SFA is proud to recognize this YOUNG COMPANY Member!
Nina Worsley, 18
Inaugural Young Company Member
“we bonded when it was time to stick up for each other, and we bonded through every bow, at the end of every show, knowing nothing could take away what we had, because it was discovered as much as it was created. Who would have thought lost boys, Indians, mermaids, pirates, and Peter pan himself would ever live happily ever after?”- Nina on ‘Peter Pan’
Our Young Company are student age performers who have shown excellence in performance, who show a gift for expressing beauty and truth in a personal and unique way. Yet, even greater, they pull performance from their heart…These performers have embraced the power of the arts in their lives and beyond striving to live truth onstage to spread love off. They embody the Mission of Sing For America
Nina!
Nina’s Show Journal
Hairspray, Summer 2015-Baltimore Kidz
The Addams Family, Fall 2015-Ancestor
A Little Princess 2, Christmas 2015-Magic African
Godspell, Spring 2016- Disciple
The Little Mermaid, Summer 2016- Maid +Sea Dancer
Big Fish, Spring 2017- Ashton Dancer
Once On This Island Summer 2017- Island Storyteller/ Madagascar- GLORIA
Little Shop Fall 2017-Dancer
Peter Pan Christmas 2017 – Pirate
Spring 2018 Series: Hamilton and Showman
Mermaid+ Woods+Heights Summer Series 2018
Willy Wonka Christmas 2018- Sugar Dancer
Godspell 2019- Apostle
School Of Rock Spring 2019 – Horace Green Teacher
Joseph + Tuck Summer 2019- Azure Dancer, Mother Foster
Annie Christmas 2019- Housemaid Dancer
Children Of Eden Spring 2020- Yonah
HSM + Pandora Summer 2020- Cheerleader, Sphynx Composer
HSM+Pandora, Summer 2020
“…. I will always be battling, but that is my place….. Pandora is ….why we never stop fighting. Understanding the story of good and evil, pride and humility, despair, and hope, is the key to being the light on a pitch-black night. .”
Pandora
When I think back on the entire process of writing the music for Pandora with the Gilberts who wrote the entire story, along with with all their usual responsibilities when it comes to putting on a show, all I can think to myself is “how the heck did Read the journey I was a bit nervous about the last minute nature of the rehearsal process. My character had one scene with lines and I didn’t get to learn them until tech week. Also, in the blink of an eye, it was tech week. I had many moments were I let the stress of it all get the better of me. Nevertheless, I had extreme faith in the people I was with so the worry subsided and I was able to focus on finishing what I had to finish and doing my best to get into the story. It was difficult to go back and forth between composer and performer. Neither one ever truly set in at the end of it all. Nevertheless, going through Pandora knowing every instrument of every song so well propelled me through the story differently as a performer. Likewise, diving headfirst into the story for the purpose of performing it on stage, gave new life to the connection I had with the music. This was a back and forth that never ended as the final song was finished hours before we took our first step on stage. Pandora proved the more I got into it to be exactly what I needed. Every single day that I understood something new I felt a new call to action the story was giving me. The entire show is the battle cry I needed to learn to make my own. I was given battles to fight throughout this entire process, it took seeing the roots of those battles on stage to realize I needed them. It took seeing my heartbreak in the form of a final battle to realize why the box was never closed. It took listening to the culmination of weeks of this experiment that we all just threw ourselves into, to realize I will always be battling, but that is my place, it’s who I am and why I’m here. Pandora is a depiction of why we never stop fighting. Understanding the story of good and evil, pride and humility, despair, and hope, is the key to being the light on a pitch-black night.
