{"id":14071,"date":"2016-06-24T10:43:24","date_gmt":"2016-06-24T15:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=14071"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:28:37","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:28:37","slug":"violet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=14071","title":{"rendered":"PlayMakers\u2019 Summer Youth Conservatory to perform musical \u2018Violet\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Check out a story about behind-the-scenes rehearsals<\/strong><\/a>
\nfor “Violet!”<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Ainsley
Ainsley Seiger as Violet in PlayMakers Summer Youth Conservatory\u2019s production of \u201cViolet.\u201d (photo by Jon Gardiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A cast of student actors from 14 Triangle-area schools will perform the award-winning Broadway musical \u201cViolet\u201d July 20-31 for the PlayMakers Summer Youth Conservatory (SYC). High school actors began work on the production June 20, with their backstage counterparts starting technical training last week.<\/p>\n

PlayMakers Repertory Company, the professional theater in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will present the musical as the culmination of its popular SYC program.<\/p>\n

The music for \u201cViolet\u201d is by Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori (\u201cFun Home,\u201d \u201cShrek, the Musical,\u201d \u201cCaroline, or Change,\u201d \u201cThoroughly Modern Millie\u201d<\/em>), with lyrics and book by Brian Crawley based on the short story \u201cThe Ugliest Pilgrim\u201d by the late North Carolina author and long-time UNC professor Doris Betts.<\/p>\n

\"Left
Left to Right: Presyce Baez as Flick, Wilson Plonk as Monty and Ainsley Seiger as Violet in PlayMakers Summer Youth Conservatory\u2019s production of \u201cViolet.\u201d (photo by Jon Gardiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New York Magazine praised \u201cViolet\u201d as “a work of great resonance and beauty and joy\u201d and Newsday raved “The Broadway musical we’ve been waiting for has arrived!”<\/a><\/p>\n

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. July 20-23, 29, 30 and 2 p.m. July 24 and 31 in the Paul Green Theatre inside the Center for Dramatic Art located on Country Club Road. Tickets, $15 for adults and $10 for students and children under 18, may be purchased by calling (919) 962-7529, online at www.playmakersrep.org or at the PlayMakers box office.<\/p>\n

\u201cViolet\u201d is the touching, funny and moving story of a courageous heroine on a journey of self-discovery. When she sets out from her home in Spruce Pine, NC<\/a> to seek healing for a disfiguring scar, Violet blossoms, finding her true beauty along the way. The best young talent from across the Triangle will perform this powerhouse piece of theater showcasing musical styles from country, gospel, bluegrass and honky-tonk rock to Memphis blues, in a production reuniting the director\/choreographer and design team who staged recent SYC hits \u201cGuys & Dolls\u201d and \u201cHairspray.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthew Steffens is director\/choreographer for \u201cViolet.\u201d He was choreographer\/assistant director for SYC\u2019s \u201cGuys & Dolls\u201d and \u201cHairspray.\u201d Steffens recently served as associate director\/choreographer for the Off-Broadway production of \u201cBountiful: A Teacher\u2019s Journey,\u201d was associate choreographer for \u201cDoctor Zhivago\u201d and appeared in\u00a0\u201cWomen on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown\u201d and \u201cPromises, Promises\u201d on Broadway, and was resident director of the immersive Off-Broadway show \u201cQueen of the Night\u201d (Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience). He has danced, fought and flown his way through 12 productions with New York\u2019s Metropolitan Opera. Television and film credits include \u201cThe Last Five Years,\u201d \u201cAcross the Universe,\u201d \u201cBlack Box\u201d and \u201cSmash.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The Ensemble in PlayMakers Summer Youth Conservatory\u2019s production of \u201cViolet.\u201d (photo by Jon Gardiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recent Apex High School graduate Ainsley Seiger leads the cast in the title role of Violet. Seiger was recently selected as best actress in the Triangle Rising Star Awards and is currently performing on Broadway in competition for the National High School Musical Theatre Awards. She garnered rave reviews as Miss Adelaide in last summer\u2019s SYC show \u201cGuys & Dolls.\u201d<\/p>\n

SYC is a unique, award-winning educational and performance opportunity for young people, which includes working with professional directors, choreographers, musical directors, designers and production personnel at PlayMakers.<\/p>\n

Recognized as \u201ca model program for youth theatre in North Carolina\u201d by the North Carolina Theatre Conference, the Conservatory features three programs: Theatre Intensive and TheatreTech for high school students and Theatre Quest for middle schoolers.<\/p>\n

High school actors in the Theatre Intensive program train, rehearse and perform in PlayMakers\u2019 professional theater space. At the same time, participants in TheatreTech begin a program in scenic, costume and lighting production. TheatreTech includes technical coursework followed by a month-long apprenticeship with PlayMakers.<\/p>\n

During Theatre Quest, middle school students participate in a series of week-long classes from June 13 to July 15. Students train with professional artists in a variety of subjects including Principles of Acting and Musical Theatre, among others.<\/p>\n

For more information, visit http:\/\/playmakersrep.org\/education-and-outreach\/summer-youth-programs\/<\/a>. \u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

High school thespians train with theater professionals in award-winning program. Show runs July 20-31.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fine-arts-humanities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14071"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47780,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14071\/revisions\/47780"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}