In a world of glamor and attraction, both on stage and on screen, acting has captured the hearts of the youth. However, in the same world, arts programs have been declining steadily due to educational spending cuts. For Harley Yanoff '08, this decline inspired him to create a children's summer theater program in suburban Massachusetts.
Yanoff is the founder of Spotlight Productions, a summer theater workshop located in Weston, Mass. that provides children with a comprehensive and individualized program focused on acting techniques and culminating in a major production at the end of each session.
Yanoff graduated from the University with a B.A. in Theater Arts and an honors thesis that has influenced his current endeavors.
In its infancy, Spotlight Productions was an unexpected undertaking for Yanoff. It started as an independent study at Brandeis and soon transformed into an honors thesis with the help of Prof. Jennifer Cleary (THA). Instead of doing a performance-related thesis, he decided to pursue something for the youth of the community that he could work on while auditioning for his own career.
Although he intended to launch the company a few years after graduation, the plan was put on the fast track when a local Weston paper heard about the project and featured him in a front-page article. After the piece was published, Yanoff began receiving emails about signing up.
Currently living in New York, acting has been a major part of Yanoff's life since his teenage years. At the age of 13, he realized after singing his portion of the Torah at his bar mitzvah that he had a voice for the stage. He decided to attend an acting camp with his friend, where the director of the camp encouraged him to audition for an actual theater performance, Fiddler on the Roof. After that, he says, "I was immediately addicted. ... Ever since the summer in 1999, that's been the thing I was going to be doing."
Having been involved with theater programs for most of his life, Yanoff recognized the need for a summer workshop that would focus on not only rehearsing for the final production but also on "teaching the craft, building confidence and building friendships and teamwork," he says.
"I wanted a program that was not only going to put on a great production at the end, but something that was going to train kids and help them have a great time and help them transform from day one to the last day."
A typical day of the camp includes a morning full of classes and workshops on skills such as singing, dancing, set-building and improvisation, with the afternoon spent rehearsing for the final production. This summer, the final shows will be Legally Blonde, Annie and Beauty and the Beast, one for each session.
The summer is split into three sessions which each last three weeks and are separated by age. Part of the allure of Spotlight is the small size of these sessions, generally made up of 15 to 20 children. Yanoff explained this is important, because it allows for both individualized learning and an important part in the production for each child.
"We want everybody to feel like they're a really big part of the team, and have a lot to do with the success of the final show," says Yanoff.
With a three-to-one staff ratio, Spotlight strives to ensure that each child has a chance to succeed.
"I was seeing all these programs that had 60 kids in a session that were doing a performance, and 50 of them wouldn't be saying anything," says Yanoff. "It is not my job or my goal to open their eyes to how difficult the industry is."
Although Spotlight, which is entering its sixth year, is competing with the Weston Drama Workshop, a program more than 20 years old, Yanoff says the camp is unique enough to keep kids coming back. As one of the only programs in the area that also offers TV and film acting workshops and staffed by actors all in their 20s, Yanoff says Spotlight offers a unique and inspiring atmosphere.
"[Spotlight Productions] is the underdog coming in, and we're building a great reputation, but it's definitely a challenge to compete with these larger companies," he says. Despite the difficulties of being a young company, Yanoff says it is well worth the hard work, especially when he begins receiving feedback at the end of the summer.
One of his proudest moments came two summers ago when the parents of a girl came to thank Yanoff and another staff member for the transformation of her daughter.
"[The mom] just gave us a hug, she was so thankful. Her daughter was not the most confident person in the world, but she loved theater ... and the transformation from day one of Spotlight til the end, in terms of her performance, her happiness and her confidence, that was just unmatchable," he says.