Summer stock theater for the egar thespian to hone their craft in an intensive setting. Where they will pushed to expand their singing, dancing and performance skills in a positive and nurturing environment.
Day Summer Stock Intensives
Rebellion is nigh in Matilda JR., a gleefully witty ode to the the anarchy of childhood and the power of imagination! This story of a girl who dreams of a better life and the children she inspires will have audiences rooting for the “revolting children” who are out to teach the grown-ups a lesson.
Matilda has astonishing wit, intelligence… and special powers! She’s unloved by her cruel parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the highly loveable Miss Honey. Matilda’s school life isn’t completely smooth sailing, however – the school’s mean headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, hates children and just loves thinking up new punishments for those who don’t abide by her rules. But Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts, and could be the school pupils’ saving grace!
Grades: 5 and up | Tuition: $325.00| Location: 61 E. Main Street – The Academy Building, Clinton CT | Rehearsals: Monday thru Friday, 9 – 12:30 pm July 10-21| Performance Date: Friday, July, 21 | Performance Location: On the lawn at the Academy – 61 E. Main St, Clinton | Tickets: Free Theater on the Lawn
Based on the award-winning Broadway musical and the smash hit motion picture, Legally BlondeThe Musical JR. is a fabulously fun journey of self-empowerment and expanding horizons. The show’s instantly recognizable songs are filled with humor, wit and sass — leaving cast members and audiences alike seeing pink!
Legally Blonde JR. follows the transformation of Elle Woods as she tackles stereotypes, snobbery and scandal in pursuit of her dreams. When Elle’s boyfriend, Warner, dumps her and heads to Harvard, claiming she’s not “serious” enough, Elle takes matters into her own hands, crafting a showy song-and-dance personal essay and charming her way into law school. Befriending classmate, Emmett, and spunky hairdresser, Paulette, along the way, Elle finds that books and looks aren’t mutually exclusive. As Elle begins outsmarting her peers, she realizes that law may be her natural calling after all.
*We are very flexible at the Academy, if a student is unable to attend a week due to vacation or other reasons we are willing to accommodate them. We want all our actors to have a fun summer full of memories. Missing rehearsals will not affect casting
This program is first come, first serve. Limited size based on most current CDC guidelines.
Grades: 5 and up | Tuition: | Location: 61 E. Main Street – The Academy Building, Clinton CT | Rehearsals: Monday thru Friday, 9 – 12:30pm July 24th thru August 11th | Performance Date: Wednessday, August 9th, 6:00pm | Performance Location: On the lawn at the Academy – 61 E. Main St, Clinton | Tickets: Free Theater on the Lawn
Evening Summer Stock Intensives
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
(Grades 8* and up)Flexible evening schedule June 20th thru August 5. Shows August 3rd, 4th, 5th
This program is first come, first serve. Limited size based on most current CDC guidelines.
Big business means big laughs in this delightfully clever lampoon of life on the corporate ladder. A tune-filled comic gem that took Broadway by storm, winning both the Tony Award for Best Musical and a Pulitzer Prize, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying boasts an exhilarating score by Frank Loesser, including “I Believe in You,” “Brotherhood of Man” and “The Company Way.”
A satire of big business and all it holds sacred, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying follows the rise of J. Pierrepont Finch, who uses a little handbook called How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying to climb the corporate ladder from lowly window washer to high-powered executive, tackling such familiar but potent dangers as the aggressively compliant “company man,” the office party, backstabbing coworkers, caffeine addiction and, of course, true love.
An irreverent and tuneful romp, jam-packed with sly, swift and sharp jabs to the funny bone, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying is a surefire hit! This show requires a large cast, featuring many roles for all types of performers and a great opportunity to showcase your male ensemble.
Grades: 8th and up | Tuition: $325.00 | Location: In-Person on the lawn at 61 E. Main Street – The Academy Building, Clinton CT | Auditions: June 13 & 14 or by video submission (inquire at kidzkonnectionct@gmail.com for details) l Rehearsals: Tuesdays/Thursdays 5:00 – 7:00pm (Rehearsal Time Subject to Increase to 8:00pm in July) | Performance Dates: August 3, 4 & 5 | Performance Location: On the lawn at the Academy – 61 East Main St, Clinton | Tickets: Free Theater on the Lawn I Tuition: $325.00 7th grade-Age 20 I
*Any 7th or 8th grader interested in doing the advanced musical must be signed up for one of day summer stock intensive programs
Performers 21+ please visit the Adult programs section of the website for production fee information for our adult professional actors
Summer Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(Grades 7 and up)
Flexible evening schedule June 19th thru August 18. Shows: August 19 & 20.
