This season, 30 young actors are currently taking the stage in key roles in A Christmas Carol and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. “All of the young performers in these two productions come from Charleston Stage’s Education Programs,” says Marybeth Clark, Associate Artistic Director and Director of Education. “Most have had several years of classes in acting, singing and dancing and all audition and were accepted into Charleston Stage’s Performance Troupe.” Performance Troupe meets in weekly workshops to further develop youth actor’s talents. Each August members of Performance Troupe are asked to audition for Charleston Stage’s MainStage and Family Series productions. Two of this year’s performers are indicative of the dedication, hard work and talent of our Troupe members. Fourth grader Boris Pekar who is playing Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol is in his first year of Performance Troupe. Last season, Boris starred as Prince Eric in SummerStage’s The Little Mermaid Jr. “The hardest part of playing Tiny Tim is learning to use a crutch and the accent,” says Boris. “I’m most excited about having a big part and being in a MainStage production.”
10-year-old Sophia McCoy is currently playing the role of Gladys Herdman in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and is already a seasoned pro having performed as Molly in last season’s holiday production of Annie. “I love playing a naughty orphan kid so I can be mean,” says Sophia. “I hope I’m a nice person offstage, and being mean onstage is different for me. Sometimes it’s hard to act mean because I don’t want to hurt anybody.” Sophia has been a member of Charleston Stage’s Performance Troupe for 2 years.
To learn more about Charleston Stage’s Education classes, please visit http://www.charlestonstage.com/education.html. Registration for 2015 Spring classes is now available online!
