STARKVILLE — A curse strikes a chaotic medieval kingdom. Little does the kingdom know, that curse will affect the near and far-off future, striking a modern high school battle of the bands competition, and eventually, a distant planet of space cowboys and aliens.
Soon, the three-act play “CURSES!” will come to life, as campers in the Summer Scholars program arrived at Mississippi State University on Sunday to work on their new play. By the first week of July, the show must go on.
Eric Fritzius, staff writing director, said the camp is now going on its 40th production. He said it has perfected its fast-paced play-creating process over time, allowing seventh through 12th grade campers to show off their skills.
“These days, I just marvel at the creativity the kids bring,” Fritzius said. “They’re writing the show they want to write. I’m there to help polish the script up with corrections on grammar and punctuation, and if there are any scripting issues that come up, I make suggestions, but this is their work.”
Fritzius said when this year’s 16 writing campers first arrived, they went through two days of brainstorming sessions. Then, the campers broke into three groups to write the acts, each with the help of an act leader – staff members who are former campers.
Other campers in the musical composition group follow along as the play develops, Fritzius said, coming up with original songs to accompany the script.
At the end of the first week, a group of production-only campers will join the writers, with a total of 42 campers forming the entire show.
Campers then rehearse the show, working with props, lighting, costuming, choreography and more to bring the musical to life.
Free public performances for this year’s Summer Scholars play will be at 7 p.m. July 5 and 1 p.m. July 6 in McComas Hall on MSU’s campus.
Joe Underwood, camp director, helped to start the musical theater program back in 1982. He said the program involves talented students from Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Virginia and Michigan all coming together to make the show possible. He said the camp becomes a lot like a “family.”
Anthony Kirkland is a recent high school graduate who has been attending the camp every year since 2019. Every year, he said, creating the play is a challenge but one he looks forward to thanks to the people.
“There are times when it’s crunch time, tech week, and I’m kind of freaking out trying to pull everything together and I think, ‘why do I do this to myself?’” Kirkland said. “And then I remember it’s about the people that I meet.”
Carissa Palmer, a senior at Starkville High School, agreed with Kirkland. She has been a part of the program for four years. Laughing during rehearsals, and getting to know others along the way, have become her favorite parts of camp.
“You come to create the show,” Palmer said. “And usually, when you’re doing a production, everything is leading up to the night that you show it on stage. Opening night is what you’re trying to get to. And that’s the big thing. But at Summer Scholars, and really, with a lot of productions, the part you enjoy the most is the journey to get there.”
First-time camper Robin Veasley called the camp “life changing,” as producing a play collaboratively with others has made her learn in ways she never has before.
“It’s been fun but kind of stressful at the same time,” Veasley said. “As you progress in the writing process and then you’ve got production coming up, you really get to see it come together.”
The camp costs $1,950 for those that participate in both writing and producing the show, and $1,350 for campers that just come for production week. Underwood said some campers are sponsored by friends, donors and organizations that support their attendance.
He said the program is sponsored by MSU’s Office of Pre-College Opportunity Programs, and this year, the program received grants from the 4-County Educational Foundation and the Mississippi Arts Commission.
For more information on Summer Scholars, go to summerscholarsonstage.msstate.edu.
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Related Photos
Summer Scholars Production Coordinator Joe Evans leads a group of musical composition campers, including Phoebe Jones, Keylon Mays-Moore, Ansley Preston, Maggie Pike and Desmond Williams, in a writing session. The Summer Scholars program will be putting on an original musical comedy on July 5-6 in McComas Hall on the Mississippi State University campus, complete with original music. (Photo by Liz Jones, courtesy of Summer Scholars)
