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"Two minutes!," co-director Barry Kornhauser called as the students put the finishing touches on their impromptu pieces. One nearby cluster spoke animatedly about a rendition of "the Folgers song" and planned to substitute new lyrics for the commercial's for a comical twist, while another set of actors mimed eating from a trash can.
The next time, just one word: "chores." Several actors took to the floor with dustpans and brooms, belting out "It's the Hard-Knock Life." Creativity and innovation were evident as a second group went resourceful. One actor used another to wipe down a mirror; another student lifted a girl and used her ponytail to sweep the floor.
"This is my sixth summer here," Adele Ulrich, co-director of the Fulton's Youtheatre program, said. She described the "tremendous growth" of the actors. Personal growth, which is the most important, according to Ulrich, has become evident within the group.
"It's challenging," she added. "Some (students) have been here five, six years; some are just coming in."
According to Kornhauser, the organization shows "how the arts can help us to grow personally and socially as humans."
The Youtheatre program spans five weeks over the summer, during which students learn about theater and socializing with peers.
"I get to (meet) new friends; I have new experiences," Jean Dalee Diaz, 13, of McCaskey East High School, said.
"It's very easy to make friends here and become very comfortable here," Shirley Shirk, 14, who attends Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, said. Her sister Melissa, 13, agreed. "It's easy to make new friends."For others, Youtheatre really is life-changing.
"I look forward to continuing having my life changed day by day." Michael Williams, 17, from McCaskey High School, said.
"So far it's been less drama, more cooperation," McCaskey's Kyle Harris, 18, said when comparing this year's program to those of the past. He defined drama as "us arguing." "There's less of that now," he said.
"I kind of think our drama fluctuates," Kevin Werts, 17, of Hempfield High School, said. "We're better when we have a lot of it." He described conflict as "real family drama" and said this is responsible for the group's cohesiveness.
Family is a common theme this summer. The Youtheatre actors have spent the past several weeks working on a performance adapted from the book "The Heart Knows Something Different," an oral history compilation of youths within the foster care system.
"Empathy is a big word here," Ricky Calderon, 20, who will be a junior at Temple University this fall, said. He plays Kareem in the performance. "I came from a healthy home," Ricky said. "(My character) is not something I'm used to."
He described Kareem as an "average teen, 18 years old, aiming to find his way in life. His biggest fear is to end up like his father … bailing out, giving up. He's an interesting character."
"Some of the kids in this program have stories as harrowing as those in the book," Ulrich said. "Shared experience helps to validate their experience."
(408) (279) (214) (193) (180) (107) (48) (31) (31) (8) (4) (4) (4) (3) (3) (2) (2)The teens who partake in the summer Youtheatre program gain knowledge in addition to experience.
Kornhauser explained the "two components" of the program: personal growth and knowledge of theater.
The Youtheatre program has a contract with the Floyd Institute's Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College, a social research organization, Kornhauser said.
Tests like the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale and Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters are administered, according to Jen Harding of Center for Opinion Research.
This allows the students to measure their personal growth over the five-week period, a concept valued by Kornhauser and Ulrich.
"To test performance skills, we do a monologue," the co-director said. "They have 10 minutes to read (the monologue) and then perform it in front of a video camera. An independent evaluator is the judge."
Many of the group take pride in learning new skills.
"For me, it's really challenging just to learn the lines," Benjamin Morales, 17, of McCaskey East High School said. "If I'm really bored, I'll just grab my script and read my lines."
Benjamin's main role is Hansel (from Hansel and Gretel). The fairytale's theme is woven into the narration and seems to parallel each "chapter."
"The story really compares to foster care," Benjamin said of the two lost children's tale.
Benjamin also wrote two songs, "The Love of a Kid" and "Foster Care." for the play. "My dream is to become a professional actor, like work for Tim Burton," he said.
During rehearsals, Ulrich encouraged the actors to adopt a professional attitude.
"If you're talking now, you'll talk backstage during the performance," she reminded the students. "If you go to any professional performance, any acting class, you will see that nobody talks."
The Youtheatre students also spend time offstage in more non-traditional activities to encourage discipline. Ulrich led the performers in Pilates-inspired movements to "strengthen the core and promote projection." The actors then broke into pairs for partner activities which taught "sharing power (and) mutual support," according to Ulrich.
Stage manager Sarah Martz helps the students by leading them in tongue-twisting exercises in which they enunciate phrases like "Go slow Joe. You're stepping on my toe."
This year is the "workshop" production of the performance, according to the show's directors. Each theme is constructed over two summers, with the first year being presented as a work-in-progress and the second year's show as the final product. The show will be presented Friday, July 11 at 2 p.m. and Saturday, July 12, at 7:30 p.m. at Fulton Opera House.
"Right now, its very much in progress," Ulrich said. "We value audience feedback."
The teens expressed enthusiasm when acting out their roles.
Chris Aguila, 16, of Phoenix Academy described his character as "sarcastic. He's very proud of being in the foster care system."
"I play a woman called Mrs. D.," Henry Scanlon, 15, of Donegal High School, said. "She's this really mean woman, in an icy kind of way. I'm trying not to make her comic relief," he stressed. "I want to convince the audience that I really am a woman."
Kornhauser said Youtheatre productions are usually "related to some social justice issue."
The co-director began one rehearsal by reading an anecdotal article about foster care to inspire character emulation through "sights, smells (and) sounds."
The actors then proceeded to practice a run-through of their production. Often, Kornhauser or Ulrich halted the scene to offer constructive criticism or praise.
While the students recited — and revised — their characters' monologues from open binders, the directors reminded them to be professional. "The quiet is beautiful backstage … don't let it go."
The actors open the production by defining "family." "Family is … a gift that keeps on giving; a struggle; It was a safe haven. For me, it's just a phase."
One girl's story was illustrated with sign language, and certain emphatic signs were punctuated by other students in the background.
Suzette Vartholomee, 23, of the National Theatre of the Deaf, is a graduate of Youtheatre who returned to work with the actors on this summer's performance.
She believes one of the challenges of acting to use "a lot of facial expressions, to make (the role) look like it was really real."
American Sign Language interpreters translate the program into ASL for several students.
Shirley signed a piece about a daughter taken into foster care after voluntarily caring for her schizophrenic mother. Accompanied by a vocal reader, she illustrated via sign language how the girl was escorted from school by social workers, flanked by police officers and given a heart necklace by her mother — the "key to her heart."
Many times, the cast contributes to the script by collaborating together, whether it be to compile a list of "dormitory rules" for one scene or to take to the stage to depict figuratively "lost" foster children.
"For me, throughout all the good and the bad, Youtheatre is the best thing that happened to me," Kyle Jones said. "In the past, I spent summers lying at home, but now I got to be on stage. I met lots of people. Yeah, I love Youtheatre."
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