Local students plan to participate in Theater Festival at Bucks County Playhouse

SPARTA — Local students will perform at the 51st Student Theater Festival at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pa., as Pope John's first time participating in the festival. Student actors are ecstatic at the chance to perform in the festival.
“It’s really exciting,” Pope John senior Katie Yarussi said. “We performed two of the hardest shows in Broadway this year, for people in Sussex County and in the local area, but we are looking forward to exposing our productions and talents to those outside of New Jersey and showing that we are the real deal.”
The Pope John Players were one of 33 high schools and middle schools to participate in the festival, which runs for seven days from April 1, 2, 4 and 8-11.
Last December, the group put on “Newsies: The Musical” — the first show that featured astudents from all three schools comprising the Catholic Academy of Sussex County: Pope John XXIII High School, Pope John XXIII Middle School and Reverend George A. Brown Memorial School. Two months later, they presented, “The Phantom of the Opera,” Broadway’s longest-running musical, to open up Sussex County’s spring theater season.
Normally at this time of year, the Pope John Players prepare to showcase their talents at the Sussex County Teen Arts Festival, which they attended on Tuesday, and the New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival, which takes place from May 29-31 at Ocean County College.
But, the Pope John Players are eager to perform at the Student Theater Festival at Bucks County Playhouse because they can show their talents in front of theatre professionals. In addition, the Pope John Players can’t wait to perform in a playhouse that has seen numerous of celebrities sing, dance and act over the years, including Robert Redford, James Earl Jones, Angela Lansbury, Dick Van Dyke, Leslie Nielsen, and Kevin Kline.
“Being in a high school theater group, you don’t get a ton of opportunities to be in front of the right crowds, especially if you want to pursue a career in theater,” Pope John senior Hayley Gagnon said. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunit."
“They have worked so hard to perform these shows at the level that they have done this year," Pope John Players director Jacquelyn Burt said. "This is sort of the ‘festival of festivals’ in this region. It’s hard to get an invitation, let alone be invited to perform two shows."
When they go to the festival on April 2, the Pope John Players will attend two one-hour workshops in the morning that will allow them to learn about theater subjects such as movement, dance, tap/jazz, improv, theater games, Shakespearean acting, and audition technique.
In the afternoon, the Pope John Players will perform their two shows in hopes that they will not only gain great feedback on their performances, but also earn any awards for that day and possibly earn an invite to perform in the festival’s “Best of Fest,” which is “a one-night showcase performance for friends, family, and the community,” according to the festival’s handbook.
“It’s going to be special,” Pope John junior Brendan Karolchyk said. “I hope this is the first of many trips to the festival that the program will be able to do in the future.”