BRATTLEBORO — The rise of the New England Youth Theatre (NEYT) has been a dream fulfilled for those who have watched the theater go from rehearsing in a cramped basement space to its flashy new arts complex at 100 Flat Street.
The effects of this theater seed planted by Steven Stearns in 1998 have enlivened the local arts community. The theater has also sowed new performing opportunities for youth near and far.
The theater keeps close ties with all those involved throughout the various stages of its development. As a rallying call to regroup and reconnect, an NEYT alumni show is in the works: a production of Clue organized by Jessica Callahan and fellow alumni Nick Bombicino.
In August, alumni-led workshops will feature activities like one-act plays, general acting classes, and maybe a Shakespeare play.
“NEYT gave me the ensemble-based skills needed to collaborate with other artists. Our experiences there were crucial in showing us that we could create theatre of our own,” said Sam Perry.
The NEYT alumnus and graduate of Boston University’s Actor’s Conservatory is involved in a number of different performance groups.
Boston is the destination for many of the area’s talented youth as it holds the contingency for the coveted holy grail of the artistic career path: making a living from one’s art.
Perry is a founding member of the Grasshopper Collective, which specializes in the manipulation of fire using objects like staffs, hula hoops, poi (balls attached to lengths of rope which are then twirled in complex patterns during a dance), and marionettes.
The marionettes that the group uses are unlikely characters fashioned out of chains and bits of metal which are then set ablaze to popular techno dance beats.
Gateway to Shakespeare
Likewise, fellow NEYT alumni Ben Stockman is furthering his theatre education in Boston; he is finishing up a thesis and his first full-length screenplay at nearby Lesley University.
Stockman is an intern with the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, a nonprofit “dedicated to performing the works of William Shakespeare in vital and contemporary productions,” according to the troupe’s website.
“[The Commonwealth Shakespeare Company] considered me because of my extensive experience with performing Shakespeare,” Stockman said. “If NEYT hadn’t gotten me started in performing Shakespeare at such an early stage of my development, I would not be working with [Commonwealth Shakespeare Company] today.”
Meanwhile, NEYT alumnus Dory Hamm has brought his homegrown skills onto the world stage through the Theatrino Theater In Education program in Italy.
Theatrino teaches English language skills to children ages 6 to 18 by means of fairy tales and short skits.
“Kids are the greatest audience,” says Hamm, explaining that after honing his theatrical chops with NEYT, Theatrino was a logical way to return to the roots of his education in performance — and make money as a performer just out of college while touring Europe with a professional acting company.
For Shoshana Bass, also one of the first wave of proteges, the idea of performing for a wide variety of audiences is crucial to the real utility of theatre in the global setting.
Enrolled in the Buddhist-inspired Naropa University in Boulder, Colo., she focuses on a combination of performance arts and peace studies through the school’s interdisciplinary course structure.
“My path is really shifting to questioning why I am a performer and [I’m] finding that the answer has to do with building bridges, dialogue, and stirring audiences out of apathy,” Bass said.
“The experience of creating a safe space for the creativity, building a community, seeing one’s self within a web of relationships that are connected, and exploring/befriending the self with witnesses — these are all vital elements to peace-building that [NEYT] have also honed in me,” she added.
Full circle
Callahan has taken her bachelor of fine arts from Boston University and certificate in arts management from the University of Massachusetts and is reinvesting that education in the Brattleboro arts scene.
For Callahan, the publicity and marketing director of NEYT, that means postering, writing press releases, recording ads at the radio stations, and buying and trading print advertising.
“Partnerships are really important for building an ’arts town,’ which is what we’re trying to do,” Callahan said.
“We want to turn the whole area around the theater into an arts campus,” Callahan said. “So far, we’re planning on renting a space to Natalie Blake, a local glassblower, and the Brattleboro Music Center is thinking about moving in. We also provide gallery space and projects for InSight Photography students.”