It has the bright colors, familiar characters and that tall, red and white striped hat.
“Seussical, the Musical Jr.” will debut Friday and Saturday night at the Concord First Assembly Auditorium.
The show is presented by Intune Productions and Summer Musical Arts Camp for Kids (SMACK), which is celebrating its five-year anniversary. The show is put on, for the most part, by the young campers, as well as the more than 75 volunteers.
SMACK began as a way to allow kids to have more opportunities to be involved in the arts and have another creative outlet, said Cindy Corl, media director for Concord First Assembly.
“Kids are looking for activities to do in the summer,” said Jerry Skaggs, founder, executive producer and creative designer for SMACK.
The summer day camp is open to youth in grades first through 12th. While many youth are from Concord, Charlotte and Salisbury, some come from Raleigh and even Virginia to attend.
When SMACK began, there were about 80 campers. In its five years, it has doubled in size.
Every year, months before the camp begins, SMACK reveals what show it will put on during the summer and begins its registration. By April this year, all of the spots for campers were full, said Stephen Hargett, associate worship and arts director.
For two weeks in the summer, campers spend their days focusing on chorus, drama, dance and crafts.
The youth learn all of the elements in putting on a production, such as building a set, making costumes and creating props, in addition to learning the show they put on at the camp’s conclusion, Corl said.
Over the years, the camp has evolved, she said, improving its quality of costumes, sets and learning how to fit everything into the camp’s two-week period.
“I feel like we’ve fine tuned it to where they are getting a big picture,” Corl said. “It goes beyond the summer.”
SMACK is celebrating its five-year anniversary by putting on the same production it presented its first year, “Seussical.” It will also have a revue to begin each night’s performance by highlighting songs from its previous productions, “Willy Wonka,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and “The Jungle Book.”
The camp selects its shows through the company, Broadway Junior.
“We wanted it to be where, at the end, they feel like they are part of a Broadway show,” Hargett said. “These kids, when they put on these costumes, they come alive.”
He and others with SMACK said they have seen campers evolve over the years, not just on stage.
“They are leaders,” Skaggs said. “We’ve started a process in kids to be people of the arts and use their creativity and grow it.”
Kaleb Jenkins, 13, of Concord, who has been coming for four years, said SMACK has helped him grow.
“I can talk to people better,” Jenkins said. “It helps with my singing and acting. I keep getting better.”
Luke Motley, 14, has been coming since SMACK started and said it is a place where he can act goofy and not get in trouble for it.
Even though his family moved from Concord to Virginia, they still return every year for SMACK.
“It boosts your self esteem,” Motley said. “Being able to sing in front of a thousand people, and for them to be clapping for you, can make you feel good. It is probably one of the reasons I keep doing it.”
He will join the more than other 160 campers who make up the two casts of “Seussical.”
The show revolves around much of the Dr. Seuss story, “Horton Hears a Who!” but also features many of notable characters from other books, such as the Grinch and The Cat in the Hat.
“It’s a Broadway-quality show put on by kids,” Hargett said. “You don’t expect it to be as good as it is.”
The show will be at 7 p.m. today and tomorrow, and the doors will open at 6 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the door and are $10 and $5 for children under five.
Concord First Assembly Auditorium is located at 150 Warren C. Coleman Blvd. in Concord.
For more information about SMACK and the show, visit www.smackinfo.com.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement