WATCH: Final Days from 2016 Summer Intensive!
It may be snowing right now, but summer is right around the corner. We sat down to talk with Terry Eberhardt, our Summer Intensive Director (and Associate Artistic Director), about what he's most looking forward to this summer. Our Daytime Academy and Overnight Conservatory are both open for registration now - 6th graders to college freshman welcome! Learn more here.
What are you most excited about for Summer 2017?
Terry Eberhardt, Summer Intensive Director
I am thrilled about the line up of shows and the additional staff. I have wanted to direct In the Heights for a long time and I've never done YAGMCB. I am very excited that my good friend, Garry Tiller will be joining us from Hawaii. Garry was one of the original members of the team and relocated to Hawaii before our first season, Garry brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our team and will be a welcomed addition to the family.
What's one of your favorite stories from past Summer Intensives?
Adventure park last year was really special! We had several students who had major fears of heights (no pun intended). Many of those students were encouraged and supported by other students to tackle their fears and try zip lining. I love that our camp allows students the skills and tools to first be supportive of each other as human beings but even further to step out of their comfort zone. We try to promote and inspire students to try new things and step out of their comfort zone. It is remarkable that some of our students were able to take big risks on stage and go even further and overcome some of their own personal fears.
Tell us something new about Summer Intensives this year.
This summer we add YAA Jr. to put on Your a Good Man Charlie Brown. We are also adding an instrumental program that promises to provide incredible experiences for instrumentalist. The addition of these two programs will provide a new an improved vibe to the summer, we will hopefully create a larger pool of artists that are hungry for additional training in the summer in a rigorous but safe environment. We hope to spread our love for the process of making art to more students throughout our region.
Tell us a bit more about In the Heights and why you selected it.
In the Heights is a show that I have wanted to work on since it came to Broadway in 1999. It continues our theme of musicals that are a little edgy and not accessible to all High Schools. It provides a depth of roles and opportunities for many students to perform in roles, but more importantly it has an incredible ensemble presence. Everyone in this show will feel like a star! But most importantly it provides many opportunities for me to add some riffs!
Learn more about our Summer Intensive experiences and register here.