NEYT presents 'Godspell' in all its positive, groovy glory

By JON POTTER

Reformer Staff

BRATTLEBORO - - Religion is highly charged territory, so if you're going to go there, it's best to tread carefully - like with big clown shoes and groovy dance steps. Once again, the New England Youth Theatre steps boldly where others merely mince, as two dozen Senior Company actors go all-in on a production of the groundbreaking rock musical, "Godspell."

Performances open Friday and continue through July 14. With memorable songs such as "Day by Day," a full-on rock band backing the singers, colorful costumes and a story that leaves plenty of room for improvisation, clowning and the high-energy contributions of the NEYT cast, "Godspell" is based on the parables of Jesus, particularly the gospels of Matthew and Luke. But at NEYT, the show also comes right from the Book of Stephen. "They call this show NEYT's religion, because clowning is NEYT's religion .... I've talked a lot about this show being about changing 'me' into 'we,'" said director Stephen Stearns. "This show is probably just about the most universal show ever written. The messages go back to way before the Bible .... We've had talks with the cast about religion. … There are no-religion kinds in the cast, and Catholic kids and Protestant kids and Jewish kids and atheist kids." Though based on Christian texts, the themes of "Godspell" transcend any particular religion, and the music is set in modern times - NEYT transports audiences back to the late-1960s when a bunch of people step out of their everyday lives, come together and are reminded of some powerful lessons they may have once learned but forgot. "People are so plugged in and connected all the time, we've lost our organic roots. It's a way of pulling back from looking at the screen and seeing what's around us," said Chris Diak, who plays Jesus in this production. "I feel like it has the lessons of The Bible with the religiousness removed," said Alec Silver, who plays Judas, a complicated and painful role. "I, can honestly say that I really feel awful when I decide to break away .... The last scene ... it's not acting." Indeed the last scene, when Jesus takes his leave, is powerful and emotional. More than one cast member had tears in his eyes after it during a run-through Tuesday afternoon. But most of the time, "Godspell" is a freewheel in', fun, high-spirited set of stories told with clowning, comedy, improv and inclusion - it might as well ho an outward expression of NEYT's mission. "It preaches NEYT's philosophy of everyone joining in," said cast member Emily Seymour. "Community .... I feel like that's a big part of it," added Rachel Durante. "The miracle of it is that this guy shows up and goes into the 'interesting' zone and convinces other people to go into the interesting zone, the curiosity zone, with him, and through some simple children's stories teaches them lessons about how to behave," said Stearns. "It's about getting involved." Sounds like a winning formula. It certainly has been in "Godspell's" case. Conceived and originally directed by John Michael Tebelak, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, "Godspell" debuted in 1971 and became one of the biggest off-Broadway and Broadway successes of all time. And Stearns was one of the first people ever to see the show. He and his wife Bonnie were living in Greenwich Village when some of the actors in the original production called them in off the street saying they needed an audience for run-through. "We got the first glimpse of it, and we loved it," said Stearns. About 10 years ago, Stearns was planning to do "Godspell" for NEYT's summer show, but the cast didn't come together, and he scrubbed the plan and moved on to other shows. This year, it bubbled back to the top of the list. For this production, Stearns has added some unique NEYT twists, including a new beginning, which features him on stage as an old clown, selling all his clown stuff. The young people passing by take him up on his offer and are transported back in time to the '60s. Things take off from there. Stearns will be on stage, clowning, for about half a hour before the show as part of the setup, so audiences can come early and be entertained. The show has a groovy look, thanks largely to the efforts of Sandy Klein, who assembled the costumes. There is technicolor lighting, a rock band led by musical director Alii Lubin and dancing choreographed by Jen Moyse. Adding a further bit of authenticity, local artist Scot Borofsky, a nationally known street artist, painted the back wall to look like a cityscape of the period, complete with "Clapton is God" graffiti. The songs are well-loved and instantly hummable. Asked which one was there favorite song, cast members reeled off seven titles, no two of them the same: "We Beseech Thee," "Save the People," "On the Willows," "All for the Best," "By My Side," "Beautiful City," "The Finale." Performances of "Godspell" at NEYT, 100 Flat St., are this Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m., Sunday, at 2 p.m., and Tuesday, July 10, through Saturday, July 14, at 7 p.m., with a matinee on Saturday, July 14, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $13 for adults, $11 for seniors, and $9 for students and may be purchased at www.neyt.org or at the NEYT Box Office in person, or by phone at 802-246-6398, from noon to 5 p.m., on Wednesdays. New England Youth Theatre is an accessible theater, with accommodations for wheelchairs, and assistive listening devices for patrons who are hard of hearing. The sponsor is 1st Advantage Dental. New England Youth Theatre is also supported by Foard Panel, the Vermont Children's Trust Fund, Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.  

