YAT Teenz Issues will debut with "Go Ask Alice"


YAT will finish their Fall 09-1010 season with a Teenz Issue play. Teenz Issues plays will focus on important problems teenagers may face in their lives. The first play will be “Go Ask Alice”, and will be presented in late February.

(middle school - college students only)
Open auditions Monday, January 18th 6:00 - 8:00pm
Call backs Tuesday, January 19th 6:00 - 8:00pm
Auditions will be cold readings from the script.

NOTE: This is a Teenz Issue play with teen/adult subject matter.

Shows: February 19th and 20th, 7:30pm


Four women mentor youngsters in theater, graphic arts, dance and music

whitney smith
By Whitney Smith
 
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Catherine Wade of YAT is surrounded by (clockwise, from lower left) Andalyn Sloan, 10; Keltsey Watkins, 11; Sarah Neville, 10; Carson Meyer, 12, Nick Roberts, 13, and D.J. Glander, Spencer McKnight and Sam Kuster, all 12. (Frank Espich / The Star)

Catherine Wade: Associate artistic director, Young Actors Theatre

Catherine Wade played just a minor role when she first appeared on stage at Young Actors Theatre, but that didn't bother the 6-year-old Indianapolis girl one bit.

She was stage-struck, and she still remembers the feeling, 20 years later. "The show was 'Sleeping Beauty,'." Wade said, "and I was one of the little village kids." She also recalls that her older brother, Justin Wade, played the Prince, which may have inspired a little sibling rivalry. "You've got to start small, but I always wanted to have bigger roles," she said.

These days, Catherine Wade does play a bigger role at Young Actors -- as associate artistic director. (Of course, Justin still has top billing, since he took over as artistic director about five years ago, after company founder Charlotte Kaufman decided to retire.) But both Wades are in a position to pass along the magic of live theater to budding actors.

Catherine, now a 26-year-old communications manager for the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis, also works part time at Young Actors -- YAT for short. She became increasingly involved with the theater after graduating from college. "I really feel like so many kids don't go down the right path in life," she said. "They don't have positive people to look up to when they're young."

Young Actors breaks down into three groups: YAT Teenz for students in Grades 8 to 12; YAT Kidz, (for Grades 3 to 7) and YAT Youngsterz, (for kindergarten through Grade 2). Catherine teaches the two younger groups, and directed 47 children in a recent production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

"The impact we have, it's definitely long-term. We try to teach life skills through our classes -- discipline, respect, teamwork, dedication, motivation, creativity. Those are all skills you need for the rest of your life."

Like Catherine, Carson Meyer, a sixth-grader who played Mrs. Beauregard in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," has worked her way up to more prominent roles since she joined YAT. "I went from being a squirrel in my first show to a parent in the last one," Carson said. "Catherine has given me so many opportunities. She has given lots of kids opportunities." And what would Indy be like without YAT? In Carson's opinion, "Very boring."



 

 


 

Young Actors Theatre
 at The Athenaeum
 401 E. Michigan St.
 Indianapolis, IN 46204
 317-614-5057
info@yatkids.org