Hsm
High school musical was the surprise of a lifetime. As is typical for a Sing for America show, we start learning the hardest/most important dances first. The end combination for stick to the status quo, which we used for our daily warm-up and of course, the finale. For me, it was difficult Read the journey The best part of the entire process for me was being able to see so many new people in the room discovering their own reasons to stay fired up every day. By the end of it all in this together! During High School Musical, I started to truly understand what it means to find the truth in a story. Partly because of my inability to find anything redeeming about it when we started. It was just another annoying Disney movie. I didn’t grow up with it as everyone else did. There are many ways that HSM presents very surface and ways that it actually is but at the end of the day it gave me something that I didn’t know I was missing. I had an opportunity to see teamwork in its original form, I got to be a wildcat. Seeing how realities of life are built into sports helped me connect to the fact that this life is a race and we all have an important role in getting each other to the end. During the short weeks of camp, I was forced to come face to face with my greatest weaknesses and insecurities. But in that, I was also able to realize the people I was exposing myself to only wanted greatness from me and that propelled me forward. Being responsible for the success of those around you in how you carry yourself and what you’re willing to give is scary, and it’s difficult. But it’s necessary and beautiful. High School Musical marked my fifth year with SFA. five years ago I changed my life by making a decision outside everything I knew and sticking it out to see what could come of it. I’m grateful that the path I was going on in my life was disrupted because disruption was the only thing that could bring me where I needed to go. Doing High school musical showed me that I can, should, and need to be that disruption for someone else. High School Musical taught me that we’re all responsible for striving for greatness for ourselves and for all those who need to know what’s possible. And that’s all I want because I was blessed to have it given to me. Now, I truly know what it means to say “We’re all in this together”
Joseph+Tuck, Summer 2019
“….When it comes to being the change you wish to see, any dream will do. .”
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was something I didn’t expect to teach me so much.
When summer started, I tried to keep an open mind. I’d listened to a few songs in the soundtrack. They were, admittedly, not the sort of style I was used to. However, I was ready and excited to see what this show would be like. I missed the first day of Bootcamp but when I walked in on my first day I could already tell this was going to be different. There were a lot of faces I recognized and a lot of new people I couldn’t wait to meet. We all had notebooks Read the journey We had many conversations about the meaning of this show, taking lyrics and analyzing them. Using them to shape our understanding of our own lives and using that understanding to then fuel our determination to make this the best Joseph ever performed. The process of Joseph challenged its cast physically, as they all do, but Joseph was a spiritual and intellectual challenge I had never gone through. We were taught about combating numbness, reaching our greatest good, and I learned how to dissect purpose and translate it. A shift happened in the summer 2019. Powerful, purposeful, indisputable. Because of Joseph, I can consciously change the world one decision at a time and feel every bit of pain that makes me human. This show achieved something most people can only dream of achieving. Now, that dream is alive. I will keep fighting to bring hope to the people around me. Joseph was the eye-opening moment that taught me that I could be an eye-opening moment for someone else. When it comes to being the change you wish to see, any dream will do.
Tuck Everlasting
“….Tuck Everlasting was the most painful show I have ever been a part of and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. We may not have decided to drink the water, but I know that what was created on that stage is everlasting. .”
Tuck Everlasting was painful in every way I hoped it would be…………Tuck Everlasting took me completely by surprise. This was my first summer intensive in two years and I was honestly nervous about how it would go. I regretted not pushing myself harder the last time so I knew I was going to try and focus on not giving up on myself, for my sake and for the sake of the cast.Read the journey For those of us doing both Joseph and Tuck Everlasting, it was quite the switch in gears. From the dynamic, fun, neverending cardio trip of Joseph to a show that was just as fun, but presented its lessons in an entirely different way. The cast bonded really well and we all got to figure out ways to help each other put on the best show possible. I have to say, it worked pretty well. Tuck Everlasting, though on the surface it seems like a show teaching you how to let go, Winnie deciding not to drink the water and choosing not to live forever, it actually taught me how to hold on to something you love. Life was designed to take us on a journey, and though to the wide-eyed and adventurous, it may seem like living forever will allow you to extend that journey and go on even more adventures, a part of that journey is time. A part of the adventure is time. Something about that show taught me that lesson on stage and off. Every day a part of me still wishes I was still doing Tuck Everlasting. However, experience is like a drop of water. Yes, Living forever or refusing to move on could produce a beautiful still lake, but so much of life is determined by the rushing river that can only occur when you decided to keep moving forward. Loving something is doing what will ultimately allow it to flourish. The hardest part of life is realizing it was not designed to continue on this earth. Nevertheless, it is also the richest part once you admire the things that can’t stop rowing, growing, changing and moving on. Tuck Everlasting was the most painful show I have ever been a part of and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. We may not have decided to drink the water, but I know that what was created on that stage is everlasting.