Rocking the boat: NEYT troupers act against bullying

By JON POTTER, Reformer Staff
Brattleboro Reformer
Posted:   03/30/2012

BRATTLEBORO - No kid wants to feel like roadkill.

But that's how Daniel McMahon feels after being buried in an avalanche of bigger, older kids, who trample him in a schoolyard touch football game, take the ball away and call him "loser" as they leave him lying there ... like roadkill.

Fortunately, this game comes with a "Rewind" button. As the big kids celebrate their touch football success, Celia steps forward and stops them in their tracks with a disarming question: "Would you want that done to you?"

Chastened, the big kids rewind the scene, and their leader, Aja, chooses sides a little differently, mixing big kids and little kids and picking Daniel to be his quarterback. The scene plays forward again, this time happily ... with no roadkill.

But life doesn't come with a "Rewind" button. Nobody knows that better than the 14 teens and tweens who gathered on a March afternoon to enact this little scene in a classroom at New England Youth Theatre.

Those young people make up the "Rock Your Boat" AcTouring Company, a program of NEYT that aims to address real-life issues kids face, through skits, theater games and direct engagement with students.

Working with NEYT Founder and Artistic Director Stephen Stearns, the 14 young people appear to be having plenty of fun as they worked for more than two weeks to create skits and scenes for student audiences. But a list of issues on a blackboard behind them indicates the serious nature of their work: Bullying, gay taunting, laughing at misfortune, betraying trust, exclusion of the uncool, cyberbullying, making fun of race or religion, spreading lies, ganging up, intimidation, bus bullying.

No wonder Stearns had little trouble finding four high-school-age mentors and 10 actors ages 11 to 13 from Brattleboro, Bellows Falls and Keene, N.H., willing to do such important work.

"NEYT is a big part of my life. Stephen Stearns is one of my first acting coaches, so I knew it would be a lot of fun," said 11-year-old Rock Your Boat troupe member Lexi Larsen. "It's good to help people, because in my school there's a bunch of bullying, and it has to stop."

"Rock Your Boat" began a tour of four elementary schools on Tuesday at Vernon Elementary School and Wednesday at Oak Grove School in Brattleboro. The programs include 30 minutes of performance and 15 minutes for the actors to talk about issues with the students at the school. The tour continues on April 3 at Academy School and April 6 at Guilford Elementary School.

The burning question is will it work? The Rock Your Boat actors believe it will.

"We're not saying it in a lecturing way. We're saying it in a fun way,"said Rock the Boat trouper Maia Struthers-Friedman.

"I think that theater can be super-influential," agreed fellow Rock the Boater Maeve Campman. "I'm not positive this will change bullying, but it will definitely raise awareness of it."

The early returns are favorable. One woman in the audience in Vernon told Stearns "This is the best thing I have ever seen brought into the school."

It made a big impression with the fourth- through sixth-graders at Oak Grove, too. Very telling was the first question a student asked the troupers: "Will you be back next year?"

The Rock the Boat program represents the latest step in NEYT's growing efforts to reach outside its walls and beyond merely performing plays and musicals.

"I think of New England Youth Theatre now under his moniker: 'NEYT: It's the attitude,'" said Stearns. "I started NEYT to teach a positive mental attitude."

And to help kids make a difference.

