Contact: Zack Plair
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A popular annual summer camp and entertainment program at Mississippi State this year involves the largest cast in its more than 30-year history.
The 2015 edition of the university's Summer Scholars on Stage camp is presenting an original musical comedy titled "In A Bind."
The free performances featuring 61 students ages 12-18 take place at 7 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday [July 24 and 25] on the McComas Hall main stage.
Among the campers, 26 helped write the musical, said Summer Scholars founder and director Joe Ray Underwood. An MSU professor emeritus of counseling and educational psychology, Underwood said the three-week, residential program traditionally involves a week of writing, followed by two weeks of rehearsals.
Underwood said most of this year's group are Mississippians--including a strong Starkville contingent--but some have come from as far away as Michigan and New Jersey. Also involved are 50 staff members that assisted with the writing, music scoring and choreography, set building and related duties.
The play is directed by MSU communication/theatre graduate Kris Lee, now a Mississippi University for Women faculty member.
"In A Bind" tells the story of characters from books kept in a magical library who come to life. Along the way, they encounter adventure, romance and danger, and there's even a dragon.
"This musical is created by the campers' imaginations," Underwood said. "All these characters have to get back to their books by a certain time or they cease to exist, so it's kind of got a Cinderella aspect to it."
All of the characters come from real books like "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," "The Great Gatsby" and others, explained homeschool senior Allie Nichols of Tupelo. As a result, audience members of all ages should find the play both familiar and engaging, she said.
Nichols, who portrays "Glinda the Good Witch" from the "Wizard of Oz," is attending Summer Scholars for the second straight year. She described her character as "prissy and sassy" and "very fun to play."
"She's kind of ditzy, but she is smart and she's always quick with a comeback," said Nichols, a Tupelo Community Theatre veteran.
Nichols only attended 2014's two-week program for performers but said she decided to also try her hand this year at the writing camp. One benefit of that decision: She got to write her own character, though the experience ended up being more than she bargained for--almost.
"It was a grueling process," Nichols admitted. "It was a lot more work than I thought it would be, but it was amazing."
Erin Harrison, a seventh-grader at Ripley Middle School, is a Summer Scholars rookie. She plays "Amanda," a person in the library who gets trapped in a book after falling in love with one of its characters.
Harrison said she has enjoyed the program's singing and dancing element, as well as making her character her own. She described "Amanda" as "a little bit bitter in some ways. She's smart, but kind of desperate, in a way."
Underwood said "In A Bind" features both well-known rock and Broadway tunes, as well as original camper-composed selections. The accompanying orchestra will include both staffers and campers, he noted.
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