Willy Wonka, Christmas 2018
“..everything I needed it to be, but nothing I expected…..Charlie bucket put down the gobstopper, and I put down the excuses that would prohibit me from doing the same.”
Willy Wonka for me was everything I needed it to be, but nothing I expected it to be.
I started Willy wonka with zero idea as to what would take place. I hadn’t watched the movie in years and the original script had never been done on stage before so I had no bootleg to track down as a guideline. It just didn’t exist, which is what brought a lot of the initial excitement when entering into this magical tale. Read More Bootcamp is always great for the cast as a whole. Being with SFA for over 3 years now I’ve seen a lot of new people come in and boot camp sets the tone for the rest of the rehearsal process. I remember that feeling of being a newcomer myself. You don’t know what to expect, and maybe you’re nervous, but these strangers are cheering each other on, and they’re cheering you on too! It’s great to be the person cheering people on as well, yelling “you can do it!” even if at first it gives me a couple of funny looks at first. I love my experience at willy wonka because it was unique in the overall way we got through our hurdles. There were so many new people who just wanted to help and wanted to be a part of something great, so we as a whole, could create something great. Whether we’d been with SFA for years or this was our very first show, this was a thing we were all experiencing for the first time together. And we all got to discovery the show and what it mean to us individually, and what it meant on the whole, together. I went into this knowing that I would want to quit. It’s what I did two years ago, it’s what I almost did last year. I knew there would come a time when I would wake up in my bed, and not want to get out. I had to ask myself, when am I risking my mental health, or mental safe space, and when am I risking literally everything else? And when my depression started to get so bad that dancing didn’t even feel worth it anymore, I sat down, and looked around the room at people of all ages, all walks of life, and told myself each of these people have a purpose, each of the people are here for a reason, I have to be here for a reason too. When talking about the influence a show has on a person, everything matters. The first day I walked into bootcamp to a room filled with old friends to catch up with and faces I’d never seen before that would become an integral part of the way the show runs, to the very last day on the stage when a little girl in the cast came up to me, hugged me as tight as she could, and walked away from an impact she didn’t even understand that she had. I put every fibre of my being into willy wonka. I challenged myself in two genres in dance I’d convinced myself that I’d never be good at. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory taught me honesty and integrity. My impact isn’t gonna be made through all the things I know I’m good at, impact is a labyrinth that we have to navigate through. Charlie bucket put down the gobstopper, and I put down the excuses that would prohibit me from doing the same.
Peter Pan, Christmas 2017
“….knowing nothing could take away what we had, because it was discovered as much as it was created.”
Peter Pan was probably the most unpredictable experience I’d ever had doing a show at that point.
I wasn’t familiar with the on-stage version of Peter Pan, and I hadn’t seen the movie in years so I was coming into this experience with a baseline of knowledge. It’s one of those stories that everyone just knows so I wasn’t too nervous starting out. However, I had no idea whatsoever how it would turn out. I was cast as a pirate and a mermaid. I could already tell this was gonna be something unique. Read the journey This was our first time doing a show in Jim Thorpe, PA, a city which was about a 45 minute away from us. When we began we had what seemed like two seperate casts at the time. A cast from our neck of the woods in the lehigh valley and a cast from Jim Thorpe. Naturally, our first goal was to blend our two groups together. But we were working together as a team in no time. I had to step outside of a box to play a pirate; I’d never played a character like it before. However, all I could do throughout the process, from the tango to the tarantella, was try to be the best pirate I could be. I learned to let go and everything else I had learned as an actress with Sing for America helped me along the way. On the other end, I was also a Mermaid and the mermaids had a little dance in act two. This was one of the most challenging dances I’d ever done at that point because it was so ballet focused and I definitely wouldn’t consider myself a ballet dancer. It became increasingly easy for me to focus on myself and my fears. But I had to just stop myself and realize it’s ok to struggle, there are people there ready to help and cheer you on. Moreover, as a part of a team, I had to understand my place in the puzzle that was “Peter Pan” and as much as the people around me were ready to pick me up when I fell, I learned to pick myself up as well. What made Peter pan different in almost every single way is that the cast came together through unusual circumstances. We grew and bonded through the rehearsal process but we also bonded in showing up through a snowstorm that almost cancelled a show, we bonded when it was time to stick up for each other, and we bonded through every bow, at the end of every show, knowing nothing could take away what we had, because it was discovered as much as it was created. Who would have thought lost boys, Indians, mermaids, pirates, and Peter pan himself would ever live happily ever after?