The genesis of Rock Your Boat grew out of efforts by a number of groups in the community to address issues of racism, bullying and other forms of intolerance, peer pressure, violence, healthy choices and building empathy. In developing programs around this, Windham Southeast Supervisory Union Superintendent Ron Stahley invited Stearns to work with a group of middle school students who were being trained as peer mentors. The students were invited to see NEYT's summer production of "Grease" and over three years, Stearns led other training for students and educators alike, many involving dramatic role playing and other theater games. NEYT has developed other programs around themes of restorative justice and has inspired BUHS to create an Arts for Social Change course.

Stearns envisions the AcTour program as an ongoing endeavor that could one day run year-round, with three different plays, three different troupes, different directors and more.

"The troupes that go out will not only be NEYT actors. Other organizations and art forms can be involved," said Stearns.

For now, the test pilots are the 14 Rock Your Boat troupers, who are working on skits written by Stearns and the troupers and based on extensive research and consultation with area educators and experts in the field.

"In talking with (Academy School Principal) Andy Paciulli, he said 'My students will really respond to kids who are their own age. He also said 'Please bring in some older kids who are in high school,'" said Stearns.

The Rock Your Boat troupe fits the bill, including Amelia Graff, who attends Academy School and is anxious to see what her friends and fellow students there think.

Fortunately, she has a lot of support among the Rock Your Boaters.

"I want Amelia to come back and tell us that people at her school took it seriously," said Rock Your Boat's Aja Selbach. "A couple of us are older, and we're not around the schools we're performing in. We're like the ambassadors, and we'd like the next generation to be better than us."

Providing wind for Rock Your Boat's sails, People's United Bank stepped in as sponsor.

"We were very impressed by the fact that it was students talking to and performing for students," said Arne Hammarlund, community services manager for People's United Bank in Brattleboro.

The Rock Your Boat troupers are: Maeve Campman, Celia Cota, Cassie Dunn, Amelia Graff, Jason Guerino, Lexi Larsen, Rye Lyczak, Elias Martel, Daniel McMahon, Joseph Meima, Mia Rubinstein, Aja Selbach, Kaelan Selbach and Maia Struthers-Friedman.

Robin Hood at NEYT

Thursday March 1, 2012

Brattleboro Reformer

BRATTLEBORO -- You still have one more weekend to Occupy Nottingham.

"Robin Hood" continues at New England Youth Theatre, 100 Flat St., with performances on Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

This version is adapted and directed by Peter Gould, who says "Robin Hood is the ultimate archetypal myth of the little guy fighting against the big guy in the most non-violent way possible."

Robin Hood and his merry men will not stand by as Prince John usurps King Richard’s throne and taxes the life out of the working people of the country for his own benefit. Prince John, with the help of the Sheriff of Nottingham, tries to suppress this unruly uprising -- who will prevail?

Robin Hood’s merry men will be Occupying Nottingham in this play to resonate with the imagery of current clashes between rich and poor. This archetype represents the age-old struggle between the 1 percent and the 99 percent.

But mostly, "Robin Hood" is just plain fun. Friendship, brother- and sister-hood, equality and having a good time together -- that is what this show is about.

Tickets are $7 for students, $9 for seniors and $11 for adults and may be purchased in advance at www.neyt.org. Sponsor is The Bear Bookshop. New England Youth Theatre is also supported by Foard Panel, the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. New England Youth Theatre is an accessible theater, with accommodations for wheelchairs, and Assistive Listening Devices for patrons who are hard of hearing.

Godspell Junior Opening Friday at the Gifft Hill School

Opening night is this Friday, January 13th, at 7pm for Gifft Hill School and New England Youth Theater's production of "Godspell Junior" at the Upper Campus. Suggested donation $10 per adult and $5 per student/child. Please join us!

— with Salia, Genesis, Katelyn Vincent, Kaitlyn, John Spanale, Lloyd Joseph, Uncle Stevie, Landis Wallace, Zohar Sofer-Greer, Larissa, Larisma, Larisma Madura, Larisma Maduro and Vela Culbert.

 

Humbug? Humdinger! NEYT’s ‘Christmas Carol’ is an unqualified success

By JON POTTER

From The Brattleboro Reformer
Thursday December 15, 2011
BRATTLEBORO

The marvelous thing about the New England Youth Theatre’s production of "A Christmas Carol" is not merely that the world of Dickens comes to life on stage in all its teeming, colorful glory -- but it is how that world comes to life.

