Mat-Su Central School student Olivia Wells, 17, said this year’s session was her first one as well, and like Ortega, was convinced to enroll at West’s suggestion.

The difference was, West is Wells’ aunt.

Wells was also approaching the program from a different angle, agreeing to work with West on the set and costumes for two plays — “Rocky and the Rainforest” with the 12- to 17-year-olds and “The Jungle Book: The Musical” with the 7- to 11-year-olds.

Wells said a lot of her friends are into acting, but she prefers to stay behind the scenes.

“I like being backstage,” she said.

Though Wells is homeschooled, she said she hopes to be involved in Palmer High School’s drama club this year as a stagehand — a position she’s previously held in plays put on by Lazy Mountain Bible Church — or another member of the technical crew.

Wells said she’s looking into becoming a librarian, but would like to take advantage of an Alaska Performance Scholarship at the University of Alaska Anchorage, if possible.

She said one of the great things about the VPA summer program is that everyone gets a part, no matter the skill level.

“If you’re like me and you’re uncomfortable with the spotlight, or you’re not sure if you want to do acting, this might be a good place to try that out,” Wells said.

The 2016 session ends next Friday, Aug. 5 with performances by both age groups. “The Jungle Book,” with the younger actors, starts at 6 and “Rocky and the Rainforest” begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door.

VPA’s Summer Theatre Arts Program is funded in part by BP Alaska, The Alaska State Council on the Arts and The National Endowment for the Arts

For more information about VPA and its programs, visit www.valleyperformingarts.org/

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.