Reston Community Players take on the world with ‘Newsies’ at Capital One Hall

Through a new youth-focused program, Reston Community Players will grace the stage of Capital One Hall in Tysons next month as part of its new apprentice program.

RCP, which typically performs at Reston Community Center’s CenterStage, will present a youth-centered production of “Newsies” from July 8-17. The program, which launched in the fall, enables students between the ages of 13 and 18 to get exposure to the process of building a theatrical production.

Capital One Hall opened in October and offers “steeply discounted” rates for small nonprofit organizations, according to RCP President Kate Keifer.

Keifer told FFXnow that RCP has been working with Capital One for the past three years as one of the first community partners to take advantage of the program, which is overseen by the local arts agency ArtsFairfax. The organization was selected to perform in The Vault, a 225-seat black box theater.

Here’s more from RCP on the production of “Newsies”:

Based on the 1992 motion picture and inspired by the true story of the Newsboy Strike of 1899, Newsies tells the story of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy who dreams of a better life. After publishing giant Joseph Pulitzer raises newspaper prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack rallies a ragged band of newsies from across the city to strike against the unfair conditions and fight for what’s right.

RCP’s production of Newsies is directed and choreographed by Alisa Claire and Brian Collier, visiting teaching artists from NYC’s The LMproject, located in New York City.  The production team also includes Merissa Driscoll (musical director), Dan Widerski (technical director) Mary Jo Ford (company manager), Franklin Coleman (lighting designer), Richard Bird (sound designer), and Lori Crockett (costume designer).

“Newsies” will be performed at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are available online.

However, RCP will still call RCC home.

“While our full mainstage season will still perform at Reston Community Center, and that will remain RCP’s performance home, we have developed our Apprentice Program as a brand new offering of our organization to provide young students with a pre-professional theatrical experience that matches the tone of this fantastic new venue,” Keifer wrote.

Keifer hopes the program will marry the group’s longstanding tradition of producing high-quality theatrical productions with an emphasis on student education.

The ultimate goal is to reach new audiences and develop “a new generation of performing and technical artists.”