It is that time of year again, the time when you send off your youngsters into the big bad world of college. We at Charleston Stage have also found that it is time to send off the next group of our students with many good wishes and promises to stay in touch. Six of our students are venturing out into the world of higher education this spring and we wanted to congratulate them (as we will miss them terribly).
Jamie Bellah joined us 3 years ago from James Island High School, where she has regularly participated in the productions put on by Fort Johnson Players. She has also appeared in many SummerStage productions and has done a fantastic job over the years in any crew position but especially as a dresser. After a summer of work, Jamie is going to Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC.
Alex Corsaro is one of those kids who have always been around. She started taking TheatreSchool classes many years ago and then followed her big sister Jessica’s steps when she decided to join Wings. Sometimes it feels that she has become a permanent fixture in the shop as this year she had early outs at school and was able to come down during the day to work on special projects. If you saw Greater Tuna, you saw her work in the stained glass Jesus during the prayer meeting. This year she did a fantastic job as the Stage Manager for Fiddler On The Roof. She is graduating from School of the Arts with a Visual Arts major and will attend Brandis University in Boston, MA.
Heather Jones is another one who has always been around, appearing in many plays at the Dock Street Theatre when she was in elementary and middle school along side her mother, Lynn McKnight. When she was finally old enough she joined Wings, and grew learning to sew, build and stage-manage. This year she handled a guest director and a one-woman show at the same time as she stage-managed Bad Dates. Heather is great in theatre but her true passion is singing. She will graduate from SOA with a vocal major. She is going to continue her vocal training at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.
Catherine Spain, or just “Spain” as we call her, also grew up with Charleston Stage first in Kidstage, and then in Wings. She has appeared many times onstage between her backstage crews including starring in last summer’s Jungle Book as the black panther Bagera. She is graduating from Bishop England High School and will be studying theatre in the fall at Winthrop University alongside Jamie Bellah.
Greg Thompson joined the Wings program his sophomore year at Wando High School after appearing in several SummerStage productions along side his brother. This past Summer he starred in the Jungle Book as King Louis and this Summer he will be our Stage Manager for High School Musical during his final year with SummerStage. He is going to become an Orange Tiger this fall as he heads off to Clemson University.
Aidan White has only been with us a little over a year, but when he found us, he jumped into theatre with both feet. Wanting to pack as much experience in as he could in the limited time that he had with us, he worked 4 shows this season, 2 last season, and accumulated over 100 hours working in the shop while also holding a part time job at the Harris Teeter on James Island. He is home schooled and will be attending Trident Technical College in the Fall. I have a feeling we have not seen the last of Aidan in the shop or backstage.All of our seniors are outstanding and have done such wonderful things over the years. We will be celebrating all they have accomplished with us at the annual Senior Picnic with games and good food and friends. So keep an eye out here, we will be sure to post some pictures after the picnic.