From Strangers to a Company... Young Performers Build a Musical in Three Weeks

By STEVEN WASCHKA

SANFORD, FL —

In under three weeks, a group of students under the guidance of director Jamaal Solomon, walk into the Ritz Theater as strangers and walk off its stage as a company. Day one is auditions. Day two is callbacks. From there, the students learn the music, blocking, choreography and their characters while also helping design costumes, build and paint the set, manage microphones, create props and, in some years, work with the lighting. At the end of that intensive creative process, they present a complete theatrical production to a live audience.

This is the seventh year of the Ritz Theater’s Senior Summer Camp, and director Jamaal Solomon knows the sprint by heart. For Solomon, however, the program is about much more than preparing a show. It is an opportunity to help young people find their voices, develop leadership skills and discover a community where they are encouraged to take creative risks. Jamaal's recent plays include "The Play That Goes Wrong" & an unannounced popular upcoming musical premiering in October 2026.

During the school year, Solomon teaches theater at Hagerty High School in Oviedo, where he is entering his ninth year. Before joining Hagerty, he taught middle school English language arts, theater and students with special needs. Solomon’s first degree is in special education, and that experience continues to shape the way he approaches theater education.

“Theater gives people an outlet,” Solomon explained. “It gives them the opportunity to learn to speak in public, work in groups, see things in a different way, embody different characters and tell stories that people can understand.” That freedom to perform, experiment and make bold choices without fear of judgment is part of what Solomon considers the magic of theater. “Being able to get out there and do those things creatively and openly, with no judgment, is a beautiful thing,” he said.

The Senior Summer Camp gives students an unusually complete view of how theater is made. Once the production is cast, the performers begin learning songs, scenes, choreography and character development. At the same time, they are introduced to the many technical and creative responsibilities that happen beyond the spotlight. Students may help design costumes, construct scenery, paint the set, build props, manage microphones or assist with lighting. Each participant contributes to the finished production, whether performing onstage or helping bring the show to life behind the scenes. The compressed schedule requires concentration, teamwork and discipline. In less than three weeks, the students must transform an empty stage into a complete theatrical world. The result is not simply a performance. It is something the students have built together.

For many participants, the camp has become an annual tradition. Some students have taken part in the program for all seven years. Others are returning for their fifth or sixth summer. According to Solomon, campers frequently begin asking about the following year’s production on the very first day of the current program. One student now travels from Texas each summer specifically to participate and reconnect with friends made through the camp. Although the student once lived in Central Florida and later moved away, the community created at the Ritz continues to bring the student back. The intensive production process helps students form relationships quickly. They rehearse together, solve problems together and learn to depend on one another. Returning campers welcome new participants, while younger performers learn from students who have been part of the program for several years.

“That is the kind of family we have built,” Solomon said. “They look forward to this all year because they love what they are doing, but they also love being with these people.” By opening night, they are no longer simply a collection of individual students. They have become an ensemble.

Although the program culminates in a public performance, the camp is designed as an educational experience first. Students are encouraged to step into leadership roles involving costumes, set construction, props, warmups and other parts of the production. These responsibilities allow them to be recognized as leaders among their peers and to understand that leadership can happen both onstage and behind the scenes.

“We help cultivate those leadership skills and give them opportunities to be seen as leaders,” Solomon said. “They can carry those skills forward through middle school, high school, college and the rest of their lives.”

Each morning often begins with a theater game designed to improve focus, participation and camaraderie. Some exercises encourage students to listen and react. Others help quieter participants come out of their shells, trust their instincts and become more comfortable working with the group. The students also gain experience speaking and performing in front of others. Public speaking becomes easier. Confidence grows. The nerves never disappear completely—no one’s do—but the campers learn how to move through them. These lessons can be especially valuable during the middle and high school years, when students are navigating rapid emotional, social and personal changes.

Theater gives them a structured place to express themselves, discover what they can accomplish and learn how their individual talents contribute to a larger goal.

This summer, the students will present "The Addams Family Young@Part" a youth adaptation of the musical featuring the famously mysterious and delightfully unconventional Addams family. There will be only one public performance. The hope is to offer additional performances in future seasons. For now, audiences have a single opportunity to see the music, choreography, characters, costumes, scenery and technical work the students have created in less than three weeks. The performance represents far more than opening night. It is the culmination of every audition, rehearsal, theater game, leadership opportunity, painted set piece and new friendship formed throughout the camp.

“There is only one opportunity to see all the work these students have done,” Solomon said. “Come out and join us.”

"The Addams Family Young@Part" will be performed Friday, July 24, 2026, at 7 p.m. at the Ritz Theater in Sanford. Don’t miss it.