BWW Blog: Taylor Kyes - HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL

Last year I had the privilege of participating in the revived summer production program, which was created and funded by the School Board of Alachua County. We put on Hairspray Jr. It was my very first musical or theater production ever, and it genuinely changed my life. This year I was not able to participate in the production of High School Musical Jr. because of an internship opportunity with a company, but I got to see the production last night... so now I get to rave about it and the program.

The School Board runs the summer musical program, and it is helping to bring back the arts in our schools and bring the schools together, as any high school student can come to the camp. The incredible teachers that devote their time to our program are Diana Rollo (Eastside High School Vocal Director), Tammy Meyers (Eastside High School Drama Teacher and Director), Ellen Frattino (Santa Fe High School Drama Teacher), and Calypso Meyers (Rawlings Elementary Drama Teacher). They have devoted their time and effort into giving the kids an amazing camp experience, teaching them, and aiding them in creating an incredible show.

On to the performance: The camp consists of some of the best performers and actors in the school district, along with beginners who have never set foot in a theater before (like myself last year). The beauty of this camp is that it does not matter how advanced or new you are in theater, you are going to learn something and you are going to be able to participate in an incredible show and help make people smile. Each of the teachers will work with each student individually to help in any way, and everyone at the camp will help beginners in every way.

There are 4 performances: Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday matinee, and Saturday night. This year there was so much interest in the camp that they were able to double cast the lead roles, so both casts will perform twice. I had the pleasure of seeing some of my good friends in one of the shows, and it was great!! The set looked phenomenal and there was so much talent, talent that may not have been found without the camp!

I love that our school board is able to make this work. It may not be the richest camp ever, and the arts can always get more funding, but it the fact that we are able to have this camp says a lot in regards to the rise of the arts in out school district. I hope to see the rise in more camps like this and more funding for the arts programs, as I believe that every student- no matter the skill level or experience- should be able to indulge themselves in the arts and gain a lifelong passion for theater.

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