YouTheatre on Stage

Jamie Wilcox has seen tremendous growth in her 6 years as director of The Egyptian Youtheatre program. The program offers from 15-18 weekly classes each fall and spring session and 20 summer camps for ages 5-18 and 2 outreach projects each summer for students age 5 and up.

Fall classes focus on building skills such as working as an ensemble, using voice and movement to create characters, how to approach text, voice projection, and more. Jamie notes that “Fall classes at local schools and the Egyptian end with a ‘Share’ for parents on the final day so parents have a better understanding of their child’s theatre classroom experiences.”

Spring classes focus on performance. After-School YouTheatre classes take place at the schools and work one day a week toward the goal of putting on a play. Classes taking place at the Egyptian are showcased on our stage. “We strive to teach life skills that help them perform on stage and also in their everyday lives; skills like social skills, creative problem-solving, self-esteem, empathy, teamwork, discipline, follow-through, spatial awareness - I could go on and on!”  Jamie believes the theatre is a reflection of life, both on the stage and backstage. The skills kids learn by doing theatre help them no matter what they go on to study or in what career field they work.

For the first time ever, they’ve commissioned a play to be written specifically for their students. The local playwright, Rachel Bublitz, whose work has been produced all over the country, wrote a 20 character play for the teen students. “She did a one-week workshop with 20 teens this past summer where they helped  originate the characters and in the rewrites. This show, ‘CHEERLEADERS VS. ALIENS’ will have its world premiere on the Egyptian Theatre stage in May 2018. We are very excited!”

Youtheatre’s current production 'ELF The Musical Jr.' runs December 7-9 at The Egyptian Theater. Jamie explains “there are 28 kids total in the performance as well as 10 Tech Crew Workshop students who have had a hand in building costumes, props, and the set. They will also be our crew for the run of show working lights, sound, running backstage, etc.”

Tickets are on sale now for 'ELF The Musical Jr'. Based on the beloved holiday film, this hilarious fish-out-of-water comedy follows Buddy the Elf in his quest to find his true identity. Get into the holiday spirit and support the Egyptian Youtheatre program! For tickets, go to egyptiantheatrecompany.org.