Once On This Island, Summer 2017
” The summer of 2017 was the best summer of my life. There’s more to that experience than I can put into words but I’ll try to do my best.”
Once on this island was the best experience I’d ever had in my life, no exaggeration. Madagascar was the fun I needed to have. The summer of 2017 was the best summer of my life. There’s more to that experience than I can put into words but I’ll try to do my best.Read the journey Now, I’ve said previously that I didn’t know whether or not I was going to do a show. For ‘Once On This Island’ and ‘Madagascar’, I knew that I wasn’t. I’d missed the first week of rehearsals. Then, I got a text from Taryn Gilbert asking me if I’d changed my mind. Obviously, now I HAD to go back on everything I had previously planned for the summer. So I came to my first rehearsal. I was nervous when we first started because once on this island was a show I hadn’t had any previous knowledge of. During Once On This Island rehearsal, I started learning a dance they had already been learning. It was really funny to me because I came in late, jumped on stage hugged everyone I knew, and started copying the dance, and it looked like some of the new people were confused as to who I was and why. I learned two different lessons in Madagascar and Once On This Island but they both were very important to me. Madagascar’s theme was the power of friendship; anything is possible when you’re with the people you love and the people who love you back. Once on this island was more focused on love and self-sacrifice in the name of love. One taught me trust and one taught me courage. These were my 7th and 8th shows with Sing For America, and I’d never seen such effort and love put into a show. The unity of the cast and the teamwork was unreal. Almost too good to be true, but it was true. Never have I seen a group of people so willing to stay up till 4am in their hotel room to break down dance moves, or a cast so ready to practice harmonies until their voices gave out. Not to mention a cast having a blast doing 200 jumping jacks as the first thing they do when they walk into a room. We all wanted the same thing, and we wanted it more than anything, so we pushed ourselves beyond what we thought was expected of us, and inspired others to do the same, we talked like we were a family, and we were one. Madagascar was a wild ride that helped me get rid of the idea that you have to bear the heaviest weights alone. Once on this island breathed life into the idea that we truly are what we give. Man, did I give.
Big Fish, Spring 2017
“…we learn being the hero of your story is not necessarily going on extravagant ventures, it’s falling into a puddle and finding the beauty in the ripples…It’s realizing there is no art of letting go. It’s remembering someone bigger than they were…”
Big fish was an experience nobody was prepared for. Those, in my opinion, are the best kind.
I don’t know if any of us knew what Big Fish was beforehand, I know I’d never once heard of that show. And hearing the title “big fish” and coming into my first rehearsal learning the Alabama stomp, I thought there was gonna be a great deal of hootin’ and hollerin’! Read the journey There were so many things that made that show one of the best I’ve ever been a part of. The story, while vibrant and fun, full of comedy, and joyful, was full of hard truths and challenges. Our unique cast had to learn how to tell the story of a man who already knew how his story would end. The quote that we sort of rallied around during Big Fish was “be the hero of your story.” Which was a great one. It gave the show a theme that we could all focus on bringing to life together. However, that wasn’t the line that I personally connected to. The song in which Edward Bloom says goodbye to all the people of his story, he says, “but when you tell my story, and I hope somebody does, remember me as something bigger than I was.” I think in essence, they both speak to the same desire to discover and be discovered. The insignificance of our humanity can only be balanced by the weight of our purpose. Even though in the beginning Edward Bloom said “be the hero of your story” in a way to mean “don’t get left behind” or “be the master of your appearance” we learn being the hero of your story is not necessarily going on extravagant adventures, it’s falling into a puddle and finding the beauty in the ripples. It’s getting your heart broken and accepting the song it sings. It’s realizing there is no art of letting go. It’s remembering someone as something bigger than they were, because nobody can be reduced only to what they are. Big fish taught me about life and the stories we remember to make it something worth living and ultimately dying for. When I look back on the whole experience, the laughs, the excitement, the tears, I realize there’s always a way to be the hero of your story.
