Buckeye Community Theatre to encourage storytelling from young actors at upcoming "BCT Unplugged" shows

MEDINA — Buckeye Community Theatre is giving its young actors the chance to focus more on the storytelling aspect of theater through its upcoming "BCT Unplugged" performances. Buckeye Community Theatre is an educational youth theater organization. Unplugged show director Tyler Martin said Buckeye Community Theatre Executive Director Kimberly States approached him over the summer with the idea of creating a performance opportunity for seasoned teen performers that could fit into their busy schedules. "(States) also wanted to create an opportunity that brought performance back to what theater is really about, which is the actors telling a story," he said. "In Unplugged, we don't use a massive set or a bunch of expensive lighting equipment. It's just actors and a couple of small set pieces and props that allude to the world that the shows are living in." Unplugged will consist of three 10-minute musicals, which each feature a few songs, Martin said. Soloist Emma Raulie will sing songs by Tom Lehrer as a transition between musicals, and other soloists wrote their own monologues as part of the show. "I would describe it as a three-course theater dinner that focuses on the storytelling and centralizes the young actors," he said. "It's kind of a sampler platter when you really think about it." Martin said Unplugged will allow the young performers to focus on using acting techniques to bring the story to life while expressing their creativity. "Our catchphrase throughout the process has been, 'We're building the plane as we're flying it,'" he said. "We're creating something new. We're finding meaning in all of these pieces that we're stringing together and finding a way to connect them." Unplugged will take place at 7 p.m. Jan. 9 and 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Jan. 10 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church at 317 E. Liberty St. in Medina. Admission will be $10 for adults and $8 for seniors and kids younger than 18. Tickets for the 2:30 p.m. Jan. 10 performance are only available at the door starting at 1:30 p.m., and it is a "pay what you can" show. For more information, visit bctohio.org. "I think in our performance, you're really going to be swept off your feet and moved to a different time and a different place by these really talented young performers," Martin said. "I think it lets you really see them and their individuality. I don't think that there's another performance quite like this." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.