Heartwood Regional Theater Co. summer camp students prepare to present hilarious “Scapino!” on Friday and Saturday, July 14-15. Front row: Nathaniel Hufnagel. Back row, from left: Finn Sullivan, Cadence Balbo Towle, Liliana Kress, Maia Clancy, Felix Cunningham, and Joseph Levesque. (Photo courtesy Heartwood Regional Theater Co.)
Fast, funny family entertainment opens on Heartwood Regional Theater Co.’s stage this weekend, as students present two performances of “Scapino!” in the Poe Theater at Lincoln Academy.
Open seating is available at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 14 and at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 15. Doors will open for general seating 30 minutes prior to show time. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults. No infants or young toddlers, please.
Students have spent three weeks preparing, with dancing, singing, acting, working on pratfalls, learning comic styles, writing improvisational bits, and generally having a ball.
Camp days have included workshops with varied, competent instructors such as Liz Giles-Brown, focusing on juggling; Michelle Bruckner, developing the opening tap dance number; Ray Huth and Stephen Shore, teaching the art of pratfalls and comic physicality; and scene work and the history of comedy and show rehearsals with Griff Braley.
Students divided into two groups, each of which has devised a six-minute opener for the show (including tap dancing) and developed the characters within the script. Each “performance” will include back-to-back runs of “Scapino!” with each group doing one opening routine and one actual run-through of the script, thereby offering more stage time and diverse experiences. There will be a brief intermission with treats between the two runs.
Adapted by Jim Dale and Frank Dunlop, this rollicking performance of Commedia dell’arte is based on the classic Italian comedy character, made most famous by Moliere in his play, “Scapin.”
No reservations, unless easy access or close seating is needed. For more information, call Joy Braley at 563-1373 or email info@heartwoodtheater.org.
