AUDITIONS
will be held on
 December 6                          December 7
for children ages 7-11           for children 12-15
9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.                           9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Upstage Players moving to Waterloo
Thursday, November 13, 2008

                              By Jeff Piorkowski jpiorkowski@sunnews.com

                       Euclid  Sun Journal

Waterloo Road in Cleveland will be the new home of the children's theater group Upstage Players.

Upstage Director Carrie Walsh-Hilf said that troupe will move into the Slovenian Workmen's Home, 15335 Waterloo Road.

The group's leaders have wanted to be among the artists and shops that have opened on Waterloo in recent years.

"We're excited to go there, and they're very excited about us," said Walsh-Hilf, a Euclid resident. "They haven't had theater-type performances on their stage for quite a while."

She said the rent is affordable and the parking lot meets Upstage's needs.

"It's still an active club that has events, like fish fries. We went to one and they were very friendly to us. They're very neighborly. They want to work with us."

Upstage has been located for 10 years at Shore Cultural Center, 291 E. 222nd St. It left there shortly after its production of "Into the Woods" last spring.

Upstage left Shore, Walsh-Hilf said, "because we needed a fresh start, and we wanted a location where we could be with other artistic people."

She and her sisters grew up in the Collinwood area and went to grade school at St. Jerome School.

"It's really a breath of fresh air to be in an area where we're working side by side with artists. We feel we have an opportunity to make a difference in this neighborhood," she said.

The 15-year-old Upstage Players was formed by Walsh-Hilf's mother, former Euclid councilwoman Bernadette Walsh. It's for youngsters ages 7-15, and there are no fees to join.

Parents of the young actors often work on costumes and scenery for the productions. Those young actors come from the entire area, from the west side of Cleveland all the way out east to Concord Township.

It will remain to be seen if the actors and their parents will make the trip to Cleveland, but Walsh-Hilf believes the talent will be there to put on good shows.

Upstage will hold a dessert benefit at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Waterloo 7 Art Gallery, 16006 Waterloo Road. Tickets are $5 per person, and $17.50 for families of four or more.

Upstage Players is a non-profit professional children's theatre group run by an all volunteer staff near Cleveland, Ohio. We were founded in 1995 with 30 children and a vision to create love and respect for the arts.  We have evolved into a strong group that uses theatre as a vehicle to teach leadership, creativity, and responsibility to nearly 150 children today!  Although our family has grown tremendously over the years, our no-cut policy remains unchanged.  Every child can and will be adopted into the Upstage family!

The children we serve come from varied backgrounds and communities, but share the drive to optimize their potential
. 
Upstage Players attracts individuals from Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Bratenahl, Eastlake, Lakewood, Mayfield, Mentor, Richmond Heights, Willoughby, Concord and Willowick.  Our diverse cast and crew is lead by an unpaid staff and supported by an army of volunteers dedicated to transforming everyday kids into accomplished artists!    
                                                                                                                    
Upstage Players provides many benefits for our artists, including building self confidence, encouraging self-esteem, providing social outlets, promoting responsibility and leadership, as well as providing a fun safe haven.  In addition to its artistic value, UpStage Players brings communities together and gives kids something to do. 

We have numerous shows throughout the year including a spring musical, murder mysteries, and upstage underground summer show.  

Upstage is dedicated to the development of the Child Actor/Actress!



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