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YOUNG STARS BUSY RISING

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By RONNIE BLAIR

rblair@tampatrib.com

Published: June 26, 2009

DADE CITY - Maitlin Hart's dazzling smile appears to be her face's default setting, so typecasting definitely does not account for this 8-year-old actress landing the role of Sourpuss, a dwarf with a dour disposition, in a summer camp production of "Snow White."

That smile disappears in a hurry, though, when the cheerful Maitlin becomes the gloomy Sourpuss. On cue, the Oakstead Elementary fourth-grader can transform her visage from grin to grumpy.

"I've actually done a lot of plays," Maitlin said. "I thought this would be fun."

Maitlin is one of about 40 children in first through eighth grade improving their performance skills this week at the summer camp sponsored by Arts in Motion, a community theater group for young people.

"You get to try on costumes, meet new teachers, say hi to old friends," said Maitlin, who has appeared in other Arts in Motion productions.

Audience members who attend a free 5 p.m. performance of "Snow White" today will see that Maitlin-Sourpuss does smile onstage - eventually - though the circumstances will not be revealed here.

The play is being performed at East Pasco Adventist Academy, 38434 Centennial Road, Dade City, the same as the location for the weeklong camp.

Summer camps have become a tradition for Arts in Motion, said Jean Marie Cova, the group's treasurer and the mother of two children - Matthew, 8, and Julianna, 5 - participating in the camp.

Cova said the Arts in Motion camp is careful not to place the spotlight on just one child. All the children have roles in the play. All will have something to say. All will sing and dance.

"We look for them to have fun and to get excited about theater and the arts," she said.

High school students who are Arts in Motion veterans serve as camp counselors, helping the campers hone improvisation, dancing and singing skills.

"We try to get them out of their shell," said Lauren Rathbone, 16, who will be a junior at Pasco High this fall. "We have some very outgoing kids here."

Lauren's job was to ride herd on the campers, making sure everyone made it to the right place at the right time.

A second summer camp for the first- through eighth-graders will be held July 20-24 in Land O' Lakes. That camp also will produce "Snow White." More information is available at www.artsin motionpasco.org.

Arts in Motion also held a high school camp a few weeks ago. Those students staged a production of "Ever After." Several of the "Snow White" camp counselors participated in that.

Laura Dietz, 10, a fifth-grader at Seven Oaks Elementary, likes the experience of being onstage, though memorizing long lines sometimes can be tough, she said.

She said actors learn to always be on their toes because plans sometimes go awry.

"You never know what's going to happen, so be ready for improv," said Laura, who plays Buck the Bunny in "Snow White."

Two teenagers - Vince Evangelista, 15, and Hayley Smith, 13 - gave the children pointers on how to improvise when someone blows a line or something else doesn't work out quite right.

"Improv is a necessity," said Vince, a junior at Wesley Chapel High.

Caleb Rafuse, 11, a Pasco Middle sixth-grader, began performing with Arts in Motion when he was 4. He loves that acting allows him to immerse himself in a character. One moment he's Caleb; the next moment he's someone else.

"You can be anything you want to be," he said.

Max Twitmyer, 7, a San Antonio Elementary second-grader who plays a dwarf named Captain, expressed similar sentiments. "You get to get in costumes, and you meet really nice kids."

Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at (813) 259-7065.

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