Summerstock Conservatory is a theatre company based out of Westmount Charter School

Westmount Charter School

Westmount Charter School is a charter school based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; which educates gifted students from kindergarten to grade 12. It was founded in 1996 as ABC Charter Public School, a school for gifted children...

 in Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

. Every August, between the first and the fourteenth, high school and young post-secondary students from across Canada perform a play in Olympic Plaza

Olympic Plaza (Calgary)

The Olympic Plaza is an urban park and gathering place in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Located around Macleod Trail and 7th Avenue S., it was created as the venue for the medal ceremonies at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games...

.

History

Summerstock Conservatory, formally MainStage, was founded in 2002 by Jim Senft who directed Summerstock's first show Guys and Dolls. The reviews were positive, and the following year Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...

 was performed with great zeal to an extremely appreciate audience. Annie Get Your Gun

Annie Get Your Gun (musical)

Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley , who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler.The 1946 Broadway production...

was next to be performed, with a great deal of support, due to Calgary's western enthusiasts. In 2006, West Side Story was performed. Calgarians have continued to show their support for the program, with the highest attendance rate being for the show Annie Get Your Gun. In July and August 2007, Footloose

Footloose (musical)

Footloose is a 1998 musical based on the 1984 film of the same name. The music is by Tom Snow , the lyrics by Dean Pitchford , and the book by Pitchford and Walter Bobbie.-Act 1:...

was performed by the company, with support mainly from the performer's friends and family members. In August 2008, Summerstock performed the classic Broadway hit Grease

Grease (musical)

Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...

, which was received with overwhelming positive response from the audience. August 2009 brought with it RENT: School Edition, and Guys and Dolls in 2010. The Broadway hit Hairspray has been announced as the 2011 show.

Directors and producers

While Jim Senft is the original director of Summerstock, he took a year long break in 2005 from the Calgary show to branch out to Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 to create another Summerstock Conservatory. Another running of Guys and Dolls was held in Toronto, during Calgary's production of Annie Get Your Gun

Annie Get Your Gun (musical)

Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley , who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler.The 1946 Broadway production...

. During that time, the current tech director in Calgary, Josh Collins, also took the position of artistic director. The following year, Jim Senft returned to Calgary.

Since the beginning of the program, the head producer was Brandi Sedore, also a secretary at Westmount Charter School

Westmount Charter School

Westmount Charter School is a charter school based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; which educates gifted students from kindergarten to grade 12. It was founded in 1996 as ABC Charter Public School, a school for gifted children...

 where Summerstock holds its rehearsals. However, in 2007, Brandi officially stepped down from her position and Kathryn Waters took over for the production of Footloose

Footloose (musical)

Footloose is a 1998 musical based on the 1984 film of the same name. The music is by Tom Snow , the lyrics by Dean Pitchford , and the book by Pitchford and Walter Bobbie.-Act 1:...

. Nonetheless, Brandi returned for the 2007-2008 year and continued until Jayson Krause took over as Executive Producer for the 2010-2011 year.

Educational aspects

Educational coursework for Summerstock is offered through Westmount Charter School

Westmount Charter School

Westmount Charter School is a charter school based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; which educates gifted students from kindergarten to grade 12. It was founded in 1996 as ABC Charter Public School, a school for gifted children...

, which awards Alberta high school credits in courses relating to the activities of its cast and technical crew. Cast members can receive high school credit while performing in Summerstock. The company also provides a scholarship

Scholarship

A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...

 program to cast members once they have a high school diploma and have completed the other requirements. The company also offers financial compensation to certain university members each year, who work for Summerstock during the summer, generally as lead cast members. Further, each year contributing high schools receive grants to help run their respective drama departments offered through The Summerstock Foundation, the charitable arm of Summerstock.

Summerstock Theater Festival

The Summerstock Theater Festival is an annual outdoor performance of a musical held in the Arts District in downtown

Downtown Calgary

Downtown Calgary is a region of central Calgary, Alberta. It is not a single neighbourhood per se, but is actually a larger community containing three neighbourhoods and a number of districts....

 Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Based on the premise of the traditional Summer Stock Theatre, this program presents Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

-style theatre outdoors at Olympic Plaza. Performers are Calgary high school and university students who come home from all across Canada to perform Broadway musicals.