Group gives young people musical theatre venue

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

After acting in a high school production of Grease or The Sound of Music, it can be hard for those bitten by the musical theatre bug to continue following their passion once college, jobs, and other commitments come into the picture. Founded in December 2006, the West Island Student Theatre Association (WISTA) is a non-profit organization geared towards young people between 17 and 25 years old who want to do just that.

“Really, the main goal of this whole organization is to let people try and combine their otherwise busy lives with busy musical theatre,” said WISTA co-founder Craig Berger.

The WISTA members are currently preparing for their September cabaret which will feature a line-up of popular Broadway musical tunes. The theme of the night will be “I hope I get it,” referring to the stress, excitement and anticipation of the audition process.

While this cabaret will be WISTA’s second, Berger said the group’s members hope to one day have enough resources to put on full musical productions.

“Right now, we’re really still in the infancy stages,” Berger said. “We’re hoping to move forward to full productions. But we’re taking our baby steps.”

Lindsay Place High School teacher and WISTA co-founder Charles McNeil decided to start the group because he says there aren’t very many venues for young people to pursue musical theatre.

“They were running out of place to perform, and they love musical theatre,” McNeil said, adding he is happy with the way things have been developing so far. “It’s really doing what I’ve always hoped it would.”

The WISTA cabaret will take place Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Karnak Shriners Hall, 3350 Sources Blvd. in Dollard des Ormeaux. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students, and, according to Berger, will be well worth it.

“The talent’s there and I think these young people are going to surprise a lot of people who come out and see it,” he said.

For tickets and more information about WISTA, call Berger at 514-333-3325 or McNeil at 514-636-4603.?