New Teen Summer Theater Group Opens Registration

In May of last year, the Clarkstown Summer Theatre Festival Board of Directors announced the program wouldn’t put on a show for the first time in 38 years.

Just a few months later, in September of 2011, a few volunteers involved with CSTF and a few volunteers outside the organization began discussions to start up a new summer theater program for teens.

And so this summer the Hudson Valley Teen Summer Theater enters its inaugural season with three performances of "Rent" from Aug. 10  through 12. The group is open to kids ages 13-19 and is accepting registration for cast, crew and orchestra.

“What we discussed was taking elements from the previous program and incorporating them into this one,” said Donna Jessie, one of the volunteers organizing the new group. “We knew we definitely wanted to go a bit more modern with the show the kids put on, and Rent is certainly a move in that direction.”

Jessie is so excited about the program and the show they’re putting on, her cell phone’s ringback tone is “Seasons of Love” from Rent.

Another change from the previous group is the number of days they meet.

“We heard from a lot of the kids that they thought five days a week was too much every week,” Jessie said. “A lot of them have camp or work or other things going on.”

So the Hudson Valley Teen Summer Theater program will meet three days a week starting on June 26. Jessie said it’s not locked in yet, but tentatively the group will meet Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6 P.M. 10 p.m. The group will rehearse at Clarkstown South High School, where the actual performances will also take place. During tech week, the group will meet five days.

The registration fee is $325, although the group is currently offering a winter discount where you get $100 off if you register and pay in full by March 1. They also offer payment plans that can be worked out with the group treasurer where everything must be paid in full by 6 p.m. on June 26.

Each teen in the group must also provide $100 for ads in the Playbill. A check for $100 must be provided on June 26, but won’t be cashed until July 31. If the performer sells $100 in ads, they’ll get their deposit back. And if a teen sells more than $100 in Playbill ads, they will be eligible to receive back 25 percent of each ad sold.

The group hired Randy Accardi as the creative director and choreographer, and Jessie said they’re close to hiring more professional staff. Accardi performs throughout the tri-state area at care centers, assisted living facilities, senior centers, schools and private parties. He’s also a past board member for the Antrim Playhouse in Suffern, and directs shows there as well. He is directing and choreographing a performance of "Grease" at Antrim that starts this April.

While the group has Hudson Valley in the title, Jessie said they’re not really restricting it to just teens in the Hudson Valley. She said they’re trying to reach teens from the tri-state area, and they’ve reached out to schools throughout the area to try and advertise.

“We’ve got a really good core group running it, and we’re all very excited,” she said. “We really do think it’ll be a season of love.”