summer vacation spent on stage

Summer vacation spent on stage

Carousel program provides teens some sweet roles

The Vancouver Province

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

By Stuart Derdeyn

Left: Chelsea Cameron (Juliet) and Adam Duff (Romeo) in Carousel Theatre's Romeo and Juliet, which is playing at the Performance Works outdoor stage

Summer fun in Vancouver isn't under the sun. Kids know time spent indoors and out of the rain is a given during the period between finals and the first day back to school. What are you going to do?

If you're a thespian, Carousel Theatre School's Teen Shakespeare Program is aces.

Teen actors, ages 13 to 17, from Lower Mainland secondary schools are offered the opportunity to mount and present a classic by the Bard in a professional theatre environment. The 13-member cast is advised -- not led -- by an award-winning creative team of industry pros. Many instructors are past summer-program grads.

Chelsea Cameron, 17, is back for her fourth summer. According to her bio she "will remain until forcefully removed." At age 14, the Grade 12

Ideal mini schooler played Peablossom in A Midsummer Night's Dream. This year she is Juliet.

"It's shocking, I really didn't expect to get her," says Cameron. "But it's great to be back again in any role."

Being on stage and receiving the great training inspired her, at age 14, to found the Young Company Players.

"We've done four productions. Our Town, a version of Frankenstein, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and our last show was Arthur Miller's The Crucible. It's not the lighter stuff I think suits our more comedic cast, but what the directors we've chosen wanted to do. Our ages span from 15 to 19, so there is a lot of variety in tastes."

Hooked to the core, she's setting her sights on Studio 58's theatre program after high school. Of course, Romeo and Juliet comes first.

"The theme is skater/Elizabethan, which actually sounds a lot more ridiculous than it is. The costumes are beautiful and the set design looks amazing. The only problem is that when I skate, it's mostly about falling down."

Her take on Shakespeare's star-crossed young lovers is interesting.

"They do what a lot of children do and rush into everything far too fast. Maybe if they had given it a few weeks before marrying, they might have figured out that love isn't all sunshine, rainbows and puppy dogs."

Appearing in his first Carousel show is 13 year-old Hastings Elementary student Sebastian Kenzie. A five-year veteran of the Arts Umbrella Outreach Program at Strathcona, he plays the Prince/Apothecary.

"It's pretty great playing royalty. Instead of getting people to tell you what to do, you get longer speeches and you're telling them what to do. That's fun, because I don't really get to do that at all in real life."

Kenzie started acting three years ago as a way to address what he calls "serious" shyness.

"I was one of those people who just never really talked at all, sitting over in the corner reading a book, but with this I've changed. Plus, it's great when kids are able to play characters that are their own age. It really means you can think about what they'd be thinking and feel it in the part."

He hopes to be involved in the Carousel program from now on and elsewhere. As for what to do off-season: "I'm kind of hoping to join Chelsea's company."

From small things, big things one day come.

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NEW SEASON

Carousel Theatre's new season features two offerings at the Waterfront Theatre and two tours to elementary schools.

At the Waterfront, Seussical the Musical by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens runs from November 28 to December 29, and Kim Selody's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkein's The Hobbit runs from April 9 to May 3, 2008.

On tour, kids can look for James Durham's The Big League, featuring four actors on Rollerblades, and Danny, King of the Basement, David S. Craig's gentle reminder to kids that there's poverty among us.

Details at www.carouseltheatre.ca or by call 604-669-3410.

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