Horizon Youth Theatre
Campus: Short Feature
The Horizon Youth Theatre was established In 1998 through the combined efforts of Dr. Scott Regan from the Department of Theatre and Film at BGSU, and Dr. JoBeth Gonzales, Director of the Bowling Green High School's Drama Department, working along with a small group of community members. From early on, a series of summer classes and workshops became available that aimed at helping young people develop stage performance skills. Over the years the group has produced about 26 performances and provided a large number of the area's youth with valuable learning experiences.
According to Dr. Regan, the project has had two main goals: "One is to provide training for young people in the theatre arts, and the second is to provide a series of productions with young people as the performers and the technicians.” In general, the youth are trained in the craft of creating plays and musicals while participating in both the acting and technical aspects of production.
The summer classes and workshops are held at the Wooster Street Center and are led by university faculty and staff. The students learn storytelling, play devising, singing, acting, dancing and video production.
One of the first things the youth learn is that there’s a large amount of work and dedication involved in theatre productions. The classes and practices require punctuality and attentive behavior, and every individual has some form of responsibility. Working in drama requires everyone to be around each other constantly, and to cooperate and depend on one another. Dr. Regan says he sees first-hand how this allows each new group to become “very close as a family".
Parents witness the growth in their children from one performance to the next. The young performers learn how to better present themselves and generally come out of the program with increased self-confidence and respect for others. As one past performer summed up the lesson: “Speak out and face your audience.”
In addition to the main performances, the Theatre often works with a number of other community organizations, such as the Wood County Library, COSI Toledo, Black Swamp Arts Festival, the ClaZel Theatre, and others. The members also attend weekend workshops and participate in field trips to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and elsewhere.
The participants in the Horizon Youth Theatre enjoy the experience of getting to meet new people and train in the performing arts. The youth and their instructors all proudly present their work as quality entertainment suitable for the whole family and the whole community.