April 23 was National Shakespeare Day, and the Egyptian Theatre’s YouTheatre will continue the celebration by unearthing a kid-friendly version of the Tony Award-nominated musical, “Something Rotten.” Although not written by William Shakespeare, “Something Rotten Jr.,” which runs May 8 and May 9, follows playwrights — brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom — as they toil to find success in live theater in England while competing with the Bard himself in the year 1595.  “It’s a great show, especially for people who really love theater,” said director Philip Shepherd, who is also YouTheatre’s lead stage management and artist educator. “It’s one that lends itself to the industry and has a lot of inside jokes about the performing arts, specifically musical theater.” The YouTheatre team decided as a whole to stage the production, Shepherd said. “Every year we get together as a staff to decide what to put on during the season,” he explained. “This was a show that all of our staff members were excited about.” The Broadway musical garnered 10 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, and Christian Borle won the Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role of Shakespeare. “The ‘Jr.’ version has edited out the more adult-themed content and features a shortened running time to make it more accessible,” Shepherd said. “Some of the characters’ genders have also been changed because there are often more female actors than male actors in YouTheatre. So the character of Nostradamus has been changed to his niece.” Shepherd, whose background is community theater, confessed he was “fairly unfamiliar” with the show when he signed on as director. “I’m kind of grateful I came onto the project without knowing too much about it because I feel our ideas for it are pretty original,” he said. Shepherd began his research by reading the script and listening to the music. “I also looked at what other people have done, while trying to develop an original concept myself,” he said. The YouTheatre cast members range in ages from 10 to 15, according to Shepherd.  “It’s a great group of kids,” he said.  While Nick Bottom is performed by a young actor named Miles Drake, who has been a part of YouTheatre for a while, and Nigel Bottom is performed by Foster Maziarz, Shepherd said. “Both actors have a talent for singing and movement,” he said.  “Foster has a gentle and sensitive quality as a person, which aligns well to the soft and sensitive character of Nigel, whereas Miles has performed characters who are a little more exuberant and bold and outgoing, which seems to align with his personality as well,” Shepherd said. “(Still), when you direct YouTheatre, you try to cast shows without too strict of guidelines, because the biggest goal is to make sure the kids enjoy themselves and learn something during the process.” Youths also work on the backstage crew, so in total the production boasts 16 actors and eight technicians, Shepherd said. “Those roles are vital in theater and young adults, especially for those who are a little more shy, introverted or just have a passion for the technical side of theater,” he said. “We have some great technicians who run our light boards and sound boards. They help set props and scene changes and act as assistant stage managers.” Shepherd has seen the kids thrive as far as confidence, efficiency and professionalism goes throughout the project, regardless of which side they curtain they work. Foster Maziarz, left, and Miles Drake repectively portray brothers Nigel and Nick Bottom in the upcoming production of “Something Rotten Jr.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Amy Livingston “One of the missions of Egyptian YouTheatre is giving kids the opportunity to develop skills that will take them further in life,” he said. “Of course, being creative and having fun is part of it, but collaboration, goal-setting and accountability are great things you can learn, being a young actor and technician. And it’s really inspiring for me seeing those moments where the kids are getting more confident and taking more risks and having fun with the roles.” Working with the youth is a fairly new experience for Shepherd. “I came from community theatre where I worked mostly with adults, so to be in the situation where I go through some of the same steps and routines with these younger actors has taught me a lot of grace, patience and an abundance of appreciation of how hard these kids work,” he said. “It has also taught me you don’t want to underestimate younger actors who have less ego, more professionalism and a better outlook on life than many of the adult actors I have worked with in my career.” As with any production, some of the technicians and actors feel disappointment if they don’t land the job or role they want, Shepherd said.  “So, it’s important to teach them that wherever they are at in their process is the best place for them to be, while acknowledging some more than others have grander dreams,” he said. “It’s about helping them find a way to appreciate the roles they do have, while also teaching them you can still find success in the situation they’re in by relying on their teams, focusing on the bigger picture and staying humble.” Shepherd found theater as a safe place while he was young and wants to convey that to his YouTheatre students. “One of the things I love about Egyptian YouTheatre is all of our staff experienced theater as young people, and we all agree that the process of working on a project together, seeing the hard work come together in a fun and impactful way gives young people a sense of pride and accomplishment,” he said. “They are putting their minds and bodies through a lot of stress and collaborating with their peers. Having a space where I could explore my identity and take on different characters to find out more of who I was as a person helped me avoid moments of feeling lost. So, I want this to be like that for the kids.” ‘Something Rotten Jr.’ by Egyptian Theatre’s YouTheatre When: 5 p.m. May 8 and May 9 and 1 p.m. May 9 Where: Randy Barton Black Box Theatre 330 Main St. (Downstairs) Cost: $10 for adults and free for ages 17 and younger Phone: 8550745-SHOW Web: parkcityshows.com The post YouTheatre steps into ‘Something Rotten Jr.’ appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less