Growing up in a pretty big town in Georgia has had a lot of perks. One of them includes the amount of amazing school theatre programs we have in the area around us, and it's inspiring to see others working hard as you while balancing tedious hours of homework and studying and maybe even a job. Then there are also the community theatre productions, whether it is at the church down the street or at a cool studio you've heard so many people praising. Opportunity has always been available around me. Still, there's the question of what to do with my free time. Do I audition for the big school musical, or do I test the waters at a creative theater down the street with a director I've never worked with? Maybe you've had the same dilemma as a young, aspiring theatre nerd. Both have their advantages. It's up to the artist to decide.

"… That's not what an ensemble is," said Kyle, my student music director. He wasn't talking about anything particularly profound, he was just pointing out that a company that doesn't blend and cut off together isn't what we need to be. But it got me thinking… What is an ensemble?

Hey everyone and welcome to the first installment of our blog!  First off, a little bit about us.

Nyack Valley Cottage Little League is pleased to present two unique musical concerts from the award-winning Producer, Composer, and Nyack resident Neil Berg. BROADWAY AND BASEBALL FOR KIDS: THE CONCERT will play at 1:00pm on Saturday, January 16, 2016 and PIANO MEN: A TRIBUTE TO ELTON JOHN AND BILLY JOEL will play at 7:00pm ?on Saturday, January 16, 2016.

This past weekend at South Bend's Clay High School, the musical Working by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, based on the best-selling book of interviews with America's work force by Studs Terkel, took to the stage for three performances and absolutely earned their standing ovations! Comprised of dozens of students (and some teachers!) this high school's performance set an impressive tone for not only their student's abilities, but anybody who was involved with such an incredible show.

First Stage's prestigious Young Company, a troupe of advanced high school aged professionals-in-training, recently earned top honors in the Utah Shakespeare Festival/ Southern Utah University Shakespeare Competition this October. The 12-year old company of more than 50 youths sends a select group to compete in Utah and then tackles classical theater year round in Milwaukee that continually prepares them for these elite competitions. This December, under the direction of veteran Milwaukee actor Marcella Kearns (pictured) Young Company tweaks a challenging Shakespeare play with mature themes: All's Well That Ends Well.

Set your DVRs and get a sneak peak at the current Broadway season.

With successful previous productions of Man of La Mancha and Our Town, the current fall musical offering of High Noonish solidifies that the Drama Department at Newbury Park High School is back and solid as ever!

OUR TOWN with Stan Cahill in the role of Stage Manager takes cast and audience through the halls of Princeton Day School seeking the timeless and fleeting moments of life.

Next up for Daron Bruce's students at Hume-Fogg Academic High School (one of the nation's highest rated secondary schools) is a much-anticipated production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, running November 5-7 at the iconic and historic high school - located on Broadway, naturally - in downtown Nashville. Taking on the challenge of portraying Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street, is Andrew Forbes, who is in today's High School Drama spotlight.

Next up for Daron Bruce's students involved in theater at Hume-Fogg Academic High Schools (one of the nation's highest rated secondary schools) is a much-anticipated production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, running November 5-7 at the iconic and historic high school, located on Broadway naturally - in downtown Nashville. Taking on the challenging role of Mrs. Lovett in the school edition of Sondheim's musical is Darby Kolwyck, a talented student with an already enviable resume: She's played Rusty in Act Too's Footloose and was part of HFA's acclaimed production of Cabaret.

As Act Two at Levine's 2015-2016 season gets into full swing, Kevin Kuchar was gracious enough to take time out of his busy schedule to talk about what the cast members in all three Act Two Programs (Pre-Professional, Mainstage, and First Act) will experience this season, and offer some insights on the value of educational theatre through an email-based Q&A with BroadwayWorld.Com.

Today's spotlight falls on Payton McCarthy, a student at Murfreesboro's Siegel High School, whose astonishing performance in his school's production of Pippin last spring won awards – and acclaim – from audiences and critics alike. Get to know him now and be on the lookout for him on local stages before he becomes a great big star.

