PREVIEW: Tarzan Retold by the Young Actors Guild
08/07—08/08 @ Tamarac High School in Troy
Photos by Angela D'Amico of Angela Mia Photography
“The philosophy of the program is the kids finding their own creative self and teaching them the difference between imitation and creation.”
There is a unique nostalgia to attending a youth production of a classic show. The smell of the auditorium, the quiet shuffle of the attendees finding their seats, and the music from your childhood all invoke warm memories. With the Young Actors’ Guild (YAG)’s upcoming performance of Tarzan, they bring out the best of the past while reimagining the future of a company that has served the region for 37 years.
“From my perspective, it’s sentimental because YAG is just a really great community that [the students] grow up in, where they have friends that they make for a lifetime,” says Founder and Director Mary D'Amico.
On Friday, August 7 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, August 8 at 2 p.m. at Tamarac High School in Troy, YAG will tell the story of Tarzan, suffusing it with the messages of family, friendship, and love that have made the story not only a timeless favorite but also personally relatable for the cast.
Alice Watson has been a YAG student for eight years and is a CIT. Playing the role of Tarzan’s mother, Kala, she spoke to the overarching themes expressed by her character. “Even if we’re all different, we can still love one another and be one,” she mused. “Kala holds that through the whole show, and I really love representing that.”
For lead Tarzan actor Zachariah Frances, a fellow CIT and student of eight years, the show’s theme of family is especially significant and parallels his own feelings toward YAG.
“I stayed because this is kind of home to me, and it brought me through a lot of tough times that I was dealing with. I’ve known almost everybody here for my entire life. YAG is a place that anyone can go to,” he says. “No matter who you are or what you are, you can call someone a friend… I like how Tarzan emphasizes that. It’s just something that people need, especially now.”
Fellow actor Jordan Winnie, who plays Turk, feels similarly. His passion for art and set design has found a safe space to thrive at YAG — from concepts sketched out in his room to collaborating on fully realized sets, YAG encourages him to pursue his creativity.
“I’ve always felt inclined to do art. I felt a natural progression toward doing that in the program, and it’s only been expanded from there,” explains Jordan. “It’s made me feel like I’m furthering my abilities. It feels good when I’m able to use something I’ve learned from a previous production in both the art department and being onstage. I love keeping myself occupied but also feeling productive, because I’m always working toward the next thing.”
Performing beloved and established works is a part of YAG, but fostering the students’ originality also is essential to them. D’Amico doesn’t force blocking or direction; she allows the students to experiment with the characters and to learn for themselves under her guidance.
“We do original works, where the kids write their own plays, and we put them on stage,” says D’Amico. “That's been a goal of mine throughout the years, to make sure we're teaching them to create their own things and not just imitate what they see all the time. The philosophy of the program is the kids finding their own creative self and teaching them the difference between imitation and creation.”
The lessons that the students learn from working in these shows do more than just provide them with onstage confidence. Each of the students reflected on how life-altering YAG has been for them, echoing similar sentiments about life skills that they will carry with them everywhere.
The students are not only becoming actors; some are pursuing careers as doctors, lawyers, and other jobs where they benefit from what they’ve learned at YAG. During her time as a theater educator, D’Amico has seen firsthand how theater can change lives. “They’re learning teamwork, responsibility, and accountability,” says D’Amico. “It just makes them a little braver.”
“I love being that [leadership] figure for the kids,” adds CIT and student Giana Bianchino. Bianchino is in the ensemble of Tarzan, working as a mature figure for the youngest actors in the show to learn from and collaborate alongside.
“It makes them feel a lot better about themselves and their performances when they see a CIT and somebody that they look up to in the same position as them and doing the same things that they’re doing,” she explains. “It’s a very important role that I’m playing, and I do feel very good about it.”
Any show requires teamwork, but this attitude of support and looking out for your fellow actors is prevalent at YAG. Ego is checked at the door, and hierarchy dissolves when there is a larger goal.
Teamwork also comes easily when you are working with people that you have known almost your entire life. “We’ve all been with each other since we were very young,” explains Winnie. Some have worked together for almost a decade.
“I like that we've all grown together as people, and I love that I'm still as close to them as I was when we were kids, too,” agrees Watson.
First- and second-generation families are now partaking in YAG. “That’s especially heartwarming for me when you’re looking at their little faces,” expresses D’Amico fondly. “You loved their parents, and here they are.”
Theater is inherent, a calling. D’Amico had aspirations to be an actress, and she worked so well with children in her productions that she was encouraged to pursue theater as an educational tool for children. At the time, there were few schools like YAG in the region — she had spent her childhood wishing for one — and there was no blueprint for her to follow.
YAG was born at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Playhouse but has recently faced the challenge of not having a permanent home. Bringing props and sets to various locations is a daily challenge, and D’Amico’s dream is a permanent place to perform.
Despite this setback, YAG is resilient. The bonds that the students have formed transcend a building and feed into each new generation that attends. One student of 10 years, Sebastian Hogan, puts it succinctly: “YAG is friendship.”
For more information, visit youngactorsguild.org.
