Motor City Youth Theatre
Nancy Florkowski, Founder and Director
(313) 535-8962 or e-mail nancy@mcyt.org

Junior thespians grow at arts camp

Redford Twp. theater holds summer program to teach kids to perform and to gain confidence.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Max Ortiz / The Detroit News Payton Turner, 6, is one of 23 kids who are members of the Motor City Youth Theatre's summer performing arts camp in Redford Township.

By Ursula Watson / The Detroit News

Max Ortiz / The Detroit News Florkowski, a retired teacher, founded the theater in 1991 in the South Redford school district. Motor City Youth Theatre Where: 27555 Grantland in Livonia at the former O'Grady's VFW HallFor information on plays and workshops, call Nancy Florkowski at (313) 535-8962 or visit www.mcyt.org. Max Ortiz / The Detroit News Theater founder Nancy Florkowski, left, works with Riley Fagan, Anna Marck, Julie Thomas and Monica Nelson at the workshops.

REDFORD TOWNSHIP -- Sean Thomas hasn't thought about a future on Broadway, but he is enjoying being a part of the Motor City Youth Theatre's summer performing arts camp held at St. Valentine's Catholic Church in Redford Township. "I get to meet people," said Sean, 12, of Redford Township. A student at Pierce Middle School, Sean is enjoying his first time in the camp. His forte is singing. Sean and 23 other kids ages 5 and older are learning selections from the play "How to Eat Like a Child," which they will perform. The nonprofit theater, formerly known as Tinderbox Productions, was founded in the South Redford school district in 1991 by Nancy Florkowski. The theater has been housed in schools, churches, halls and even in a coffee shop. Its last home was in a space sponsored by the Scottish Rite Masons in Detroit for five years as a part of their family outreach program. While there, rehearsals and performances were held in the 1,500-seat Scottish Rite Cathedral in the Masonic Temple. Besides the camp, the theater offers instruction in the performing arts for children and adults. The theater is cruising into a new phase as it moves into its own building in Livonia this month. Sean is following in the footsteps of his sister, Rachel, 14, who was in the camp last year. "He is weird like me," joked Rachel, a student at Thurston High School. "He loves singing and acting." Rachel, who is back for a second summer, is assisting with this year's students. Working with the younger kids is fulfilling, Rachel said, because she wants to be an elementary school teacher. She said the camp can help kids break out of their shells. "It makes them less shy and they can get a chance to be someone else while on stage," she said. Florkowski, who retired last year after working as a teacher in the South Redford district for 30 years, said she knows what it's like for kids to feel awkward. She said while she was in middle school she wanted to be in the glee club. But when audition day arrived, Florkowski said she was silenced by fear. "I had to audition in front of ninth-graders, and they were just scary-looking," she said. "During the audition, nothing came out of my mouth." She was told to try out the following year, but Florkowski said she didn't audition again and it wasn't until college that she returned to her love of acting and singing. Because of that experience, she makes sure that all children feel welcome. "I don't turn kids away," she said. "I don't want a child thinking that they can't do it." Many of her former students have gone on to work in theater, Florkowski said. One of the theater's success stories is Celia Keenan-Bolger who was nominated for a Tony Award this year for best performance by a featured actress for her portrayal of Olive Ostrovsky in the play "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." Margaret Winowiecki, 23, formerly of Redford Township, is helping Florkowski instruct at the camp. A senior at Eastern Michigan University, Winowiecki said she participated in the theater beginning in second grade. "The arts are a way for children to have a positive outlet for creative energies that otherwise would be stifled in the classroom," she said. "Kids come in with less-than-perfect grades or insecurities, but theatre can change that. "They find a purpose and themselves," she said.

You can reach Ursula Watson at (734) 462-2094 or uwatson@detnews.com.