Kids Get into Theatre at the Memorial Opera House

Dancing children sang through their broad smiles on the Memorial Opera House stage Friday evening during the culminating performance of two week's worth of rehearsal. The Memorial Opera House summer theatre camp gives children the chance to experience the performing arts.

"This is my first time doing theatre," nine-year-old Katelyn Benefiel said, who is participating in Memorial Opera House's summer camp. "It's so fun because we get to learn new things about theatre. It's just so fun that I never want the camp to end."

The kids in the camp performed a rousing musical called, "When I Grow Up", which teaches kids to be themselves as long as they do the best work they can while respecting those around them.

Memorial Opera House fosters a strong sense of community. From friendships between directors, sound managers, and seamstresses in the costume department to tight bonds forged between emerging actors, those involved at Memorial Opera House do their best to work together to ensure the success of their shows.

"I've made a lot of friends here," Benefiel said. "They're all really nice."

Katelyn can't wait to do more theatre in the future. In fact, she now wants to be an actress when she grows up.

"I am so grateful that we live in a community that offers such tremendous summer camp options considering our size," Katelyn's mom, Melissa Benefiel said. "My daughter is thriving in this program and told me she wants to go every day, all summer."

Katelyn's not the only camper enamored with the arts.

"I want to stay here forever," camper Lizzie Kwiatkowski said.

These reactions from kids and their parents are what make theatre summer camps so rewarding for those who run them.

"I find this work very internally rewarding," Camp Director Natalie Franks said. "It's fun. When my kids say that they don't want the camp to end, I know I'm getting my message across. I want them to be creative and feel good about themselves when they perform."

The children participating the Memorial Opera House's summer program couldn't feel any better about how much they're learning and accomplishing. Educating children in the arts is crucial to keeping the arts alive in the community.

"Arts are dying in our society. Very few people seem to want to honor that the arts as important. The arts – drama, music, visual art – are important because they allow us to express our creative side," Franks said. "If you can get the younger kids to learn that creativity and that self-exploration are important, it puts them on a good path to be a creative individual the rest of their lives. It really increases their self-confidence and awareness of everything going on around them."

An organization that works hard to keep a love of the arts – and local theatres – alive and well is the Northwest Indiana Excellence In Theatre Foundation (NIETF).

"There are four pillars that NIETF is built on: innovative marketing, partnership resourcing, community development, and member recognition - all with the overarching goal of stimulating excellence in theatre arts," NIETF President Becky Jascoviak said.

NIETF provides training, support, and financial opportunities to local theatre members.

"NIETF provides financial resources through our Project CAST (cash assistance for supporting theatre) grant award each year," Jascoviak said. "This $1,000 grant is for a project that the theatre is trying to accomplish. In the past, some theatres have used this grant to purchase lighting or a sound system, or build audience risers or any number of other projects that enhance what they do."

As anyone working with a local theatre will tell you, financial support is hugely valuable when taking on impressive large-scale projects. In addition to providing extra financial support, NIETF puts local theatres in contact with each other so that they can support each other and help serve each other's needs.

"One of the biggest ways NIETF provides partnership resources is in the area of sharing costumes, props, etc.," Jascoviak said. "Having the theatres talk together and share resources saves all the theatres budgets and space. In many ways, the theatres could almost view the region as a giant costume and prop closet with different rooms all over the area."

"NIETF is a great organization to be involved in," Franks said, who is a member of NIETF. "By connecting these otherwise independent local theatres, NIETF creates a community of like-minded artists who want to see the arts encouraged and celebrated in the larger community."

Many of the young actors performing in "When I Grow Up" will hopefully go on to participate in shows and act in theatres supported by people like Franks and organizations like NIETF. For any community, art is incredibly valuable – it creates a culture, promotes creative, and creates an openness of expression that allows people to thrive.

"Local theatre is a treasure," Franks said. "Memorial Opera House is a historical treasure. They have fantastic programs not only for children, but also for adults. Enroll in a class, buy a ticket, or volunteer. It's so rewarding, however you choose to get involved."

As any of the Memorial Opera House's summer campers will tell you, theatre is incredibly fun. The 2014 campers include: Lizzie Kwiatkowski, Kaitlyn Cole, Katelyn Benefiel, Maddie Cole, Makenna Johnson, Carson Hamilton, Ava Peterson, and Madison Grieger.