As a child, you may have whittled away the summer days playing pretend. Greenfield Community College is offering grownups the chance to recapture that magic with its new summer stock acting course.

Kimberley Morin, Assistant Professor, Theater and Speech, said a summer stock is an acting program where the students get to participate in ever aspect of live theater —from set design to lighting. It's a series of several short plays with small ensemble casts who perform the plays after a quick, intensive preparation time.

The course will run seven weeks. The first four weeks will be an intensive program just for students taking the course for credit. The students will read plays and discuss them as well as make preparations for the upcoming plays, including choosing what plays they will do.

Morin said there will likely be three to five 20- to 30-minute plays performed and it will be entirely up to the students in the class to choose them. If there is a playwright in the class, there may even be an original work or two performed.
The students will be in charge of everything from auditions to set design and lighting.

During the last three weeks, students and people from the community taking the class as a community workshop will join the crew and begin auditioning for parts in the plays.

Morin said that GCC is supportive of the student body and encourages students to be actors in its performances, especially since they are funded through Student Life. But, GCC is a community college and it is important to be able to bring in the community to interact with the students.

"The summer stock gives us the time and opportunity to pull in community actors in a way we can't do over the school year," Morin said.

Sara Gibson, 22, a second year theater major from Northfield, said she is excited about the summer stock because it will give her an opportunity to work on different aspects of play production, so she can spread her wings beyond acting.

"I can dib and dab and learn in other areas," she said.

Kati Delaney, 19, is a first year theater major from Ashfield, said she is excited about the program because small productions with small crews tend to build strong friendships.

Jillian Morgan, 20, a second year theater major from Vernon, Vt., said the theater teachers at GCC are incredibly supportive, and you don't need to have had any experience to join the class.

"The teachers here are really great. They all want you to be more comfortable with yourself as an actor and a person," she said.

Hillary Smith, 19, a first year English major from Whitingham, Vt., said that even though she isn't a theater major, she thinks the experience with the summer stock will help her in her studies. She is planning on becoming a teacher and she said the interaction with people in the community and learning how to run a play will improve her leadership skills. She also hopes to take a stab a screenwriting for the program too.

Morin said Franklin County is filled with incredible talent when it comes to performing arts and she thinks the students taking the class for credit will get a lot out of working with people from the community.

"This gives them the chance to learn from and share with the talent of the community," she said.

And, it's a program that can be enjoyed by everyone, even if you prefer to watch theater instead of acting in it.

"We are putting on more than just passive entertainment. It inspires thought-provoking, creative discussions and makes you laugh," Gibson said.

For more information about GCC summer programs and classes, please visit the Course Guide online at gcc.mass.edu.