Citadel Theatre Education is a Confidence-Builder for Young Performers
- David A.F. Sweet
- 16 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By David A. F. Sweet
Erin Ammer, education director for Citadel Theatre in Lake Forest, shared a story about an 8-year-old girl.
She always smiled during Citadel Theatre Education camp, but didn’t really speak. The next year, she joined Citadel’s Broadway Bootcamp Summer program.
Kian Van Gerven (center) performs with other Citadel Theatre Education students in Newsies Jr.
“She was singing loud and confidently, and we gave her a solo that we weren’t intending to use in a performance,” Ammer said. “She became a different person.
“Kids are building confidence at Citadel, even if they don’t go into theatre. It’s giving them life skills in public speaking and socializing.”
In its 20th year, the year-round Citadel Theatre Education program – which was launched by theatre founder Scott Phelps – continues to attract students from ages 3-18 who are interested in improving or learning about all sorts of theatre skills.
“They get all aspects, including the production side,” said Phelps, who hopes to have the kids perform a Shakespeare play in the future. “Our philosophy is to cast every student in a role.”
Added Ammer, “We want them to have fun and learn. But we treat them as actors, not kids. If they don’t learn the lines, we don’t say ‘That’s OK.’ We help them with different techniques to help them memorize.”
Though Citadel draws plenty of local children, some take the train from Chicago and are picked up by Citadel teachers, while others are driven from the Wisconsin border. Ammer noted that if a family can’t afford the program, their child will not be turned away.
The program puts on productions at the theatre at Lake Forest High School’s West Campus that last from 90 minutes to two hours. From Dec. 18-21, the youngsters will perform nine shows in two plays, Seussical Jr. and Ride the Cyclone. The latter will feature three different casts. Lillian Castillo, who performed in Ride the Cyclone in New York and Chicago, visited the students and answered questions for more than two hours recently about the show and theatre life before coaching them on their monologues.
Seussical Jr. will be performed later this month.
Pauline Kelley of Lake Bluff first performed in Holly the Elf with no lines. The youngster loved it. After a few lines in the performance of Into the Woods, she landed the lead role in Annie a few months later during summer camp. “I couldn't believe she'd gone from no lines to being Annie in three shows, but that is due to the incredible confidence and support that Citadel gave her from the moment she walked onto the stage for the first time,” said Margaret Kelley, Pauline’s mother, who praised Ammer for making sure Pauline has always enjoyed a positive experience. “Since then, she has only fallen more deeply in love with performing and her theatre family.
“Citadel has given her a community of friends who share a love for the theatre and who learn how to support each other on the stage and off. They are a team in every sense of the word, working together to create something larger than themselves. The directors are intuitive about children. They encourage them to grow. And they give them a place to call home.”
Citadel instructors have all worked in the professional world of theatre, so they possess a great deal of expertise. And there’s joy in sharing their knowledge with students. “When children learn theatre for the first time, they are looking at it with fresh eyes,” Ammer said.
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