The Illinois Arts Council has awarded Timber Lake Playhouse a grant to continue their paid apprentice program for area teens interested in pursuing careers in the theatre arts.
TLP (in Mt. Carroll, Ill.) is accepting applications for the apprenticeship program through May 26. The playhouse, operating in its 62th season, hires performers, directors and designers from aroun the country each year. The apprentice program is designed to immerse pre-college teens from Northwest Illinois in all aspects of professional theater production. The grant provides an hourly pay rate comparable to other summer work, according to a TLP release.
“It is important for TLP to offer programming to area teens,” executive director Dan Danielowski said. “We expect some very talented high school students to apply for these positions.”
The teens will be chosen based on an artistic statement, letter of recommendation and interview. Priority will be given to this year’s high school juniors and graduates, those already accepted to university programs and those who’ve demonstrated a clear commitment to pursuing a career in theater.
The program lasts 10 weeks and provides experience in all aspects of running a theater. Interested youth should send a letter of application with an artistic statement and a letter of recommendation from someone familiar with their work to admin@timberlakeplayhouse.org.
“It’s a remarkable investment in the cultural life of the region,” said Danielowski. “To go into a university program with existing professional credits gives these artists a huge advantage. Combine that with a salary says that we believe in the value of the theatre arts and in you, as the next generation of artists from Northwest Illinois.”
“The Lightning Thief” starts season
TLP will open its 2023 season with “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical” on May 12, and it will run just one weekend.
With more than 100 million copies of the book series sold worldwide, this global phenomenon has found a new home on the live stage in a “mesmerizing” theatrical event that proves “lightning can strike twice!” (TheaterMania), TLP said in a release on the show.
“We have wanted to produce Lightning Thief at TLP for some time now,” Dan Danielowski said. “When I heard that Western Michigan University had done the show last fall, I reached out to Jay (Berkow – WMU Theatre Professor) and we started working out the details.”
This production will feature Western Michigan actors and actresses and be directed by Jay Berkow. “We have typically hired Western Michigan students in the May company so this seemed a perfect fit,” said Darren Mangler, TLP artistic director.
As a son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson has newly discovered powers he can’t control, monsters on his trail, and is on a quest to find Zeus’ lightning bolt to prevent a war between the Greek gods, according to a synopsis.
Based on the bestselling Disney-Hyperion novel by Rick Riordan and featuring a thrilling original rock score, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is an action-packed theatrical adventure that has been celebrated by audiences and critics alike, the TLP release said.
Timber Lake Playhouse opens its Summer Subscription Season on June 1 with the musical celebration of growin’ up, cruisin’ with friends and goin’ steady, “Grease.”
TLP’s second production mixes a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel and a dash of Monty Python in “The 39 Steps.” “The Sound of Music,” “9 to 5,” “Bright Star” and “Jersey Boys” finish off the 2023 series.
For more information, tickets, and to register for classes, visit the TLP website HERE. You may also call the box office at 815-244-2035 Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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