Behind the scenes

Budding thespians enliven Lawrence Arts Center stage

Hannah Bailey scrunches up her face and tries to look menacing.

Playing a dog — even a soft, shaggy one — is no easy task.

“The bark is tricky, but I’ve been practicing,” says Bailey, 13. “You just have to be confident.”

Bailey, who is participating in Summer Youth Theatre at the Lawrence Arts Center for her fourth year, knows the soundness of such advice.

“Summer Youth Theatre helps you become more comfortable performing and just being in front of people,” she says, simultaneously shrugging out of her woolly costume. “It’s good for kids and a lot of fun, too.”

Jennifer Glenn is directing Bailey and about 45 other children, grades four through seven, in a production of “Peter Pan” that opens Thursday. Glenn says her job is “very rewarding, but also an exercise in noise toleration.”

“The kids really do a great job of being patient,” Glenn says. “But there is always a buzz in the background.”

“I think I’ve just gotten used to it,” she says, laughing. “Silence would probably worry me.”

Glenn, along with Erin Girard, also directs the kindergarten through third-grade program, which performed several “Faerie Tale Theatre” shows this summer.

Logan Carland, 11, gets fitted for a crocodile costume by costumer Sally Hoffsommer-Brecheisen at the Lawrence Arts Center. Carland is among the fourth- through seventh-graders performing Peter

The cast and crew of “Peter Pan” began rehearsing July 5. They run lines and tweak scenes four hours a day, five days a week.

“We have so much fun every day,” says Mattie Casad, 12. “You meet really good friends here.”

Neighboring productions

Casad plays a pirate named Stinky Pinky in “Peter Pan.”

“It’s a pretty silly name,” she says, her face reddening a bit. “But silly is the most fun.”

What: Summer Youth Theatre at the Lawrence Arts Center presents “Peter Pan” and “Robin Hood: The Wedding of Allan A’Dale”When: “Peter Pan” opens at 7 p.m. Thursday. Additional performances are at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday. “Robin Hood: The Wedding of Allan A’Dale” opens at 7:30 p.m. July 29. Additional performances are at 7:30 p.m. July 30-31 and 2 p.m. Aug. 1.Where: Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H.Tickets: Adults, $8; students, children and seniors, $6Info: 843-2787

While the “Peter Pan” team swarms the main stage, another buzz begins to build around 3 p.m. in the building’s basement. Mid-afternoon marks the arrival of older thespians in grades eight through 12. They will rehearse until 10 p.m.

Ric Averill, drama program director at the arts center, is leading the group in a revival production of “Robin Hood: The Wedding of Allan A’Dale,” a musical he composed and first saw performed in 1981.

“I re-wrote it in 1993,” he says. “It’s ‘Robin Hood’ for the next generation.”

The two-act play follows the story of Genevieve, a duke’s daughter who flees to Sherwood Forest disguised as a boy to escape marrying the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham. There she becomes one of the “merry men” and falls in love with Allan A’Dale, a non-fighting member of Robin Hood’s roguish band.

“Both Allan and Genevieve are seeking a better life in much the same way teenagers are often looking beyond their lives to the exciting things that await them in the real world,” Averill says.

Chris Bohling, who plays Robin Hood in the play, says he likes the twist on an old legend.

“It’s kind of neat to have the focus on other characters in the Robin Hood story,” he says. “It makes my job easier … well, except for the tights.”

Tights?

“Yeah, I hear there might possibly be tights involved in my costume,” says Bohling, 16. “But hey, it takes a real man to wear tights, right?”

Upstairs, 13-year-old Julian Kuszmaul, also known as Peter Pan, isn’t so sure.

“I haven’t heard anything about tights for my costume, but I’m pretty sure Peter Pan would rather fly in pants,” he says, the mildly concerned look on his face dissolving into a smile.

A slice of the big-time

The Summer Youth Theatre Program, which began in 1973, has become an integral part of the arts center’s summer activities buffet.

Auditions for Summer Youth Theatre at the Lawrence Arts Center are usually in early May. Every student who enrolls in the summer program and auditions will be cast in a production.Students in grades four through 12 are eligible, provided they have completed the grade prior to enrollment.For audition details, call 843-2787.

“We have more than 100 kids in the building every day,” Averill says. “And we’re educating them while they have fun and stay busy.”

Averill says he’s proud of the professionalism students encounter in the program.

“The kids work with choreographers, set designers and costume designers,” he says. “With every production they do, they learn about that interaction and how they fit in.

“It’s a small slice of the big time.”

Cindy Lynn, costume designer for “Robin Hood,” relishes her role as seamstress for the 18-and-under crew.

“It’s a lot of work, but the kids are wonderful,” says Lynn, stretching a tape measure around Bohling’s lanky frame. “They love to have input in what they wear in every show we do.”

Other youth theater productions this summer have included “The Wizard of Oz” and “The Three Musketeers.”

Thirteen-year-old Hannah Kapp-Klote, who plays Wendy in “Peter Pan,” says she isn’t nervous about opening night, despite her starring role.

“I feel comfortable up there,” she says, “and we practice a lot. So I know opening night won’t freak me out. I’ll be ready.”

Downstairs, Hannah Bailey is working to make sure she feels the same: Still rehearsing her growls and yips, she demonstrates with a questioning look.

“My bark is getting a little more fierce, I think,” she says. “Can you tell?”

Her inquiry is promptly swallowed by a swarm of frenzied students sweeping by en route to the “Robin Hood” warm-up room.

That practiced bark must have scared them off.