Theseus, duke of Athens, after conquering the warrior Amazons in battle, is in turn conquered by the charms of their queen, Hippolyta, and they are now planning to marry. To speed the time until their wedding night, he orders amusements to be staged. In a spirit of loyalty, Bottom the weaver and other tradesmen decide to prepare a play for the duke and his bride.
The preparations are interrupted by Egeus, an Athenian, who brings his daughter, Hermia, and her two suitors before Theseus, entreating him to command Hermia to wed Demetrius. Hermia pleads to be allowed to marry the other suitor, the one she loves-Lysander. The duke orders her to obey her father under penalty of death or confinement in a convent. Hermia and Lysander bewail the harsh decree and secretly agree to meet in a wood nearby and flee to another country. They tell their plans to Helena, a jilted sweetheart of Demetrius, and she, to win back his love, goes straightway to inform him of the plan.
Meanwhile, in the forest, the fairy king and queen, Oberon and Titania are at odds. In spite, Oberon bids Puck procure a love-juice to pour upon Titania’s eyelids when she is asleep, in order that she may love the first thing her waking eyes behold. Just then, Oberon sees Demetrius, who has sought out the trysting-place of Lysander and Hermia only to meet Helena, much to his distaste. The lady’s distress at her lover’s coldness softens the heart of Oberon, who bids Puck touch Demetrius’s eyes also with the love-juice, for Helena’s sake.
Meanwhile, Lysander and Hermia arrive, and Puck in error anoints Lysander’s instead of Demetrius’s eyes, so that Lysander, happening to awake just as the neglected Helena wanders by, falls in love with her-and abandons Hermia.
The same enchanted spot in the forest happens to be the place selected by Bottom and company for the final rehearsal of their play. The roguish Puck passes that way while they are rehearsing, and mischievously and magically crowns Bottom with a donkey head, whereupon the other players disperse terror-stricken. Then he brings Bottom to Titania; and, when she awakens, she gazes first upon the human-turned-to-an-donkey and falls in love.
Meantime, the four lovers are greatly bewildered. Oberon finds that Puck has anointed the eyes of Lysander instead of those of Demetrius, so Oberon anoints Demetrius’s eyes with another potion which breaks the spell. When Demetrius awakes, he sees his neglected Helena being wooed by Lysander. His own love for her returns, and he is ready to fight Lysander. Helena deems them both to he mocking her, and Hermia is dazed by the turn of affairs. The fairies interpose and prevent conflict by causing the four to wander about in the dark until they are tired and fall asleep. Puck repairs the blunder by anointing Lysander’s eyes, in order to dispel the illusion caused by the love-juice. Thus, when they awake, all will be in order: Lysander will love Hermia, and Demetrius will love Helena.
Titania woos Bottom until Oberon, whose anger has abated, removes the spell from her eyes. Bottom is restored to his natural form, and he rejoins his comrades in Athens. Theseus, on an early morning hunting trip in the forest, discovers the four lovers. Explanations, follow; the duke relents and bestows Helena upon Demetrius and Hermia upon Lysander.
A wedding-feast for three couples instead of one only is spread in Duke Theseus’s place. Bottom’s players come to this feast to present the “comic” tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe, which is performed in wondrous and hilarious fashion. After the company retires for the night, the fairies dance through the corridors on a mission of blessing and goodwill for the three wedded pairs.
Grades: 7 and up | Tuition: $168.00 | Location: On the lawn at the Academy, 61 E. Main Street – The Academy Building, Clinton CT | Rehearsals: Flexible but generally Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 – 8:30pm | Performance Date: August 19 at 5pm & 20 at 2pm | Performance Location: On the lawn, 61 E. Main Street – The Academy Building, Clinton CT | Tickets: Free Theater on the Lawn l video submission (inquire at kidzkonnectionct@gmail.com for details)