Not simply successful in evoking the look and feel of mid-19th century England, the cast and crew at NEYT have achieved something deeper and more wondrous -- they have recreated a world of real depth, feeling and emotion; a world in which the full measure of Dickens’ powerful, iconic story springs to life; a world in which the joy of Scrooge’s miraculous transformation is set against the poignant backdrop of all of human experience -- the sorrowful, the scary, the spirited ... all that is resilient, lovely and gracious.

That is why "A Christmas Carol," directed by Peter Gould with assistance from Doran Hamm, is such a triumph. That is why you should treat yourself to the experience. You know the story, but it will come to you in fresh light at NEYT.

Performances continue Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., with matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Dickens’ world is a busy place, and NEYT’s "Christmas Carol" reflects fine ensemble work to bring this world of newsboys, butchers, charwomen, schoolmasters, businessmen, bankers, beggars, undertakers, servants, and yes, even ghosts to life. Still, a few individuals deserve mention.

First off, we have the two Scrooges -- Alex Luckham and Guthrie Hatton-Bullock. Seamlessly sharing the role, both are polished, mature actors who handle a difficult role in compelling ways.

This use of two Scrooges is a clever construct, and when you think about it, true to Dickens’ story, which often has Scrooge looking at his former, present or future self with the help of ghostly tour guides. NEYT makes good use of its two fine Scrooges, including a couple of memorable scenes in which both are present.

Also, mention must go to Alec Silver, whose high-energy turn as the Ghost of Jacob Marley brought the house down last Saturday night.

Kaelan Selbach’s sympathetic performance as Bob Kratchit, and Tyler Latulippe-Haselton’s bold work as the Ghost of Christmas Present are also worthy of mention, but in truth, this is, above all, an ensemble triumph.

Credit, too, and plenty of it, must go to NEYT’s backstage and tech crews. The costumes are beautiful, the sets are cleverly conceived, the scene changes were crisply and professionally executed. Add to it, compelling lighting, sound and projections, and music and dance that are well done, and you have a play which unfolds in stunningly beautiful  fashion -- and is often scary to boot. Remember, this is a ghost story, and NEYT achieves some quite scary effects. Very cool.

On top of all that, Gould has reached into his very large bag of tricks to make all this work. Borrowing from his own lifetime of theater and clownwork, as well as from diverse sources (including the Marx Brothers), Gould and Company make their "A Christmas Carol" click in clever, funny ways that will sometimes make you ask "How did they do that?" I still don’t know what happened to the Ghost of Christmas Past. Can anyone tell me?

Perhaps the kindest complement you can give to this -- and many other NEYT productions -- involves words you don’t use. You don’t have to qualify what you think of the show by saying it’s "by kids" or "it’s pretty good, for kids."

NEYT’s "A Christmas Carol" does need qualifiers -- it’s a great night of theater that will make you laugh and cry, send chills up your spine and make your jaw drop. It is an unqualified success. 

A Christmas Carol

All that Glisters is not Gold

July 16 and 17, 2011

In the bold physical style of Gould and Stearns, NEYT’s Junior Summer Shakespeare Program presents “All that Glisters is not Gold”, a workshop version of scenes from William Shakespeare’s immortal “Merchant of Venice.”

In 2011, for the first time, both of NEYT’s Shakespeare summer companies will be tackling the same play.  “Glisters” provides a great opportunity for the Jr. Company to dive very deeply into some of  these  complex characters, with all their ironies and frailties.  Scenes have been selected to highlight the strengths of the actors involved, and to showcase some of Shakespeare’s greatest writing.

“All that Glisters is not Gold”, directed by Stephen Stearns, Peter Gould, and NEYT newcomer Jonathan Flood, gives us Portia, one of Shakespeare’s most powerful female characters, a whole crew of male roles coming to grips with the full range of loving emotions, a clown with a midlife crisis, a wayward daughter, and the complex money-lender Shylock, who, after four hundred years of literary life, still resists narrow interpretation.

Come and enjoy a performance under the NEYT tent.