Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
Yelm’s community-based theater group, Standing Room Only (SRO) Theater, successfully concluded its third and final performance of “Rock’N Roll Midsummer Night’s Dream Musical” on Saturday, April 4, at the Yelm Community Center in front of roughly 100 attendees.
The organization had performances on Thursday, April 2, and Friday, April 3, in front of even larger crowds — displaying SRO Theater’s growing popularity in recent memory.
According to Dawn Emilia Young, SRO Theater vice president, SRO Theater has always planned to have a focus on introducing theater and drama to younger kids by building a program around them.
Last summer, the organization introduced “PLAY Summer Workshop,” which allowed for youth within Yelm to be introduced to drama and theater. Since then, Young and the organization have worked hard to continue finding an outlet for youth in Yelm to learn about theater.
“When the high school drama club shut down, we had a lot of hurt and angry kids. I decided that we weren’t going to wait,” Young said. “This was one of the first times in my life that I said ‘this has to happen, and if you tell me no, I’m still going to do this.’”
Young added that young people in the local community need theater, as it’s “such an important part of so many people’s lives.” With the weight of levy failures being felt district wide within Yelm Community Schools, SRO Theater has looked to fill the void of theater being cut from the high school.
“If they’ve participated in a theater program, it applies to so many aspects of their life. It helps with that rounding out. It builds so many skills, whether it’s determination or grit, to overcoming fears and presenting — it’s really important,” she said. “And we did it.”
According to Young, attendees of SRO Theater’s Rock’N Roll Midsummer Night’s Dream Musical have come from far and wide to view the performance. While a vast amount of the audience is local, she noted that people were coming from as far as Everett, Portland, Oregon, and even Spokane to attend and support the young drama and theater students.
“Opening night, we had probably 120 people here. Yesterday, we had pre-sold 83 tickets and by the end of the night we had 100 people,” Young said. “This afternoon might be a little different. It’s light outside and it’s bright.”
The story of SRO Theater’s Rock’N Roll Midsummer Night’s Dream Musical is based in Athens, Greece, like the original piece. Young said that while William Shakespeare’s language was included in the performance, cue cards with explanations of the dated language were included for audience clarity.
“You get the whole story of the Midsummer Night’s Dream in a completely understandable way. There’s the dancing, the singing, the comedy — this is a very funny show,” she said. “Men are playing women and women are playing men. That’s how Shakespeare wrote it. The story itself has a little bit of fairy magic and creativity.”
She also wanted to give a “huge thank you” to Line Roy and the City of Yelm Parks and Recreation Department for their support for the program. Whether it was last year on the Centennial Stage with the PLAY Summer Workshop or this year inside of the Yelm Community Center, Young said the department has been extremely supportive of the local theater group.
Hannah Motyka, with SRO Theater, said she was thankful for the opportunity to be involved in the production of Rock’N Roll Midsummer Night’s Dream Musical. She believes something big is on the horizon with youth-based theater in Yelm.
“We’re excited for the future of this program,” Motyka said. “This is such an awesome opportunity for the youth in our community. Our plan is to continue to let the program grow and be there for our kids and for our future thespians to have a strong community of theater.”
