The BrightSide Theatre Youth Project was developed to provide a professional and educational learning experience for grade school to high school students interested in exploring musical theater. In this program, children work directly with professional directors, musical directors, choreographers, designers, and artists to develop their own theatrical skills.
After 11 very successful seasons, we are happy to announce that this year’s BrightSide Theatre Youth Project production will be Beetlejuice, Jr.
2025 Spring Youth Program
Participants will learn the art of musical theatre acting, including what it means to be a character and how to portray their character through dialogue, choreography, and song.
The ghost-with-the-most comes to the stage in Beetlejuice JR., the frightfully funny musical based on the beloved motion picture turned Broadway phenomenon. Lydia Deetz is a strange and unusual teenager, still grieving the loss of her mother and obsessed with the whole “being dead thing.” Lucky for Lydia, she and her father move to a new house haunted by a recently deceased couple and Beetlejuice, a delightful demon with a real zest for life. When Lydia calls on Beetlejuice to scare away anyone with a pulse, this double-crossing specter shows his true stripes, unleashing a (Nether)world of pandemonium.
All 45 Registrations are Now Full.
If you’d like to join the waiting list, please call us at 630.447.8497.
Auditions will take place Dec. 7 10am-1pm and Dec. 8 1pm-4pm
Rehearsals will take place Jan 4 through Feb 13, 2025.
Performances will be held from Feb 14-23, 2025.
Rehearsals will be held at BrightSide Theatre’s Rehearsal Studio 1989 University Lane, Unit D, Lisle, IL 60532.
The Performance will be at the Yellow Box Theatre, 1635 Emerson Lane, Naperville, IL 60540
Roles will be assigned based on an audition after registration and fees are paid. There will be no refunds based on casting decisions.
Cast size is limited to 45 participants aged 8-18 years.
Youth Program Tuition is $450. (there is a $25 sibling discount). A commemorative T-Shirt is provided to each student.
MEET THE STAFF
Director
Music Director
Choreographer
Take a Look at Past BrightSide Theatre Youth Project Photos
De Haddard – Director
De holds a BFA in Musical Theater with a dance minor from Millikin University. She has been a theatrical director in the Naperville and surrounding area for 16 years. Favorite Directing credits: Spamalot, Addams Family, She Kills Monsters, The Hobbit. Favorite acting roles: Gabriella – High School Musical, Mother Superior – Sound of Music, and Marty – Grease.
Meghan Kessel – Music Director
Meghan holds a degree of Music Education from Loyola University New Orleans. She joined BrightSide in 2021 as a performer in Promises, Promises. Most recently she was onstage in A Little Night Music. Meghan also teaches voice and piano at Old Town School of Folk Music and performs in TYA musicals with AlphaBet Soup Productions. As a music director, some of her favorite shows have been Joseph…Dreamcoat, Mamma Mia, and Sister Act Jr.
Shane Alexander Brown – Choreographer
Shane Alexander Brown is originally from San Francisco, California– now lives and works in Villa Park as a dance and cheer coach. Shane was most recently seen in Brightside Theatre’s fall production of A Little Night Music. Prior to moving to the Midwest Shane was a fulltime shows and parades performer at Walt Disney World where he danced onstage in live television events with Ariana Grande and Derek and Julianne Hough, even a short segment with Whoopi Goldberg. Shane holds a BFA in Acting and Musical Theatre, and was nominated for the Kennedy Center’s Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship six times. Shane also received training through the Open Jar Institute in New York City, and the studio program at Black Box Acting Studio in Chicago. Favorite roles include Baby John in West Side Story, and Cornelius in Hello, Dolly!