The Little Mermaid, Summer 2016
“The Little Mermaid, for me, was an amazing experience… because we got to portray love onstage.”
The Little Mermaid was my second summer show with SFA. Everything still felt so new to me, I was still getting used to SFA’s ideas and the different way that they run things but one thing’s for sure, I was excited.
We started with Bootcamp which was my favorite part of the early rehearsal process. I loved doing the exercises with everybody. However, I got quite a shock when added to the program was a worm race across the floor. This made me more intrigued as to what we were in store for this summer. Little mermaid is a show I’m extremely familiar with, and I listened to the soundtrack once a day leading up to the start of rehearsals so I felt ready. Read Of Under The Sea When we started learning the dances I, wide eyed and focused, wanted to just give my all in everything from sea creature to maid. I had a little trouble learning the dances at first but people were very quick to help me and I did the same when I could. Understanding the purpose and the message that the Gilberts were trying to convey to us and the audience was important as well. Arial followed her heart and showed that love conquers all. We started to build a team of people who loved this show and wanted it to be great. Not only that, but a lot of us were dancing for something more. Little mermaid was the show that really opened my eyes to the fact it’s a lot more than dance steps, it’s a story, it’s an impact. Once I began to grasp that, I focused on making every step count. The biggest part of turning just a group of people into a team was making sure we all understood what we were working towards. Under the sea, the biggest number in the show, took us kids and adults to another level, and we met that level with power; we met that level together. It was teamwork I hadn’t felt before. This was only my 5th show with SFA so I still felt quite new but I never felt alone. They made that quite impossible. The little mermaid for me was an amazing experience because we got to portray love onstage. And we felt the love right back. From all of us tower movers huddling into one tower to experience the show together, then scrambling as quietly as humanly possible (in our not so quiet costumes) back to our positions when our cue was about to to come up, to grouping together backstage to sing, to every entrance and exit, we truly brought love to zoellner during that show. Little mermaid was the first time I really grasped the fact that we’re all here to be a team, to provide value to an audience, it’s weird to think about a theatre show wanting to do so much more than just sing, dance, and bow. For me, every time I got into that costume I thought about the hard work it took to get here and the little girl in the audience who would never see a show like this again and I gave everything I had for her. I had major off days and major on days, we all did. At the end of the day we did our best to lift each other up and I will take that experience with me everywhere I go because the best part about performing is leaving your mark on the stage. Taking a deep breath in and making sure every step is a purposeful one. Moreover, the thing that makes a SFA production so special that sigh of relief after the final bow, knowing that you did more than just do dance steps. I left a piece of myself on that stage. And whenever I return I’m grateful to see that it’s still there.
Young Company: Payton Brogna
“Hearing the audience clap and cheer is a great feeling, but just knowing that you were able to share and let them be part of your story is something truly incredible.”- Payton Brogna Young Company
Marissa: Man In The Mirror
Challenge what we see on social media, challenge the news, and most importantly don’t be afraid to challenge each other….We all have a great opportunity and also a responsibility to make a change, and that starts within us.
Payton Brogna: Will We Accept?
Our (LOOOCKDOWN) Stories Payton Brogna - Young Company End Of Lockdown Payton Will We Accept? Before it was first announced that we were to be quarantined in our homes, I was anticipating the best few months of my entire life. I was in the midst of...
Trista Mayo:Reflections of Corona-Cation
I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back. Only they didn’t, because they were holding on to something…That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.”
Nina: What’s To Come?
If there is a lesson to be learned, a story to be shared, a hand to be held, let it be in the spirit of this: “When God fights, it’s of small consequence whether the hand that holds the sword is big or little.”
Miranda:WE MADE IT
It is more important than anything to continue to strive toward heaven, while being grateful for every moment spent here on earth.
A Few Testimonials
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