Suffield Youth Theater Announces Auditions for "The Outsiders"!

This February Suffield Youth Theater will continue the trend started last year, in producing more serious material, geared for teen and adult audiences each Winter. The selection for this year’s drama is a dramatization of S.E. Hinton’s classic story, The Outsiders. Told through the viewpoint of Ponyboy Curtis, a 14-year-old living on the margins of society in the 1960s, The Outsiders shines a harsh light on the realities of adolescence. Ponyboy, and his gang of “greasers” live in the impoverished end of Tulsa, Oklahoma—and in addition to the constant financial struggles which they face, there also exists an unfriendly and violent rivalry between them and the upper class, “socs” (pronounced shoshes) who live on the other end of town. More than anything else, The Outsiders is a story that proves for all our differences, we are more alike than we are unalike.

It was selected for this year’s drama because it powerfully encapsulates the very real struggles faced by adolescents, but does so in a setting that many in our community have never experienced. In this way, it is both something actors and audience members will be able to strongly relate while still being able to have the opportunity to explore entirely foreign situations. The production will be directed by Walter Mantani, who has worked in New York, Chicago, and most recently in West Springfield with the Majestic Theater. Auditions will be open to anyone 13 and up, and will be held on December 13 @ 5:00 and December 14 @ 4:00, at the Second Baptist Church of Suffield. To sign up for auditions, please visit www.suffieldyouththeater.org/audition. We hope to see you there!