Fifteen Wayland residents have been performing in Weston summer productions. Weston Drama Workshop (WDW), a nonprofit youth theater organization in its 63rd anniversary season, is staging six productions this month at Regis College, featuring participants from grade 5 through age 23. These young performers have been rehearsing since early June and are performing at the Regis College Fine Arts Center through July 26, with over 30 performances in the span of a jam-packed two weeks.
WDW’s younger ensemble with participants entering grades 5–9 are performing two productions: Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” the magical musical based on the classic animated film, directed by Skylar Grossman; and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical,” a heartfelt one-act musical based on the popular book series by Jeff Kinney and directed by Callie Llewellyn.
Among the young actors performing in these two productions are Wayland residents Jiya Das, Weston Dietzius, Penelope Fishburn, Lucy Fishburn, Sofia Garcia-Rivera, Josie Jagolinzer, Fiorella Lax, Nadav Reichman-Weesner, Emillie Rose Stein, and Amelia Stewart.
The program’s older ensemble, with actors aged 14–23 and a few younger performers playing child roles, is performing three musicals and one play. Audiences explore the dark world of a bloodthirsty barber in “Sweeney Todd,” directed by Julia Deter; experience the classic tale of love and revolution in “Les Misérables: School Edition,” directed by Chris Brindley; dive into the unique childhood of graphic novelist Alison Bechdel in “Fun Home,” directed by Stephanie Manning; and enjoy a classic Noel Coward comedy in “Present Laughter,” directed by Tristan Burke.
Performers starring in these four productions include Wayland residents Marisa Beard, Nina Garcia-
Rivera, Lexi Greeley, Alex Irwin, and Max Markarian.
