Tomorrow's Thespians

Within the Sharon Playhouse

Michael Kevin Baldwin, education and associate artistic director at Sharon Playhouse, is on cloud nine this week as he watches this summer’s labors come to fruition.

He and his creative team are preparing a very young, very dedicated cast for this weekend’s inaugural production of the Launchpad Company, a pre-professional program created to launch the careers of emerging theater artists ages 15–20.

The comedic musical, Once Upon a Mattress, will be staged Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Qianxun Performing Arts Center at Indian Mountain School, 211 Indian Mountain Road in Lakeville.

Set in a kingdom where no one can marry until the highly particular Prince Dauntless finds a bride, this twist on the classic Princess and the Pea is a story of love, individuality and writing your own fairytale ending.

Local cast members include Mollie Leonard, Warren, as “Princess Winnifred” and Tyler Rosenblum, Falls Village, as the sheltered “Prince Dauntless.” Richie Crane of Canaan plays the silent-yet-expressive “King Sextimus” while Kennadi Mitchell of Lakeville narrates the story as the quick-witted “Minstrel.”

They are joined by Alex Wilbur of Lakeville as the royal “Wizard.” Callie Audia, who was drawn from Dover Plains NY stars as “Lady Larken” and Oscar Samelson of Sharon shines as the melodic “Nightingale of Samarkand.”

Rounding out the local members of the ensemble are Jessica Sonner, Salisbury, Mira Norbet, Sharon, Maggie Flannery, Amenia, Jakob Kerr-Lucero, Dover Plains, and Olivia Biller. Salisbury, each adding flair and energy to the lively court.

Since Baldwin came to the Playhouse five years ago, the organization’s YouthStage program has expanded from a three-week camp for young thespians ages 7 to 15 to a full nine weeks of programming for young people 5 to 20. But it did not take him long to realize that the older students wanted a program with more depth.

“High school and college kids don’t want a two-weeks program,” he said. “They want something more elevated, more adult, higher in its artistry and professionalism. That is why we are building Launchpad. I could not be more excited about how it is coming together.”

He said inspiration struck him as he and Artistic Director Carl Andress watched 20 young people in call-back auditions. Baldwin turned to Andress and said, “This could be an entire cast right here,” a sentiment Andress shared.

“I started to think about what we could do for young performers to give them a chance to shine and put on their own program,” he said. “This is not only about the incredible skills they have but also the social and emotional learning that theater brings. It not only strengthens their artistry but also teaches them about teamwork and community and prepares them for their entry into adulthood.”

Community is an important element in theater and the staff at the Playhouse has worked hard to position it within the larger context of the regional community. As director of education, Baldwin has initiated in-school performing arts residencies at Indian Mountain School, Sharon Center School, Housatonic Valley Regional High School and has partnered with Project SAGE.

“We’ve done a great of amount of work to build the Playhouse as a center for community,” he said. “When I came in 2020, I was the fourth full-time staff member; five years later, we have six full-time staff, which is pretty tremendous growth.”

The expansion of the youth program has spurred some of this growth. Indeed, the pressure for the pre-professional training and experience has already attracted young acolytes from as far away as Fairfield.

“Carlo Desy (“Sir Harry”) drives two hours each way to take part in this program,” Baldwin reported. “We have kids from the Hudson Valley, kids from New Milford, Beacon, Avon and from within the local community. All the actors auditioned—just as they would professionally. Forty auditioned and 20 were chosen. They don’t pay tuition, instead they get a $250 stipend for three weeks work to help cover their gas and lunches.”

To his knowledge, Baldwin says Sharon Playhouse is unique among regional theaters in paying young people to take part in a professional development program. He said this is made possible through the legacy left to the theater by the late Mary Graf, a strong support of the arts who passed away in 2024 “and other five generous sponsors.”

“This program costs a good amount of money but it is important,” Baldwin said. “This kind of programming really does need the support of our community through donations. Ticket sales only cover about 20 percent of our operating costs.”

Baldwin said he has taken this initial year of the Launchpad Company to assess its potential. “This is our first year so I wanted to do a lot of learning and observing and see how it lands for the kids and the playhouse. Once Upon a Mattress is a show the whole family can come to and enjoy but once the pre-professional program has a little more experience and buy-in, we can go where the kids want to go. We can devise original works, do Shakespeare—whatever the kids want to do. I’m looking forward to an ebb and flow based on the needs of the young people.”

He foresees an expansion of the program to embrace other aspects of the theatrical world, including off-stage work such as stage management, scenery, costuming and even social media.

He credits the Playhouse’s successes in the past five years to this attentiveness to what the public wants. “We have been listening to our constituency about what they want and need; Launchpad is an example of that. We saw and heard from the teens that they wanted something more professional.”

Another factor in the theater’s growth has been a serendipitous result of Covid. Even as the pandemic shut down theaters and businesses, it also spurred an exodus of urbanites to the country. As a result, “there has been a demand for this area to grow,” Baldwin said. “We (the creative team) were lured to an area that was ripe for our kind of programming.”

Like the families that moved permanently to the region, the creative team for the theater also put down roots. For instance, Baldwin and his husband, Will Nash Broyles, director and choreographer of Once Upon a Mattress, settled in Lakeville. “The six staff members are all really well qualified,” Baldwin said, “and all six are local residents, which wasn’t always the case.”

Baldwin said the production crew for Mattress has been a “dream collaboration” and tipped his hat to assistant director and choreographer Kimberly Wilpon, and music director Eric Thomas Johnson.

Once Upon a Mattress will be performed Friday, August 22nd, at 7PM with additional performances on Saturday, August 23rd, at 2PM and 7PM and a final matinee on Sunday, August 24th, at 2PM. Tickets run from $25-30.