Eastern University Theatre and Yes! And…‘s Winter Sort of Thing is a 6 month program that brings children from every walk of life and age together with professional artists to create and perform a full length musical on the stage at Eastern University. Through script writing workshops, summer camps and the extensive rehearsal process an ensemble of 30+ create a wild and wonderful story that reflects both the struggles of childhood and the struggles of citizenship in a complex society. Young people 7-17 from Kensington, Germantown, North Philly, Chestnut Hill and the suburbs join teachers, actors, musicians, social workers and dancers on stage in the performance of this original piece of theatre. Winter Sort of Thing was rated “Best Bet for you and your kids” by the Philadelphia Inquirer

Yes! And… equips children and young people with the tools to be better learners, to believe in themselves and to realize their dreams through the work of creating collaboratively with peers and professional artists. Click the above image to learn more about us!

Eastern University Theatre is a department at Eastern University in St. Davids, PA. They offer a minor in theatre while engaging students to embody their philosophy of “Making Art that Matters, Telling Stories that Transform”.

How we put it all together

Believe it or not, we start every Winter Sort of Thing program soon after the last one is cleaned up and put away. Though it starts with budget and time questions, it soon turns into an artistic discussion, and then an idea and then a plan! Those ideas are then brought to a group of summer campers who gather in one of our specialized Summer Theatre Camps (a Winter Sort of Summer Camp, of sorts) for an entire week of brainstorms, play-acting, improv, and more.

Then our resident playwrite, Brooke Sexton takes the ideas and sets about writing a script. At almost the same time our composer, Sarah Butts Manzo begins writing music that will become songs. And the two of them have to work fast because we start the rehearsal process in early October. Our director, Jake Miller begins with the cast on ensemble building and choreography. Kevin Monaghan teaches the cast the songs and we rehearse sporadically before the holidays.

During the holidays, Mark Duska, our technical director, begins constructing the set we will be using. Mark Hallen, our producer along with Brooke Sexton, the Yes! And... producer continue to meet with the technical staff to get ready for all of the "other" things that need to be done. After the holidays, we put together the scenes, songs, finish the set, get costumed, and practice a lot. Opening night brings jitters, but the audience always leaves satisified.

How we pick our young performers

Yes! And... is committed to Winter Sort of Thing being an artistic, collaborative learning experience. Together with Eastern University Theatre, who provides students to act, be crew, and be a strong example to our young performers, we strive for every aspect of the process to teach a different skill about life and/or the arts.

Because of the intensity of this particular process, Yes! And... only allows young people who have been a part of our year-round programming to be a part of Winter Sort of Thing. Families must agree to be available to transport and work with the actors at their homes as well. Older actors must be a part of our high school company, SHADOW Company and they audition for different parts in each show.

If you know of someone whom you think would benefit from the educational process that is Winter Sort of Thing, please visit www.yesandcamp.org and watch for opportunities to join one of our fantastic program offerings.