Young Actors and Actresses Take the Stage in PAC’s “Seussical”
Gwen Akers
The Ashland Beacon
From photography to props, to acting, the Paramount Arts Center’s summer camp classes have been an amazing opportunity for the children of this area—and all of their hard work culminated in their Friday performance of “Seussical,” where family and friends came out to support the talented children of our area.
The PAC’s Summer Classes program serves children 8-18 in the Ashland area and offers classes in various art forms including photography, music, yoga, props, dance, crafts and more–covering almost every type of visual performance all taught by very talented and experienced instructors. Over the three weeks, children could choose from a variety of these courses and even mix and match. This summer alone, around 160 children have taken part in these wonderful classes–and they look forward to reaching more and more children in the future.
After their June showcase of “101 Dalmatians,” the children returned for a final showcase with “Seussical.”
“It's basically Horton Hears a Who, but you throw all of the Dr. Seuss characters in with it. It's really interesting. These are all kids from the age of 8 to 18, and they only had two weeks to put it together,” explained Matt Hammond, the Education Director at the Paramount Arts Center and the primary director of shows for children under 18.
Hammond could not be more proud of the children and their accomplishments, describing their work during the past two weeks as both difficult and rewarding. With a full set and costume production, the children were exposed to the various facets of theater that come with making an amazing show.
“[They are] very, very talented kids. What we really tried to get through to them with this particular kind of camp is that if you work this hard for two weeks, and you can pull this off, what can you do if you work this hard all the time? Whether that's in a theatrical field or something completely different, no matter what you're doing if you actually sit down and work at something for a long period of time, you can accomplish almost anything you want to accomplish,” detailed Hammond about the vision behind the camp.
Rick Payne is the artistic director behind the show, and alongside Hammond created a brilliant stage to showcase the talent of our children. From backdrops, lights and spotlights, glittering costumes, sound and more–the showcase was a roaring success.
“When I was 10, there was just nothing like this around. That’s one of the biggest things is understanding that a lot of these kids who live in New York or lived in California, they'd be the little kids who are performing on Broadway. They just happen to live in Kentucky, so they don't have an opportunity–so we try to create those,” explained Hammond.
Cheered on by proud parents and community members, the show was a complete success for the local children and was just another reminder of the opportunities and success stories of our area.