Many teenagers get a job over the summer in hopes of making some cash, but few get to be involved in an industry they plan on pursuing in the future. Senior Cy Conaway was one of these lucky people who worked at Stageworks, a theater camp, where he helped young kids and other teenagers put together shows.
“I’m an assistant to the adult workers who work there,” he said. “The kids are separated by age — high schoolers [and] middle schoolers, fifth and fourth graders, and then there’s second graders and younger.”
Theater teacher Jeff Yarnell is one of the adults who helps run the camp.
“Last year, I worked with Yarnell and the high schoolers at the very end, but primarily the second graders — what you do depends on what age you’re with,” Conaway said. “When I was with second graders, time was always accounted for and about keeping them engaged, making it like playtime. When you’re with high schoolers, there’s still silliness, but you’re a little more focused on what you’re doing. The general job is you’re just making a show.”
Unlike last year, Conaway helped more closely with Yarnell and other high school students.
“I work with two groups, one is kindergarten to second graders and the other is the middle school to senior group,” Conaway said. “Obviously I have no issue with the former but I also have no issue with the latter. What it ends up feeling like is that I am friends with all of the campers and having fun while also aiding Yarnell with whatever show we are currently working on.”
Conaway found the shows to be an enjoyable experience.
“The first show I helped was the little kids show which was cute, and then there was the improv show which was funny,” Conaway said. “The two live theater shows ‘Awesome 80s Prom’ and ‘Frannie Minkman’s Exquisite Bat Mitzvah’ were very fun.’”
The camp became an ideal place to work for Conaway as he considers future career options.
“[I want to] go into acting — seeing the process of shows being made and different styles is very important,” Conaway said. “Getting as many skills before I go off to college would be great.”
But more than future career options inspired Conaway to work at Stageworks.
“I’ve really enjoyed spending time with Yarnell these past few years — it’s been really enjoyable,” he said. “Theater is what I want to do, and having experience in that is awesome. Getting a paying job on top of that makes it all the better — so I figured why not?”
