The final summer camp of The Strand Village Project, the #thrive Arts Theater Youth Camp, concluded with a magical Disney performance that brought family and fans to their feet last Friday night at the Jena High School auditorium.
Twenty-two high school and junior high school students from across LaSalle Parish attended the camp for two weeks before presenting their production: “Dare to DREAM Jr. A Disney Musical Revue.”
Following a large group of soon-to-be Disney Musketeers, the group learned the trademarks of Walt Disney himself as they learned to Think, Dream, Believe and Dare.
Throughout the storyline, the cast performed hit Disney favorites including, Be Our Guest, When You Wish Upon a Star, Part of Your World, Just Around the Riverbend, I Just Can’t Wait to be King, Surface Pressure, Let it Go, Friend Like Me, You’ve Got a Friend in Me, Dig a Little Deeper, Go the Distance, Hakuna Matata, Bear Necessities and many more.
What made this camp extra special was the fact that the art work used for decorating the set was drawn and painted by attendees of another #thrive Arts Camp held June 15-25. The Disney movie characters displayed around the set brought Friday’s production to life and showed the talented artists in the parish.
In fact, several of those that attended the art camp also performed during the theater camp, adding even more significance to the night.
Students attending the final summer camp and performing during the night were: Natalie Parrott, Zaylee Walker, Allie Wiley, Raylee Guillory, Presley Lindsey, Sophie Reaves, Callie Davidson, Ella Kate Greer, Olivia Jackson, Reagan Patton, Landon Corley, Raiden McPherson, Ainslee Cooksey, Adelyn Lambeth, Emma Poole, Jillian Parker, Skyler Descant, Emery Falgoust, Piper Campbell, Jesilyn Poole, Abrianna Walters and Zac Campbell.
The camp and production was directed by Tracy Joy along with site coaches Sarah Alexander and Blake Joy, who also served as Sound Technician.
Others assisting were: Thrive Arts Intern Zaylee Walker, Lighting Designer Eli Adams, Student Choreographer Raylee Guillory, Stage Manager Bubba Stevens and Stand Hand/Curtain Zac Campbell.
While the camp was organized and conducted by A Greater LaSalle of the LaSalle Economic Development District, the program was a component of The Strand Village Project #thrive and was funded in part by a Substance and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program Grant from The Rapides Foundation.
