Springfield teens’ musical debuting at virtual arts event

The Youth Arts Ambassadors have been rehearsing online for several weeks for the upcoming virtual presentation of the original musical “Sticky Note” for its premiere on July 10. Contributed

The Youth Arts Ambassadors have been rehearsing online for several weeks for the upcoming virtual presentation of the original musical “Sticky Note” for its premiere on July 10. Contributed

Like a song that won’t stop playing in your head, “Sticky Note” couldn’t help but keep hanging around.

The original musical written and directed by Springfield teens Eleni Linardos and Tim Compston and performed by the Springfield Arts Council’s Youth Arts Ambassadors was set to debut this month at the Summer Arts Festival. The cancellation of the series due to the coronavirus pandemic was only a minor setback.

It just meant transferring "Sticky Note" from the stage to a virtual platform where it will bow as part of the Arts Council's Lawn Chair Lounge series at 5 p.m. Friday. It can be viewed at www.SpringfieldArtsCouncil.org, www.Facebook.com/SpringfieldArtsCouncil or www.youtube.com/channel/UCirKG-QrPxvJr5NqA8zpxD.

Linardos, who will be a sophomore at Kenton Ridge this fall, and Compston, a junior at Springfield High, casually talked about a musical idea in fall 2018 at an Ambassadors rehearsal. It picked up when arts education director and show producer Krissy Brown suggested an original production and the stage was set, so to speak.

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“Six years ago when we started the Ambassadors, the kids said their dream was to write their own show,” Brown said. “We knew we were in the right place for it.”

Compston already had a song in his head, while Linardos wrote the script, loosely basing a couple characters on herself and Compston, another on a friend who moved away, with the others being original creations.

Compston continued to compose music and Linardos’s poetry translated into lyrics. They worked up to eight hours on Sundays, sitting at a piano and working on songs, some coming together as quickly as a half-hour to an hour and others up to four. There are seven original songs in the show.

“This was a big part of my life for the last year,” said Compston.

“Sticky Note” is the story of six kids at an arts school who discover mysterious sticky notes on a bulletin board with inspirational song lyrics. There’s mystery as to who is leaving these and friendships fall apart and come back together with the music expressing their feelings.

Thirty Ambassadors were cast and rehearsals were underway when the pandemic struck. While the Ambassadors adapted their skills online for virtual shows recently, the fate of “Sticky Note” was up in the air.

Given the enthusiastic reception to online performances, even when the Arts Festival was canceled in early May, it just meant tweaks to adapt the show into what is known as a “Zoomsical.”

“That was not a good day for me,” Linardos said. “But I would’ve been sadder if it hadn’t happened at all. Every part had to be modified. People couldn’t hug each other like in real life, but we were able to work it out.”

Compston confessed he’s actually excited to take “Sticky Note” online as it expands possibilities.

“It’s a new medium. I thought we might have to do it digitally but for me now it’s not just local, it’s more than that,” he said. “If we were just doing it onstage it would just be for the people in Springfield that night and now people everywhere can watch it.”

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Linardos and Compston joined the Ambassadors while in elementary school and have found it the right outlet for their performing arts desires, both developing new skills through it.

Compston became a student music director on the Ambassadors last two productions and worked with the cast and wants to continue to make music. Linardos wants to direct more and still act.

“It’s the best feeling in the world that rush when you go onstage,” she said.

Sarah Angell will get that feeling, although not on a stage, in a lead role. She was previously an Ambassador until her family moved and now have returned to Springfield, making it nostalgic and the right fit again.

“I have really enjoyed working with my peers,” Angell said. “One of my favorite parts of this musical is the depth the characters possess. For all of us working together, we are diversifying our individual experiences and the theater experience as a whole”.

Brown said another Ambassador has written an original script and could be part of the group’s future along with presentations of known musicals.

“Writing a musical is hard in general so I’m impressed with what Eleni and Tim have done and look forward to more,” she said.

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