When the 28-member cast of the New Jersey Youth Theatre’s production of Kiss Me Kate takes the stage July 15 through 24 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Victoria Theater in Newark, audiences will get the full treatment of this time-honored musical set to Cole Porter classics.
There will be famous songs like “Too Darn Hot,” plenty of fancy footwork and a full complement of costumes and sets.
At some point, as always seems to happen at NJYT performances, the audience will forget that they’re watching a group of kids.
That’s music to the ears of NJYT artistic director Cynthia Meryl.
“That’s the goal,” Meryl says. “My philosophy is always to aim a step higher, to push these kids to go beyond what even they think they can do and to go beyond what people expect to see.”
Meryl’s young thespians have been wowing crowds for 20 years. Under her tutelage, the NJYT students—who this year range in age from 8 to 23 and hail from every corner of the state—have tackled everything from standard summer fare to ambitious productions like Ragtime and Sweeney Todd that some adult amateur troupes would not dare attempt.
“It’s amazing to me that year after year they produce some of the highest-quality theater in the state with kids who are basically teenagers,” says Laura Aden Packer, program director for arts at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
“There are a few people in this world who really have this incredible gift of working with young actors, and Cynthia’s got that,” Packer says. “What we love is that they’re learning so much while they’re also presenting these incredible productions.”
Meryl began performing at age 10. Her career has included Broadway, off-Broadway and regional productions. She started NJYT—originally known as the Westfield Young Artists Cooperative Theatre—as an outgrowth of her small theater and dance studio. Her goal was to give young actors a free summer training experience with an emphasis on “the right way” of doing things.
“Some of what we saw that passed for theater for kids just made us cringe; they weren’t being taught, they were just put on stage,” says Meryl’s husband, Ted Agress, an actor who now helps run the business end of NJYT out of the couple’s Union County home.
Meryl and Agress have no children; NJYT is their baby, and they speak with fierce but quiet pride about their efforts. Challenges include maintaining NJYT’s identity (some assume they are part of NJPAC), fund-raising, planning for a long-awaited original show by Meryl and struggling with funding cuts such as this season’s unexpected loss of performances on the Jersey Shore.
“Spare time? What spare time? If I’m not working on NJYT, I’m teaching at the school or I’m doing a workshop somewhere,” Meryl says.
At NJYT, students quickly learn this is not a casual introduction to theater. Once cast in a show, there are eight-hour rehearsal days on weekends beginning in May, and then almost every day of the week beginning in mid-June. Performers sign contracts laying out a strict code of conduct, including penalties for tardiness and other infractions.
“In the real world, in New York, it’s fast paced and they don’t take a lot of bull,” says NJYT alum Kevin Melendez. “You’re expected to be there, be on time, be prepared and work hard. That’s exactly what was instilled in us at NJYT.” Melendez, 24, of West New York, performed with NJYT for five years while in high school and college. He is currently performing in regional and small New York productions.
Beyond the rules, NJYT provides actual training on skills from auditioning to vocal and acting technique.
“It’s acting 101,” Meryl says. “I teach them how to approach material, how to become the character, how to develop a character, how to be specific about the character. And I talk to the kids about honesty because there has to be an honesty to their performance or it doesn’t work.”