Outcry Youth Theatre to Stage PETER AND THE STARCATCHER This Winter

Six months into its inaugural year, Outcry Youth Theatre, continues to deliver great theatre with some of the most talented youth actors in the region. Its next production, PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, is no exception. Outcry Youth Theatre is thrilled to present to Dallas area audiences the hilarious show The New York Times hailed as "the most exhilarating storytelling on Broadway in decades."

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, a play by Rick Elice with music by Wayne Barker is based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. It tells the tale of how a miserable orphan becomes the hero Peter Pan, how the lost boys came to be lost, and how one precocious girl became the leader of them all. Full of theatrical magic, constant surprises, and enormous heart, PETER AND THE STARCATCHER reminds us of all the pain and joy on the journey to growing up.

Becca Johnson-Spinos, one of the founders of Outcry Theatre and the force-of-nature who brought Outcry Youth Theatre from the imagined to a realized extension of Outcry Theatre, is directing this magical story about the boy who never grows up. About PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, Johnson-Spinos said, "Directing this particular show is a dream come true for me. Helping my students bring to life one of my favorite characters, Peter Pan, in a show that is so technically challenging and so incredibly entertaining, has been a labor of love." Johnson-Spinos is referring in part to the complexity of 15 youth actors playing over 50 parts and the elaborate singing and dancing that accompany this music and dance filled play.

Outcry Theatre's hallmarks are bold artistic vision, highly physical staging and an energetic and visceral performance stylE. Johnson-Spinos brings the same style and unwavering dedication to excellence to Outcry Youth, the newest theatre in the Outcry family. So how does Johnson-Spinos know she is striking the same note with this youth endeavor as her successful adult productions under the Outcry umbrella? "When a patron new to Outcry Youth stops me after the show to say they were so immersed in the story they forgot the actors were teenagers, I know we succeeded. Kids are fearless - that trait, plus their immense talent and rigorous rehearsals make the magic happen."

Connor McMurray, a high school junior at Allen High School, has performed in shows directed by Johnson-Spinos for several years. He possesses a comic timing and charm that shine as Black Stache, the ridiculous pirate who will eventually morph into his full villainy as Captain Hook. When asked about the "special sauce" that makes Outcry Youth shows so compelling, McMurray offered this insight, "everyone at Outcry has a drive that pushes them to do better each time they step on the stage." Crediting Johnson-Spinos with creating the environment that encourages that drive, McMurray explained, "all of that passion stems from Mrs. Becca - she is passionate about every rehearsal and every show." Theatre was once just a hobby for McMurray, but like most of Johnson-Spinos' students, he has found her passion contagious. He describes being on stage as "one of the things that makes me happiest."

Tickets for the show can be purchased at the door or online at this link: www.outcrytheatre.com/peter-and-the-starcatcher.html.

"This is not children's theatre. This is theatre." Outcry Youth Theatre's motto describes how they approach each of their productions. The goal is never for the plays to be good "for kids," but for them to be as good as any adult production. Outcry Youth Theatre opened its first show, Love/Sick, in July of 2016. In the six short months since that first show, youth actors from McKinney to Dallas to have performed in Eurydice, A Wrinkle in Time, and A Year with Frog and Toad. Upcoming productions include: Alice and Wonderland (adapted by Becca and Jason Johnson-Spinos), Radium Girls, and Seussical.

The Artistic Director of Outcry Theatre, Johnson-Spinos received her MFA in Directing for Theatre from Baylor University, which culminated with her thesis production of The Seagull. At Baylor, in addition to directing numerous workshop productions, she also directed Brilliant Traces and assistant directed Blood WeddinG. Johnson-Spinos earned her BFA in Music Theatre from Elon University, and attended Playwrights Horizons Directing Lab and Shakespeare's Globe and Washington University's Shakespeare Intensive. She wrote, directed, and performed a one-woman show for the New York Fringe Festival. Additionally, Johnson-Spinos worked as an assistant to the Artistic Director at Burning Coal Theatre Company in North Carolina, where she also assistant directed and performed. In the Dallas area, she previously served as a director at Plano Children's Theatre (directing over 25 productions), as well as their daytime show manager. Johnson-Spinos and her husband, Jason, a filmmaker, theatre-artist and teacher, founded Outcry Theatre in 2012 with the mission to draw young adults to theatre. Outcry Youth is a new expansion of Outcry Theatre in which Johnson-Spinos has created the perfect vehicle to meld her extensive children's theatre experience with the artistic vision of Outcry creating a unique theatre offering for DFW audiences and youth participants.

IF YOU GO:

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER

OPENING NIGHT: Friday, January 20, 2017 at 7:30pm

CLOSING PERFORMANCE: Sunday, January 5, 2017, 2:00pm

REGULAR RUN: Evenings: Fridays/Saturdays at 7:30pm; Matinees: Saturday/Sunday at 2:00pm

At Studio Theatre, Addison Theatre Center, 15650 Addison Rd., Addison, TX

TICKETS: $10 for General Admission; $20 For Premium Reserved. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at this link: www.outcrytheatre.com/peter-and-the-starcatcher.html

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