By Kate Searcy
Carrboro Commons Writer

Ten-year-old Lucas Griffin may not be a household name yet, but that hasn’t stopped him and other area youths from brushing up on their acting skills in a summer acting program that is the collaborative effort of Carrboro and Chapel Hill arts organizations.

While pianist Mark Lewis plays the keyboards, “Music Man” hopefuls, left to right, Chelsea Alston, Jabari Foust and Khalid Williams practice vocalizing during auditions for the musical. About 40 youths will be involved in this summer’s musical production.
Staff photo by Kate Searcy

“I [applied] to be in a movie with George Clooney,” Griffin said. “I didn’t make it, but he laughed a lot when he saw my video. He said it was funny.”

Griffin and about 40 other children and teenagers, mostly from the Triangle area, auditioned March 15 and 16 to take part in the Summer Youth Conservatory program, a summer workshop that runs from Jun. 23 to July 23 and allows young actors and actresses to rehearse and perform on the main PlayMakers stage at the Paul Green Theatre at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The workshop is put on by the Carrboro ArtsCenter and PlayMakers Repertory Company. The program is for ages 9-18, and the fee is $1,100, which pays for tuition and housing for the students over the summer.

This is the second summer that the program has been offered, according to Jeri Lynn Schulke, director of the Youth Drama Conservatory at the ArtsCenter.

This year’s performance will be the American classic “The Music Man.”

Last year, the conservatory put on “Oliver!,” and about 43 children were involved, Schulke said. About 60 auditioned this year, she said.

The children will work in rehearsal for five weeks and perform at the end of July. The event will be open to the general public.

In addition, the participants receive training from PlayMakers Company members and professional actors. Staff members from both arts centers are involved in the program, from lighting and costume design to voice training and choreography.

The conservatory is also auditioning student musicians from local high schools to perform in the orchestra and high school interns to work backstage, Schulke said.

She said that the entire program is extremely youth-focused and that most positions in the production, presentation and performance of the work are filled by high school-aged youths.

Alexander Daly, a student at Durham Academy, said he felt good about his audition.

“Everything went very smoothly. I attended the program last year, so it is easier this year because I know everyone already,” he said.

Daly also said he enjoyed the professionalism of the program.

“It is a very collaborative effort,” he said. “It is great to work with PlayMakers.”

Both Griffin and Daly said they are considering pursuing acting as a career. Griffin said that if this didn’t pan out for him, he would like to be a professional baseball player.