Moorestown Theater Company's MARY POPPINS is an astonishingly good, toe-tapping extravaganza suitable for all ages.

In 1960's Baltimore, Tracy Turnblad's dreams are as big as her hair. She longs to be a council member on 'The Corny Collins Show', her favorite TV dance show, and to meet (perhaps even marry) her long time crush, Link Larkin, a regular on the show. When Tracy hears that 'The Corny Collin's Show' is looking for a new member, she is determined to audition despite the worries of her mother, Edna. Tracy's pursuit of her dream leads her to realize that the struggle for equality is more important than ever before. City of Fairfax Theatre Company and Truro Anglican Church's production of Hairspray is at times 'a gas' (That's 60's lingo for a lot of fun), but its technical aspects are less than groovy.

The standard of performances this year was as high as we have come to expect from these marvellous young artists.

The audiences at Miller Outdoor Theatre got a big, fat welcome back to the early 1960s, where tall hair and bright, jarring outfits were all the rage, thanks to TUTS' Humphreys School of Musical Theatre's fun and boisterous production of HAIRSPRAY. With a pastiche score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman and witty book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan HAIRSPRAY is a faithful musical version of John Waters' 1988 film of the same name. The story follows larger-than-life Tracy Turnblad as she tries to secure a coveted spot on the famous Corny Collins Show -- no easy task thanks to the show's producer, Velma Von Tussle and her daughter, Amber. Backed by her doting father Wilbur, plus-sized and hesitant mother Edna, and sheltered best friend Penny, Tracy won't let anything stop her as she sets out to change Baltimore, and the world, for good. The stage was full of wonderful performers, so much so that it was difficult to choose whom to watch. 

With a 22-member cast, ranging in ages from 13 to 19-years-young, featuring remarkable performances by the likes of Alex Kirby and Sam Primack, Valley Youth Theatre is staging INTO THE WOODS, now at the Herberger Theater in Phoenix.

Growing more spectacular every year, the Fourth Annual Blumey Awards, presented by Wells Fargo, recognizes Excellence in High School Theater and celebrates the hard work and dedication it takes to perform in musical theater.

Cookeville High School's production of West Side Story claimed top honors - the award for Best Show of 2014/15 - last Saturday at the second annual Nashville High School Musical Theatre Awards, presented at Lipscomb University's Collins Alumni Auditorium and hosted by Melinda Doolittle.

But not all of our best-known teen actors are studying in the traditional secondary school manner. Today, we focus on Shane Kopischke, a 17-year-old rising high school senior who is home-schooled and currently celebrating his 11th year of doing stage productions.

Edward Albee once described fellow playwright Thornton Wilder's Our Town as,'...probably the finest play ever written by an American'. It is a play full of moving, intelligent, funny, and genuine moments and the ensemble cast of Newbury Park High School's Panther Players delivers a production of professional proportions.

The Stephen Schwartz coming-of-age musical that helped put Bob Fosse on the map exploded onto Broadway in 1972. It then had a successful televised version in 1981. With the recent 2013 revival, the theatre world and all who see it are rediscovering this powerful show. It now has a showing through May 2nd with the Theatre Department at Agoura High School.

East Lake High's reputation for great local theatre continues with this wonderful production, featuring a revelatory performance in the title character.

If writer P.L. Travers, the notoriously protective creator of Mary Poppins, was even half so prickly as we have been led to believe she was - thanks in large part to the screenplay for Saving Mr. Banks, the film retelling of her experiences with Walt Disney, et al, over the film adaptation of her beloved work - it's very easy to imagine how she might cringe at the thought of high school students taking on the musical theater version of her timeless story. However, if she knew in advance that it was being produced by Nashville's Christ Presbyterian Academy, under the direction of an artist as exacting as Paula Flautt, we rather think Miss Travers would be pleased -and without reservation.