Adventures In Acting

Adventures In Acting was created in 2006 through a love of kids, teaching, theater and producing quality community productions. (Besides, who needs sleep?) I have been enamored with the stage for ages, and here in Corvallis I have been active at The Majestic Theater, Corvallis Community Theatre, and Willamette Children's Theater. For several years I missed starting my summer with a kick-off frenzy of children's theater, and hence was born this venture. Since then, all our summers have been a treasure trove of theatrical planning and adventures, and we all love it!

In 2006 we dove into an undersea exploration of Alice's Wonderland, and in 2007 we saved Pinocchio from the perils of Hedonia as he learns some important life lessons. In 2008 we explored the comic aspects of Shakespeare's tragic love story, re-written as a hilarious inter-planetary musical, "Romeo and Harriet." 2009 found us jammin' at the beach, hangin' out with the gang, searching for that perfect wave until ... no, not a "Wipeout!"

The next year we decided to try something totally crazy - we wrote our own musical! It had become almost impossible to find a quality family-fun show of two acts, with great music, which did not have just a small cadre of "lead" parts. Our students were ALL amazing and deserved more chances to shine on stage. Luckily no one told us the truth - that this was an impossible task, especially within nine months. So, we did it!

2010 found AIA on a mystery cruise with a jewelry heist and a multitude of possible suspects. Luckily the Clue Crew was aboard to help ferret out the truth. In 2011 we again created our own musical, this time a humorous romp through the American Revolution. "The Mirth of July" showed the lighter side of our founding fathers via a summer school run by a tyrannical monarch, with "living" historic characters (think of summer school run a la "A Night at the Museum" but with snazzy songs and dances thrown in!).

2012 brings this Adventures In Acting adventure to a close. It's time for the staff to seek out new lands to conquer, and thankfully there are now a variety of youth-summer-theater possibilities in the area. We're finishing off with a certifiably crazy and wildly entertaining show - The Great Ghost Chase, which will be infused with snippets, songs and characters from our past shows (who do YOU think should show up? what songs deserve a repeat performance?) Also, we will have a reunion of AIA participants at our June 30th evening performance ~ please plan to be there!

I'm thankful to have had the chance to lead seven sensational summers of musical theater with Adventures In Acting. The staff each year has brought their individual and collective talents and energy, supporting our creative casts to produce simply astounding musical theater - in just two weeks. Thank you for sharing the magic. I invite you to partake in the final chapter, and to celebrate the joy of theater with us this June!