August 25, 2004
Singers measure up with choir
Five area performers earn positions with Young Americans
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
This week will feature a small westward migration of area talent as five young people head to California to join the Young Americans.
The performers joining the non-profit show choir include: Blake O'Brien, a 2004 Central High School graduate, James Hickey, a 2002 Central High School graduate, Leigh Scheffler, a 2004 West High School graduate, Nichole Spicer, a 2002 Kalkaska High School graduate and Marty Sage, a 2001 West High School graduate. They will study at night at the California Pacific College of Performing Arts and perform on weekends, an intense training ground for aspiring professional performers.
Hickey and Spicer auditioned for the Young Americans during their visit here last summer while the others auditioned this summer during a just completed two-month run at the Milliken Auditorium.
Hickey and Spicer met when auditioning after a show at the Leelanau Sands Casino, where both sang, talked to the director and attempted to dance. (Both admit dancing is not their forte and Hickey said he does a lot of lifting of partners and snapping his fingers.)
"They like people well rounded in a lot of styles, they like versatility," said Hickey, who worked this summer at the Williamsburg Showcase Dinner Theater. "They're looking at more education over ego; the organization started out as a star vehicle but now the group's focus is more on enriching children's lives."
Scheffler, who also worked this summer at the Williamsburg Showcase Dinner Theater, is a future Young American who can both dance and sing. A dancer for 15-plus years at Dance Arts Academy, Scheffler also has been singing with school choirs for years.
Young Americans directors discovered her one night when they had dinner at the theater and saw her perform.
"They just happened to be in my section," recalled Scheffler, who then went to a performance at the Milliken. "They made me sing for them in the hallway after the show, when everybody was leaving."
The Young Americans is a non-profit organization founded in 1962 to promote a national youth show choir. Approximately 200 students are in the program each year, with members divided into four or five touring companies. The companies tour the nation and world to promote American music and dance, giving unique, high-energy performances that combine singing, music and dance.
Flexibility as a human being and as a performer are key to directors of Young Americans. Many talented kids would not survive or even thrive in their fast-paced show and training program, which culminates in a Bachelor's Degree of Fine Arts in either dance or music.
"The main thing when we audition someone is obviously they are singing or dancing for us and showing any kind of musical performance," said Katiina Leard, officer manager of Young Americans. "But we also look for their work ethic, their honesty and their personality; the type of person they present themselves as is more important than their talent."
Directors decided that O'Brien was flexible enough after he sang for them in a janitor's closet at the Milliken Auditorium. For Sage, who auditioned last week, it was some guitar playing and singing after a show that earned him a last-minute slot in the company.
"Whatever I can do with them, I'm pretty excited," said Sage, who is also a founding member of the local band Fourth House In. "I've always enjoyed music and this was just a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Being a member of the Young Americans has been a goal of Spicer's since elementary school, when a touring group visited her school. A former Miss Kalkaska, Spicer is thrilled at the opportunity.
"This has always been a dream of mine since I was five years old," said Spicer, who began singing that year and participating in beauty pageants at seven. "I think it will be awesome."