Charlottetown - The Charlottetown Festival’s Young Company is celebrating the 400th anniversary of the province of Quebec in their production Québec à la carte this summer in the outdoor amphitheatre at the Confederation Centre of the Arts.
The Young Company is composed of 12 young people, eight from Quebec and four from Prince Edward Island. These four Islanders are Ian Cheverie, Christine Rahman, Mikey Santiago, and Megan Stewart. The Young Company program gives them a unique opportunity to grow as performers. With performances Monday to Saturday all summer long and the chance to learn different skills every afternoon in classes, they are receiving the experience they are looking for to continue with their performing arts careers.
“The Charlottetown Festival has such a great reputation so to have this under my belt will definitely help me to further my career,” says Cheverie.
“This opportunity with The Young Company is helping me grow as a performer,” says Rahman. “Learning to grab the audience and get them involved in the show is key. It is great to look out and see people singing along with us.”
A lot of hard work goes into making the performance run smoothly. A lot of credit goes to the creative team of writers, directors and the choreographer, who have helped the performers along the way. After only two weeks of rehearsals, the show was ready for its debut on Canada Day.
“Rehearsals went very quickly but we are continuing to learn everyday in our classes. We have class every afternoon where we learn everything from hip-hop to improv to pilates and because of these skills the show continues to improve everyday,” says Stewart.
Working alongside performers from Quebec has also proved to help these young Islanders develop as performers, both professionally and with their French language.
“We are a big family and we learn a lot from each other,” says Santiago. “My French has also improved a lot because there is always someone around to correct my pronunciation.”
The Young Company performs Québec à la carte Monday to Saturday at noon in the outdoor amphitheatre at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. The bilingual performance is free of charge, however, donations are gratefully accepted.
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Media contact: Dan Wall, publicist, Confederation Centre of the Arts, phone (902) 628-6135
Email: confederationcentre.com, web www.confederationcentre.com
or
Megan Gauthier, PR Assistant, phone (902) 628-1864 Ext 315 Email: confederationcentre.com,