Opera House Youth Actors set out on whirlwind tour
By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Tuesday, April 5th, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
ELGIN – (Release from the Elgin Opera House) The Opera House Youth Actors (OHYA) are headed out on a whirlwind tour that will take the group of 34 young actors through the intermountain west and on to Anaheim, California. Wednesday, April 6 the OHYA performing arts group starts their bus tour with their first stop at the Hale Center Theatre in Sandy, Utah, where they will see a performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock. The following day, the group will have the opportunity to take a private tour of the new, multi-million-dollar state-of-the-art Hale Center Theater facility. Later in the day they will perform at a senior center in Orem, UT, and then travel to the Brigham Young University campus in Provo, UT, for a workshop and performance with the acclaimed BYU Young Ambassadors. That evening they will attend a production of Steve Martin’s musical, Bright Star at the Hale Center Theatre in Orem, Utah where they have been invited to attend a special talk back session with Bright Star director Mark Fossen and members of the Bright Star cast.
The final leg of trip will bring the nationally recognized Opera House Youth Actors to Anaheim, California where they will have the opportunity to perform at Disney California Adventure and attend a brand-new Disney Broadway Workshop presented through Disney’s Imagination Campus.
Terry Hale, the company director, submitted the initial audition last Fall shortly after Disney reopened their educational program following the shutdown due to the pandemic. “The performance approval came quickly with an invitation to attend the new Broadway Workshop,” said Hale. “We were told that we would be one of the first groups to attend this new workshop specially designed for young actors and performers.”
Terry worked closely with OHYA choreographer Abigail Hale and assistant director Misty Hines to prepare the group for the final required video audition. “We had to submit a second video that showed the entire performance before we could receive final approval to perform in the park,” said Hale. This added an element of stress because the group was not guaranteed a performance slot until after a Disney representative signed off the performance. “The Disney representative told me that they would only allow us to perform in the park if our performance lived up to Disney park standards. Fortunately, after they reviewed our submission, the adjudicator told us our set was ‘fabulous’ and immediately approved us for a Disney park performance.”
Executive Artistic Director, Terry Hale and Abigail Hale spent long hours choosing just the right songs and choreography to show off the broader talent of the group. “We wanted each performer to have their own moment to shine,” said Hale. “We also wanted to incorporate tap choreography this year, a skill that we were not able to highlight during the Junior Theatre Festival competitions.” The OHYA performers rehearsed 3 times a week and practiced countless hours at home until the set was ready.
Saturday the 9th of April the Opera House Youth Actors will attend the Disney Imagination Campus workshop and Sunday April 10th the youth will perform on the Hollywood Backlot Stage in front of an audience, that for the most part will have never heard of Elgin, Oregon. The 23-minute set of Disney melodies will feature solos from nearly every member of the troupe. This group of 34 performers ranging in age from 10 to 18 come from Union, Wallowa, Walla Walla and Umatilla counties and represent their communities and the Elgin Opera House with great professionalism and extreme performance proficiency.
The Opera House Youth Actors are focused and talented young performers that have been in training since 2017. Terry’s dedication to bring out the best in these young actors has been realized as they have won national recognition each year they have attended the Junior Theater Festival, including many individual national awards. Terry Hale was recognized by his peers and was awarded the Freddie G Fellowship for his outstanding work as a theatre educator.
The Opera House Youth Actors are excited to present their performance to a local audience as part of the Opera House Youth Camp production. To find out more information about the programs at the Elgin Opera House, please visit our website ElginOperaHouse.com.
