Krissy Brown and Jason Hanrahan have been friends since performing together a decade ago. They’ve spent the following years guiding the area’s young performers through shows, workshops and other instruction through groups including the Springfield Arts Council’s Youth Arts Ambassadors and high schools.
While some of the area’s programs are for a broad, inclusive group, Ghost Light is a separate entity with the mission to give students who are serious about pursuing a musical theater degree or audition in the professional theater the tools to do so.
Using the image of a ghost light, the light in a theater that is left on when a stage is unoccupied, as its inspiration, it’s symbolic of using that connection to guide the students. Ghost Light Academy signed up 22 students between grades 6-12 for its first eight-week semester.
“Jason and I see all these opportunities to perform, and our goal is to be community-based and give the students one-on-one attention with professional instructors who either have a degree in performing arts or experience working in them professionally,” Brown said.
Academy instructors specialize in dance, voice and combinations of those with acting. They have been renting space from Gary Geis School of Dance and the Arts Council and are seeking their own space.
Brown describes the Showcase as a cozy evening of entertainment that isn’t a traditional musical show but a celebration of skills the students have learned the last eight weeks. It will also give the parents and attendees a chance to meet and talk and get to know the staff.
Attendees are welcome to take their own beer or wine if of age. Tickets for the Showcase will not be sold at the door but available on Eventbrite; the link is available at www.facebook.com/ghostlightacademy
“We didn’t want it to feel like it was in a theater, and found the Polo Club was a good place to do this as there will be food and beverages. We want it to be social as well,” said Brown.
For the future, Ghost Light will be doing summer intensive workshops for various ages and will conduct seasonal semesters of six to eight weeks.
“We’re very lucky to live in a community that is rich in performing arts interest and there is a demand to tap into a market that mostly exists in bigger cities,” Brown said. “We have so many incredibly talented students, and we want to support them in our town.”
For more information on Ghost Light Academy, go to ghostlightacademy.com/.
HOW TO GO
What: Ghost Light Academy Spring Semester 2023 Showcase
Where: Polo Club, 3644 Urbana Rd., Springfield
When: 7 p.m. Sunday, April 2
Admission: $30
More info: www.facebook.com/ghostlightacademy
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