Local Performers Take Talent on the Road

It's not every day high school actors get to showcase their talents on a New York City stage. But a group of actors part of the Infinity Repertory Theatre Company is performing sold-out shows in Manhattan this weekend, then taking their talents on the road—all the way to Edinburgh, Scotland.

The 10-member cast is putting on Mod: The Musical, an original show written by Paul Perez, executive director of the company which is entering its tenth season. The plot involves a group of teens and their relationships set against the backdrop of the British invasion of America, led by the Beatles.

Read the plot synopsis here.

"The whole experience is great for a lot of reasons—a big one being that I get to create the character because the show is original," said Alison Gips, a Mt. Kisco resident and junior in her first year with Infinity.

Gips shares the role of Susan with Emma Wellington, a John Jay High School sophomore who has been acting since she was 7-years-old and working with Perez since she was nine. Two sets of actors were cast in order to give more students experience.

Wellington said she feels she owes a great deal to Infinity for the enriching experiences she's had on local and international stages, including how to "work off of each other" and react to a range of emotions.

"Theatre shows you how to relate to people—it's useful and applicable to life in general in terms of social relationships," said the South Salem resident.

Those skills will come in handy in at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, which bills itself as the largest arts festival in the world, with thousands of performers "from big names in the world of entertainment to unknown artists looking to build their careers," according to its website.

"What's really cool is meeting so many people from all over the world," said Brian Arkin, a Mt. Kisco resident and Fox Lane junior. "You hear so many different languages and see so many different shows and acts. What you end up seeing is how theatre really brings everyone together," he said."

Arkin, who plays Wesley, has been an Infinity member for three years and last summer traveled to Croatia and Slovenia with the company and traveled by boat to perform in small venues in the region.

The cast said the unique aspect of traveling together and living together while performing every day for gives them a sense of what the professional acting life is like. The group has in the past traveled to Florida and California, Austria and Germany.

And they're inspired.

"I love to sing, I love to have an audience in front of me," said Lindsay Avellino, a Fox Lane junior who appeared in the school's production of among other credits.

Avellino is the company's artistic director, and assists Perez in selecting shows among other responsibilities. She said she's been performing since she was in the first grade.

"The festival is tiring, but I will love it—you see what it takes to be an actor," she said.

The group leaves for Scotland on August 2.