Fourteen Houston Youths Perform Moliere's SCAPIN 5/8-5/10

Fourteen Houston-area children, currently the students of Main Street Theater's Kids On Stage Rehearsal and Performance By Audition class, embrace the madcap comedy Scapino!, a reinvention of Molière's Scapin as told by Frank Dunlop and Jim Dale.

The play will be performed Friday and Saturday, May 8 and 9, at 7:30pm; and Sunday, May 10 at 3:30pm. Performances are at Main Street Theater - Chelsea Market, located at 4617 Montrose Boulevard. For tickets, call 713-524-6706 or log on to www.mainstreettheater.com. All tickets are $5.00.

Ottavio loves Giacinta, and Leandro loves Zerbinetta-but their fathers have forbidden them to marry! Desperate to fool their dads and marry their sweethearts, Ottavio and Leandro turn to their friend Scapino, who weaves a tangled web of lies to swindle the fathers-and their sons. Scapino, and all those who have trusted him, creates hilarious destruction by digging themselves deeper into trouble with one deceptive scheme after another. This commedia dell'arte reimagining of Molière features chases, mistaken identities, an Italian menu set to opera, and, of course, a happy ending!

The cast is comprised of fourteen children from the Houston area and is as follows: Nikki Beittenmiller (77401), Celeste Billington (77023), Jazmine Blas (77087), Ron Calzolari (77019), Mischa Catalani (77057), Juliana DeStefano, Sydney Hester (77005), Samantha Nadel (77035), Cyrus Pacht (77096), Andrea Popova (77006), Elizabeth Robinson (77584), Megan Routbort (77401), Sutter Sharp (77005), and Paige Zubel (77096).

Professional artists direct all Kids On Stage R&P productions. Jonathan Gonzalez is directing, and Keila Williams is his assistant director. Macy Perrone designs costumes, and Tifani L. Pust is the set and properties design mentor. Garrison Bybee and Mitchell Laflin are Student Set Designers and Student Stage Managers. Grace Cunyus is the Student Sound and Lighting Designer.

Kids On Stage (KOS), now in its 20th season, has been designed to spark a lifelong appreciation of theater by encouraging young people to participate in all aspects of play production, from movement and monologues to stagecraft and theater history. The curriculum teaches essential skills such as creative thinking, teamwork, self-confidence, and communication-skills that enhance the overall learning process. Through year-round classes, outreach programs, and camps both on-site and at satellite locations, students develop their voices, bodies, and imaginations in a challenging and fun curriculum, taught by professional artists and arts educators.

Main Street Theater's KOS program offers a wide range of classes for students of all skill levels, including individual audition coaching sessions, movement and dance classes, comedy improv classes, high school workshops, and a Summer Performing Arts Camp throughout the summer. The KOS Rehearsal and Performance system includes classes for students at two levels: those who are ready to audition for plays for the public and those who want to hone their skills by producing a play in a "lab" context for family and friends. The current Spring R&P Lab class will perform Everyone Knows What a Dragon Looks Like, directed by Elizabeth Bannor. Classes range from $160 - $500; camp ranges from $300 - $520. For more information or to register for classes, please call 713-524-9196 x 104 or log on to www.mainstreettheater.com/kos.

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