BEVERLY — For some, theater is both an extracurricular activity and a beloved art form. At North Shore Music Theatre, it has become an invaluable experience for many young performers from Lynnfield, Peabody, and across Massachusetts.
Inside the Broadway Club, a group of young girls — Ella Morin and Madalene Rodrigues of Peabody, Lynnfield’s Ronika Salehian, Alexandra D’Onofrio and Keira Gasson of Wakefield — shared what it has been like to be a part of this year’s production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
All five of them are among the 24 members of the Youth Choir, which includes Peabody’s Ava Morin and Alysha Sandaire.
“My favorite thing is the people [here],” said D’Onofrio. “We’re working as a team to create a show in a very short amount of time, like a week, and it can be stressful sometimes, but everyone always finds a way to make it fun. I just love being here. It’s like my second home.”
Added Gasson: “We feel supported and a part of the cast. I think the community between everyone is my favorite.”
North Shore Music Theatre offers year-round educational programs for both adults and children, as well as a three-week summer intensive and an opportunity to audition for shows like “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” where they’ll even perform alongside a professional production team and actors.
Kyla Moulton, who serves as the director of education, said that the young actors began rehearsing for “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” which runs from July 8-19, back in early May.
“They joined the adults two and a half days into rehearsal,” Moulton said. “The adults had already staged Act 1 at that point, and one of the coolest things on that day was seeing the [children’s] reactions when they heard Olivia Valli sing for the first time. They really look up to her so much.”
For all of them, getting to perform with and learn from professional actors like Olivia Valli, who plays the narrator, and Nikita Burshtey, who plays Joseph, has been both a unique opportunity and an empowering one.
“The whole cast, I feel like they go out of their way and always say something to hype us up,” said Morin. “They all inspire me, too. We’re just sitting and singing, but they’re dancing while singing at the same time, and it’s just so cool. It pushes me to be a better singer and dancer.”
Added Rodrigues: “Olivia recently said something about the children [and] how it’s so incredible watching the future of performance, and it was uplifting. It [made me feel] like, this is what I want to do, and people are there to support me.”
