WHO WE ARE

 

Coastal Act Productions, or CAP, is a Youth Theater Company serving Lincoln County and because there are a few philosophical differences that set us apart from other theater companies we would like to communicate some of them here now so as to avoid possible confusion or misunderstanding later.

 

YOUTH THEATER

 

If you were to go around the country and research the term “Youth Theater,” you would find that there are several different definitions.  The definition that CAP subscribes to is one where youth (along with family members and other adults) are provided with opportunities to be in large community theater productions without the requirement of a formal audition. Consequently we pick our shows based on a script’s capacity to handle a large cast of youth participants. This, however, does not make us a “school” theatre company.  We are a community theater company and we cast adults in lead roles when it is appropriate to the role to do so. Therefore, our definition of Youth Theater does not mean that only youth play the lead roles, but instead means that youth are given opportunities to perform in major theatrical productions in a variety of capacities both as leads and ensemble members.

 

NO AUDITION NECESSARY

 

We believe that all youth should have opportunities to develop and display their talent.  This can be difficult, however, for those who are just starting out as they may not have the level of confidence or acting ability necessary to get past the audition stage with other theater companies.  With CAP no one needs to audition to have a role in our shows. We cast everyone who registers and we guarantee them as much time onstage as possible. We only hold formal auditions for the lead roles in our shows.

 

DOUBLE CASTING

 

When we hold auditions for lead roles and have actors with similar talents, we often find ourselves having a difficult time deciding who to cast in particular roles. Because we believe in giving as many people opportunities to be in lead roles as possible, when this happens we will double or even triple cast the role to utilize as much of our talent as we can.

 

When an actor is not performing in their lead role, they are part of the ensemble cast where they have a supporting role that they must fill.  To retain a lead role, an actor must give equal effort to their ensemble role.  If an actor finds it difficult to do this, then they will be removed from the lead role in favor of fulfilling their ensemble role.

 

One might think that this would create competition between the actors sharing a role but in fact, in most instances, camaraderie ends up developing between the actors and they become supportive of each other, using rehearsal opportunities to glean ideas from each other for their role.  And while multiple casts do create extra work for the Director and Production Team, the positives of the experience greatly outweigh the few negative aspects.

 

THE COST OF BEING INVOLVED

 

It is questioned from time to time why one must pay to participate in a CAP show when the other theater companies in our area do not charge their participants.  With CAP shows it is the couple of differences between us and the other companies that make all the difference.

 

Production Costs

The cost of putting on a theatrical production of the scale that CAP does is very expensive.  And a great deal of that expense is because of our “open door” policy with registration, where we have cast sizes that average between 80 and 100 people.  That size of cast translates into significantly higher production costs than what a theater company would have that only has 20 to 30 people in its show.  With our last show, Wizard of Oz, the final tally on expenses was right at $43,000 and to cover that level of expense it takes more than just ticket sales.  The registration fees help to defray some, but not all, of the costs that are directly related to the cast.

 

The “Theater Camp” Aspect

With large casts of people, who have all ranges of talent and theatrical experience, we have to provide much more training for our cast than what a traditional community theater company would.  A great deal of rehearsal time is spent teaching vocal and acting skills as well as theater protocol to our cast members, many of whom have never even been in a theater let alone onstage.  We function as a several-month-long “theater camp” taking many inexperienced cast members through all the steps that are involved in producing a high-quality, full-scale theater production.

 

For comparison sake, we encourage you to look on the Internet at how other youth theatre companies are structured.  Some good ones to explore are www.myart.org, www.cmtsj.org and www.vyt.com.  You will find that other youth theater companies have registration fees that start out at around $125 minimum and the fee does not cover anything except tuition.  Costumes, scripts, show t-shirts, meals between shows, the cast party, everything else is an additional cost to the actor above and beyond that initial tuition charge.  With costuming costs that can run into the several hundreds of dollars, the total cost to participate in Youth Theater in other areas of the country can easily reach $500 or more.  Even here in Lincoln County, the cost to participate in the two-week long theater camps that are offered in the summer through OCCA is $250.  For all that we provide to our cast members, we feel that the $75 registration is the best bargain around in Youth Theater.

 

Cast Commitment

With our “open door” policy on registration, the requirement of paying a registration fee to participate helps to filter out those who might not approach the production with the level of seriousness and commitment that we need our cast members to have.  Commitment is especially important in theatre because every actor is a critical piece of the show.  Scene-staging and choreography are designed to take every person into consideration and every actor holds a unique place on stage.  With that in mind, we need to know that our cast members are motivated to stick it out through rough times because quality theater always brings with it some late nights and a lot of hard work.  The fact that our cast has at least a small monetary investment in the show gives us that little bit of added assurance that they will remain committed to seeing the show to fruition. Because as all our casts have gotten to see firsthand, the hard work is worth every minute when the end result is that you have a full house and the audience is on their feet in applause.

 

Hopefully you have found this information useful in getting to know us.  If you have other areas of concern or questions, please feel free to speak with our Director, Kim Fiske, or our Producer, Robin Gintner.

 

To view this file in the PDF format, please click HERE.