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The echoes of tap shoes, rehearsed lines and laughter filled High Point High School's auditorium July 14 as teens from across the county began another rehearsal for Prince George's Summer Teen Theatre's production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie."

The 1967 musical comedy will be the 42nd production for the group, or PGSTT, a summer-long program for county and other Washington, D.C., area youth 13 to 20.

Rehearsing for 10 weeks, the cast has quickly become a tight-knit unit.

"It's summer and we're here for three hours a night, four nights a week, so, we become a family group," said 16-year-old Angeleaza Anderson of Bowie.

For Anderson, who will be playing Miss Dorothy, it's the tight-knit friendships that brought her back for her second year.

PGSTT board president Rick Bergmann said the crew and cast work hard to recreate the family atmosphere each year, hoping to inspire teens to come back to the program.

Teens return year after year to participate in summer productions and some students return to volunteer each summer after graduation.

Assistant Director Jaime Picciotto, in her sixth year with the program, is one example.

A PGSTT alum, Picciotto, 23, of Annapolis, participated in four productions as a cast member and then returned while enrolled at Anne Arundel Community College to join the production crew.

"There is no fighting," she said. "We do get some cliques, but it's very much a family atmosphere."

For 17-year-old Jacob Rayburn of Beltsville this is the fourth Summer Teen Theatre production he will be participating in.

"Each year the experience is pretty similar and very fantastic," he said.

An avid theater-lover, Rayburn has participated in other productions, but said his experience at PGSTT is different from anything else.

"Here we are all great friends and we always have a great time," Rayburn, a 2009 graduate of High Point High School, said.

While this is Director Heather Scheeler's first experience with Summer Teen Theatre, she said she has seen the cast come together as a family.

"You're never really sure how things are going to go," Scheeler, of Anne Arundel County, said. "It's an odd age group, 13- to 20-year-olds, but it really has been such a nice environment," she said.

‘A' for Attitude

As students gear up for their opening performance Saturday, both excitement and fear continue to build. The cast began working with the pit band July 7 and was to begin dress rehearsals on Monday.

The 138-minute musical, which involves singing and dancing in most of its numbers, is a high-energy show and the teens need to build up their stamina, Scheeler said.

"At rehearsals those kids leave exhausted," she said. But, the next day, "Everybody comes in with fresh ideas and bright eyes."

Sometimes when Scheeler asks the students to run through dance routines three or four times, she is met with groans.

"Don't mark this because you are going to need this stamina," she tells them. "Think of how easy it is going to be if you only do it once."

Although practice can be daunting at times, Scheeler said the teens march through it with a great attitude.

"Even when it's not fun it's still worth it," said 17-year-old Moyenda Kulemeka of College Park.

Scheeler said she fully expected the cast's morale to plateau at the midway point, but the students keep surprising her with their eagerness.

"There has been a really nice progression," she said. "I tell the kids, ‘With each rehearsal we have moments of brilliance and we build and build on those moments to tie them all together.'"

Bergmann, who has been working with PGSTT since 1999, has seen students' willingness to learn and create and finds that their openness is what keeps morale high.

"You can come in having never done a show and learn everything you need to know," Bergmann said.

The cast also spices up practices by creating theme nights, such as comic book night, where participants came dressed for rehearsal as their favorite comic book character or superhero.

Staff members agree that the commitment of cast members is the backbone of the production.

On Saturday mornings, choreographer Heather Harris holds an optional practice for students interested in working on tap routines or receiving one-on-one instruction. And at each practice she has had handfuls of students participate and give additional time to the production on a voluntary basis.

Scheeler said her goal is to grow students' interest in the arts to a lifelong passion.

"Not necessarily a career, but something they can enjoy and give back to the community," she said.

Rayburn and Hannah Everhart, 18, who plays Millie, both plan to continue their love for the arts in college.

Rayburn said he plans to study film, video and theater at Stevenson University.

Everhart, a 2009 graduate of Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, will study art at Montgomery County Community College next year and hopes to focus on painting and sculpting, as well as costuming and set design.

A family affair

Family members for each participating student are asked to donate 10 hours of their time in pre-production preparations, such as set building, or lending a hand during the performance as an usher, stagehand or volunteer.

PGSTT's family involvement program also allows siblings to participate and help, Bergmann said.

"We generally have younger brothers and sisters deliver flowers and notes to the cast, or work with parents at the concession stand," he said. "It's open to the whole family."

Cheri Everhart, Hannah's mother, said she will be volunteering during the productions and is thankful that students can work in their creative outlet throughout the summer.

"I like to see kids involved in the arts and it's something they don't all have the opportunity to do at school any more," she said.

Bergmann encourages students from Prince George's and surrounding counties, as well as teens from Washington, D.C., and Virginia with years of experience, or no experience at all, to audition.

Forty-seven teens from the Prince George's County area auditioned for "Thoroughly Modern Millie" in May. Twenty-five of the students were given roles in the musicals, but only five of those roles went to boys.

Traditionally, there have been more boys than girls in the musical, Bergmann said.

Being outnumbered by girls hasn't bothered Rayburn, who is back for his fourth year in the show, playing Ching Ho.

Bergmann said there were a good number of young men who tried out for the show, but who were involved in other activities that would conflict with practices and show times.

PGSTT plans to stage six performances of the musical over the next two weekends, with matinee and evening shows on both Saturdays.

As students work through the anxiety of opening night, Picciotto, the director, said she is excited to see students receive the applause and praise they have been working for.

"Seeing the audience react to their performance will be great," she said. "That was always something I liked as an actor."

Over the last few weeks, Picciotto said, she has seen students come out of their shells.

"In the beginning, the students are shy," she said. But then, "They transition and become stars on the stage."

IF YOU GO

"Thoroughly Modern Millie"

When: 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 2

Where: High Point High School

Tickets: $12, $10 for seniors and students; available at www.pgstt.org

E-mail Megan McKeever at mmckeever@gazette.net.