This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Arts & Entertainment

Teens In Summer Theater Group Just Want To Have Fun

Cast, orchestra or crew: They're in Clarkstown Summer Theater Festival for same reason; show opens tonight.

While none of the kids in the Clarkstown Summer Theater Festival can give a straight answer as to which song in the upcoming "Celebrate CSTF" is their favorite to perform, they can all easily tell you their top reason for returning to the group summer after summer.

"It is a way to play music, but it's also a social experience," said Francis Nimick, the pianist at this year's show, which opens tonight at Clarkstown South High School in West Nyack. "It's a way to be around and have fun with other people who enjoy playing music and putting on a show."

And so when the CSTF's summer show kicks off at 8 p.m.,  the kids will be looking forward to performing its musical revue, made up of songs performed sometime in the CSTF's past 38 years of existence, but they'll have already had plenty of fun since rehearsals started back in June.

Find out what's happening in New Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It's really fun getting to know and meet other talented kids," said Carl Brooks, a cast member in the group.

The kids, who make up the cast, orchestra and crew, put on the show, along with a small professional staff, and the group is run by a board made up of volunteer parents. But it is the kids who are making the sets and will be performing in the shows, which are today and Saturday, and Aug. 13 and 14 at 8 p.m. at South. There is a show Sunday at 2 p.m., and a benefit show Aug. 12 at 8 p.m., when proceeds will go to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and the Food Cupboard at the Church of St. Paul in Congers.

Find out what's happening in New Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The group is open to teens from around the tri-state area, although most are from Rockland.

Nimick, 18, is from New City, just graduated from Clarkstown High School North and will be attending Northeastern University in the fall. This is his third year in the group, all in the orchestra, although his first year he played the violin before moving to piano last year. And this year, not only is he playing the piano, but he's out in the middle of the stage for the entire show, not in the pit toward the back of the stage with the rest of the orchestra. Nimick also does a little bit of singing in the show as well.

But Nimick doesn't mind being the only performer out in full view for the audience throughout the entire show.

"I just love performing," he said.

Next to the friendships they make, the biggest reason it seems that the group is made up a majority of people coming back from past years is a desire to perform.

"It's great to use my talents to see joy in others," said Alexis Jimenez, 15, a cast member in her second year in the group. "When you're performing, especially this kind of show, you can see how happy and excited people get when we're doing a song they know, and that's really fun."

The kind of show CSTF is doing is a musical revue for the first time ever, breaking its string of 37 consecutive years doing straight shows, from "Brigadoon" back in 1973 up to "All Shook Up" last year.

"It was different," said Jimenez, who has been dancing and performing since she was 3-years-old. "You always have to be on your toes because the song order can be switched around so quickly."

For some, like Brooks, it's their first time performing in a musical revue.

"My first thought when I heard [we're doing a musical revue] was, 'OK, what's a musical revue?' And when I found out, I was excited," he said.

Brooks couldn't pick a favorite number to perform in the show. After seconds of pauses and thought, he eventually said his two favorites are "Teddy Bear/Hound Dog" from "All Shook Up" and "Lullaby of Broadway" from "42nd Street."

Another reason for participating in the group is to learn more about doing something you enjoy, which Brooks, who will be a sophomore at Nyack High School in the fall, said is another reason he returned for a second year in CSTF.

"Right now, I'm just trying to learn as much as possible and improve," he said. "I think this is helping me to do that."

For others, the group not only helps them get better at doing things they enjoy, but it can help them figure out just what exactly those things are.

Melissa Neils, 17, is in the cast for plays at Spring Valley High School and was in the cast for her first CSTF show four years ago. Since then, though, she has been a member of the crew, helping with the construction of the set, painting, figuring out the electronics and lighting and other tasks as well.

"The people in crew seem to be more my type of people than the ones I was performing with at school," she said. "They just know how to have fun, and there's never any drama."

And now, heading into her senior year at Spring Valley, Neils said she is thinking about going to college for stage production.

For some, joining the group is as simple as joining it because you're sister is in. This is the case for Andrew Neils, Melissa's 13-year-old brother. In 2008, the group performed "Carousel" and needed some small children, so Andrew was on stage a bit for that show. This year is his first in the crew.

Neils' primary job in this year's production is working the spots, or the lights the follow around the performers on stage.

"I just like building sets. It's fun," said the Chestnut Ridge Middle School student.

Really, when it comes down to it, fun is the most basic reason the kids are in the group.

"I just want to play music," said Seth Kofinas, 16, a trumpet player in his third year in the group. "It's mainly about music, but it's also getting to socialize and see your friends again. It's fun."

Tickets for the show are on sale and can be purchased in the South lobby from 6 p.m. until 8:30.

Download the movie

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?