SEQUIM — Olympic Theatre Arts’ youth program’s spring break camp continues to evolve. This year, three experienced young technicians and six seasoned child actors transitioned into directors to take the lead during rehearsals for playwright Colleen Neuman’s “Stones.”

Originally a comedic retelling of three folktales about stones, camp director Marissa Meek said OTA’s version was narrowed to two stories.

Two performances were the culmination of a weeklong camp. Thespians in grades 3-12 participated in skills workshops and divided into groups for rehearsals.Some actors performed in both stories, “Robbers Are Everywhere” and “The Trial of the Stone.”

Set design was minimal for this year’s production because the set of OTA’s previous play, “Fools,” worked so well for “Stones,” as both were set in mythic European lands, Meek said.

Meek, who was a public school drama teacher in Texas for several decades, has been directing plays and leading children’s programs at OTA since 2022.

She said the student directors, all veterans of past productions at OTA, participated in a workshop previous to the spring break program.

Scholarships are offered so any child who wants to participate has the opportunity to do so.

“It’s something we’ve been building towards all along,” Meek said. “We had enough older kids with the experience to participate in the directing workshop. They took what they’ve learned these last four years” combined with “the pretty intensive directing workshop” and used it to guide the younger or less-experienced children at the camp, overseen by eight adult mentors besides Meek.

After experiencing the directing process, Meek said the young thespians “will be that much better as performers.”

“This is a huge step forward for us, to have the students direct,” Meek said. “I can’t tell you how pleased, proud and excited I am about how well the students are handling the process, utilizing techniques and skill-building exercises they have learned through the years at similar camps and in OTA productions.”

Judy Griffin, one of the adults overseeing the camp, said, “I’ve worked off and on in my life with youth and I’ve never ceased to be impressed by how capable young people can be when given the training, tools and empowerment.”

“Ones that I thought were timid are now blossoming and shining,” she added.

Meek said Griffin “is so capable of training them, empowering them and trusting them — she trusts them to stand up to the challenge.”

Karen Twight explained that she and the other adults are mentors in an advisory capacity, assisting if needed and “running lines with youth actors.”

She said the student directors are “absolutely wonderful and very proficient, because of the many shows that they’ve been in, watching adult directors.”

Twight said they use that knowledge to direct themselves.

“The experience paid off,” she said.

Learning skills

Sixth-grader Lily Gulbranson, one of the three technicians chosen by Meek to lead the backstage activities, worked on a prop as she explained her role in the production.

“I get the props, help with the costumes, make some of the props,” as well as work with sound and lighting and help with blocking, she said.

Gulbranson said she’s been participating in OTA programs since 2023 in plays such as “Charlotte’s Web,” “African Folktales” and “The Secret Garden,” but she’s never been one of the performers because she likes to work on the “art stuff.”

She said she’s “made a few pretty good friends here.”

“I love Marissa,” Gulbranson said. “All the plays I’ve ever done have her as head director. She’s very kind and well-rounded. She can be strict when need be.”

Gulbranson said Meek is knowledgeable in all aspects of the theater, from costumes, makeup and props to acting.

“She knows a lot about how to project and stand correctly and helps the kids out a lot,” Gulbranson said.

Meek said the next production she will direct for “mixed generations” will be this summer, a play set at a high school called “Close the Door So It Can’t Get in Your Room.” She is hoping to recruit adults to play the older teachers and parents, with teens and middle-schoolers playing the high school roles and the first-year teacher lead. She plans to hold an audition workshop, possibly in early June.

“Community theater is so important,” said Meek, explaining that adults get to learn new skills and tap into their playful, childlike side.

“When I direct adults, I use a lot of the same exercises I use with children,” she said, asserting that it doesn’t matter if a person is acting “Shakespeare or Bugs Bunny,” the same skills are used.

“It’s delightful to work with all ages and see how they learn from each other and make each other better,” Meek said.

In order of appearance, “Robbers are Everywhere” featured Kimira Crear, Jonah Risinger, Kaylee Lawson, Ryan Gates, Willow Kilcullen, Mara Jordan, Charlotte Johnson and Fira Sperduti.

“The Trial of the Stone” featured Riley Guimond, Penny Medlong, Jonah Risinger, Nathan Coates, Collin Johnson, Julian Medlong, Asher Schaafsma, Adam Halgrimson, Egan Owie, Ryan Gates, Madison Bell, Ellie Miller and Josephine Johnson.

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Emily Matthiessen is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. She can be reached by email at emily.matthiessen@sequimgazette.com.