Colonie will soon have a chance to experience professional theater actors performing musical numbers from some of the more well-known Broadway musicals on Aug. 23 at Cook Park and the Aug. 25 at the Crossings of Colonie, and the actors are only 14-18 years old
Kidz Theater, a theater company based out of Manhattan, will be taking its concert, titled Broadway Through the Decades, on the road. Audiences will be able to hear songs from musicals such as `South Pacific,` `Oklahoma,` `Bye, Bye Birdie` and `Guys and Dolls.`
`It’s a really fun time,` said Kristen Caesar, artistic director for the company. `Think about the most talented kid you’ve ever seen and multiply them by 20, that’s what you should expect.`
Caesar said the company works with kids who are currently working professionals or actors who have a goal of studying theater in college. It teaches the students professional development of things such as acting training, learning how to be on time and also teaches them how to manage their time properly, as many of them go to school during the day.
Much of the work the kids do is in the city, where they will do four musicals a year in either an off-Broadway or an off-off-Broadway setting, according to Caesar. Kids will even travel from Delaware of Philadelphia after they’re done with school to attend class in the evening.
Caesar said much of the students’ training is done through the performances as they are used as a point of reference for the actors. They learn different techniques through acting out the scenes live, she said, but there is also a lot of training that happens outside of the classroom.
`We do basic research assignments,` Caesar said, as many have to read and research various plays and also the biographies of the characters involved, even the ones that are merely a part of the ensemble cast. `They also have to come up with a character history.`
Through all of the research that is done, Caesar said the students get an education about events such as World War II and Nazi Germany. They also must do assignments about how the music of the time influences the play and also the different morals and themes that are present in the play.
`There’s definitely a huge educational aspect,` she said of the program. `I firmly believe that whatever the kids end up doing, they’re going to be really successful at it because of the different skills they learned such as discipline, research and time management. It really affects everything they do.`
The concert is being sponsored by the Vellano Brothers, a waterworks supply business based out of Latham. The concert is part of the concert series at the Crossings. This is the third year the concert put on by the Kidz Theater has taken place there, but it will be the first time it will travel to other places in the Capital District.
`We said why not have them come up and teach these kids how to tour a little bit,` said Joe Vellano, co-owner of Vellano Brothers, whose daughter Ashley, 29, is the lighting designer for the company. `They’ll have places to perform, get exposure and learn they’re craft. It’s a training ground for these kids.`
The company will also be doing performances at the Schenectady Music Haven at 7 p.m. on Aug. 24, the Maplewood Manor in Ballston Spa at 2 p.m. on Aug. 25 and at 7 p.m. at the Riverlink Park in Amsterdam.
Caeser said audience members should be expecting an award winning performance as the company has won outstanding production, which she said is the best award you can receive, from the National Youth Theater Awards for the past three years.
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