Originally published on Seacoast Online. Excerpts of the full article are included below.
Upside Arts, the new theater company founded by Miles Burns, Seraphina Caligiure and Alden Caple, has a number of projects in the works. There’s new camps, followed by still more, and its first stand-alone production.
“Now, it’s on,” says Burns. “The big thing we’ve got coming up right away is February and April vacation camps; one-week camps like little mini theater boot camps.”
Each will be held at the Portsmouth’s South Church Old Parish Hall. The performances will be held at the church proper.
“And this is important. We’re offering camps for both Maine and New Hampshire vacations,” he said.
The first camp is “The Show Must Go On.”
It’s classic Broadway songs, and we’ll do scenes ... improv games, all that sort of different creative stuff, to learn about being on stage,” Burns says. “There will be a showcase at the end.”
“Vacation Rocks,” April’s camp,” is the same deal, same space,” he says. Find dates and info at Upside Arts’ Facebook page and at www.theupsideartscompany.org.
This summer, the company will collaborate with Prescott Park Arts Festival’s Camp Encore. Caligiure will direct, Burns will do the music direction.
The pair will oversee productions of “Mary Poppins’ Junior,” and “Once on This Island Junior.” There’s also a new, one-week, teen intensive camp, which will present “The Addams Family.”
“The next part is we will be running our own camp. ... We’re trying to lock down our space,” he says. “It will be a pretty crazy summer.”
Burns will direct the Upside Arts Camp, which will focus on original works for the kids.
“We’re working on the schedule so I can do my job in both places,” he says. “Luckily, they’ll be down the street form each other.”
And, yet another camp is in the works, “an overnight camp for Upside,” he says. “We’re checking out different camps all over New Hampshire and Maine. We’ll be getting information out on that in a couple of months or so.”
The most immediate project is a teen production, “Rock of Ages, The Middle School Edition.” It’s already in the works, and will be presented at Dover’s Strand Ballroom. First auditions are done. More will be scheduled.