GREENBELT YOUTH MUSICAL 2025  

Secret Circus

PROGRAM

The annual Greenbelt Youth Musical is an open-enrollment musical theater program for teen and pre-teen actors. The program gives these young actors the opportunity to work with professional theater artists and experience the fun of bringing original musical works to life, while building confidence and community. The environment is affirming, the process is fun, and the productions are excellent!

THIS YEAR’S STORY

As the tide of fascism rises across Europe in the late 1930s, a traveling circus races against time to smuggle a disabled girl named Anya to safety.  With each glittering performance, the circus draws nearer to the border -- and the danger grows.

CASTING

The Greenbelt Youth Musical is open to all interested performers ages 11 through 17 who have participated in the Get Ready for Youth Musical workshops, or by permission of the director.   Everyone who enrolls is cast in the show.  Regular rehearsals begin the weekend of January 3, with the shows taking place the first two weekends of March.

After the casting rehearsal, we will take a break through the holidays until Friday, January 3, when regular rehearsals will begin.  In the interim, director Chris Cherry will be fine-tuning the script and score based on our cast. The casting will be announced via e-mail by early January, before rehearsals begin. All registration and form must be done by the casting rehearsal on November 23.

Click here for a link to a detailed Q&A resource about the casting process and how teen actors can best approach it.

REHEARSALS AND SCHEDULING

The complete rehearsal and performance schedule is linked below, along with the Actor’s Schedule Form.  If you have significant conflicts with the rehearsal schedule, please contact Chris Cherry at ccherry@greenbeltmd.gov before enrolling.  Occasional (or even recurring, but predictable) rehearsal conflicts are not a barrier to participating.  Many young actors involved in the program are engaged in other terrific activities, which we strongly support.  We do not schedule the entire cast for every rehearsal, so as long as we have everyone’s schedule conflicts ahead of time, we can generally work around them pretty easily.

Please fill out a schedule form for each actor, noting their currently known conflicts (absences, late arrivals, and early departures), as well as any provisional conflicts. YOu can submit the completed Actor Schedule Form with your registration or bring it to the casting rehearsal on November 23. The form must be turned in no later than November 23, so that we don't inadvertently cast scene partners with incompatible schedules.

Click here for the full rehearsal schedule and the actor commitment and conflict form.

Every Wednesday evening during the rehearsal period, director Chris Cherry will e-mail the upcoming weekend’s rehearsal schedule to the entire cast, specifying the days and times each actor is scheduled for rehearsal. Actors who are not scheduled for a particular day are then free to make other plans. We strive not to schedule actors more often than they will be needed. 

In return for working around our actors' noted conflicts, we do expect each performer to commit to attending the rehearsals for which he or she is scheduled. We recognize, of course, that unforeseen obligations can arise even during our brief eight-week rehearsal period. If we are given notice before the weekly rehearsal schedule is distributed, we certainly accommodate as best we can. We simply ask parents’ cooperation in helping our actors make and maintain a commitment to the rehearsal process. If an enticing social opportunity arises suddenly, an actor may have to forego it in order to meet rehearsal obligations to cast mates.

Note that attendance is mandatory for all cast members at all rehearsals from February 25 onward and at all four performances.

REGISTRATION

Registration for all participants, regardless of residency, is open now.  You can register on-line at https://recreation.greenbeltmd.gov/wbwsc/webtrac.wsc/ or register in person at the Greenbelt Community Center or by fax at 301-220-0561.  A registration form is linked below.  Ruth Campbell (240-542-2059) or Carrie Hannigan (240-542-2058) will be happy to assist you in registering.  The activity number for the Greenbelt Youth Musical is 144230-1. 

Click here for online registration.

Click here for a fillable registration form you can print out.

TUITION AND SCHOLARSHIP

Tuition is $173 for Greenbelt actors and $196 for actors residing outside Greenbelt. Generous scholarship assistance is available for Greenbelt residents from the Mary Purcell Geiger Scholarship Fund. Click here for a scholarship application.

REFUND POLICY

Enrolling in the Greenbelt Youth Musical signals a commitment to participate in a collaborative artistic project with a company of other committed young performers. Please note that we do not issue tuition refunds in the event that an actor withdraws from the production after casting. We expect that all actors enrolling in the production are committed to participating in a fun and collaborative experience, regardless of role assignment, and we set the production budget, including hiring commitments to staff, based on the total tuition received.

PRODUCTION TEAM

     Christopher Cherry, Director and Author     Click here for bio

     Stefan Brodd, Musical Director                     Click here for bio

     Nicole DeWald, Production Designer           Click here for bio

FORMS AND RESOURCES

Rehearsal and performance schedule and the actor commitment and conflict form.  Click here

The Casting Process: A Q&A Resource with Director Chris Cherry for Parents and Young Actors. Click here

On-line Registration. Click here

Fillable registration form you can print out. Click here

Scholarship Application. Click here.

Click here for the full rehearsal schedule and the actor commitment and conflict form.

CONTACT

Christopher Cherry, Director, (240) 542-2055 or ccherry@greenbeltmd.gov

Ruth Campbell, Registrar, (240) 542-2059 or rcampbell@greenbeltmd.gov

Greenbelt Community Center Business Office: (301) 397-2208