Youth Theater Camp to present ‘Aesop’s Fables at the Furth’ on June 24

The Angola Youth Theater Camp will present its summer production of "Aesop's Fables at the Furth" beginning at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, June 24, in Trine University's T. Furth Center for Performing Arts.

Tickets are $10 for adults and free for children under 18. They may be purchased at trine.edu/furth.

In the play by Mary Kay Clark, Aesop calls forth members of the Greek Chorus to act out several of his fables. The play features one classic, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," as well as several lesser-known fables like "The Woodcutter and the Mermaid." Each fable has been twisted with many hilarious surprises, but always ends with a moral lesson.

All cast members, who are ages 8-13, will be part of the Greek Chorus, wearing handmade masks indicative of Greek theater. They will be characters in the fables and will create the sound effects for the production.

During the camp, students have learned important skills related to theater such as applying stage makeup, scripted combat scenes, storytelling fluency, stage movements, overall acting practice and exposure to visual and performing arts.

In addition to Clark, who directs and writes for Excelsior Arts Academy and Youth Theater in Auburn, the students have worked with Josh Sassanella, a Broadway actor best known for his work on "Spiderman on Broadway: Turn off the Dark," and Patrick O'Brien, a short film writer and producer. The theater camp was the vision of Colleen Everage, who serves as camp director.

This year's camp signature sponsor is Cameron Memorial Community Hospital. Grants also have been received from the Steuben County Community Foundation and the Indiana Arts Commission.

The Angola Youth Theater Camp production of "Aesop's Fables at the Furth" is presented in partnership with Angola Main Street, Trine University and Excelsior Arts Academy and Youth Theater.