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YPCCA funds the Mike & Adina Mansfield Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is given each year to a graduating East Hampton student who plans to pursue a degree in either theater or education. This scholarship has been awarded every year since 1990. Adina Mansfield was a piano and voice teacher in East Hampton as well as the music director at the Middletown Baptist Church. Mike Mansfield was a sixth grade science and social studies teacher in the East Hampton public school system. They founded The Young People's Center for Creative Arts in 1982 in an effort to grow theater, music and arts education for the children of central Connecticut. In their respective roles of Artistic Director and Music Director, Mike and Adina started, developed and grew a program that carries on their original mission today. The Mike & Adina Mansfield Memorial Scholarship is offered in loving memory of their contribution to their community, education, theater and the arts. |
The Young People's Center for Creative Arts, through an arrangement with Music Theatre International, is proud to announce our spring, 2010 benefit production: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. |
"A group of young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser. THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE is a hilarious tale of overachievers' angst chronicling the experience of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show's Tony Award winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time." - Music Theatre International Performances of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will take place at East Hampton High School May 20, 21, 22 and 23rd, 2010. Auditions will be held in February of next year. Details will be forthcoming on the website, so check back often. We will be looking for actors with strong voices, ages 15 and over to play the principal roles in the show. We will also cast a small ensemble, so everyone is encouraged to come and join the fun! |
Chris Mansfield returns to direct at The Young People's Center for Creative Arts after a brief twelve year hiatus. Chris is a performing artist and director with extensive experience in improvisational theater and comedy. As a performer and magician, he has worked for a diverse client list including Coca Cola, Catch a Rising Star, American Express, Omni Hotels and The Laugh Factory. Chris's vast directing experience includes shows and workshops with The Tisch School at NYU, Emerson College, Trinity College, multiple SUNY locations, The Greater Hartford Academy of Performing Arts, and Simsbury Summer Theater for Youth. He directed the YPCCA summer camp shows for eight years and created the University of Hartford's Summerplace - a summer theater camp based on the YPCCA model that is still successful today. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was born out of improvisational workshops at the Barrington Stage Company. The shows heavy reliance on highly skilled improvisational performers plays well into Chris's solid improvisational background. He is thrilled to direct the show. |
About the Director: |
About the Music Director: |
Returning as Music Director for this production is Matt Campisi. Matt is currently a Junior at the Hartt School majoring in Piano Performance. He is the Music Director at Xavier/Mercy Schools in Middletown, Connecticut. His credits include, West Side Story, Grease, The Pajama Game, Fiddler on the Roof, Godspell, High School Musical, 101 Dalmatians and Jesus Christ Superstar. |
About the Choreographer: |
Jen Friday was the Drama Director at the CREC Learning Corridor and is certified to teach grades K-8. Among Jen's teaching accomplishments are Bloomfield Teacher of the Year and the Mary Hunter Wolffe Award for her contributions to children's theater in Connecticut. She has directed and choreographed many shows including Guys & Dolls, Into The Woods, Once on this Island, Annie, High School Musical, West Side Story and Jesus Christ Superstar. |