BETHEL - Each summer since 2013, the summer theater, youth leadership and empowerment program now known as NewArts has dialed up the challenge to produce more professionally staged productions at Newtown High School.School of Rock staging August 5-7, and The Wizard of Oz coming August 11-14 - feature massive new mobile set pieces along with an ambitious array of costumes, props, and special effects that Mr Unger believes will rival what theatergoers expect to see in professional companies from Long Wharf to the Great White Way.The Newtown Bee. "We are offering a viable entertainment alternative to going to New York or New Haven without having to spend all that extra money on gas, parking, $150 to $800 for tickets.Hamilton, but this program supports the community and you get to see these wonderful kids, friends, and neighbors on stage having a great time and delivering important messages," he added.A Lot Like Football?Dressing The CastsSchool of Rock actors, and the hundreds of costume pieces that will dress the massive Wizard of Oz cast. of Rock is set in contemporary times, why not just let each cast member wear their own stuff? Ms Brown said it's about employing everyday-looking costumes that still have unique features to make each actor memorable and noticeable.School of Rock for example," Ms Brown said pointing to one of the shop's many burgeoning racks of costumes. "It's finding a way to have everybody in a uniform so they look like part of a group, but at the same time making everybody look just a little bit different. There are actually no two kids in this cast dressed exactly the same, even though they are all wearing the same uniforms."For program and ticket information about the NewArts 2016 summer musicals, how to volunteer, or donate to support, visit NewArts.org.

This summer, because of ongoing renovations at the high school, NewArts has shifted to temporary residence at Walnut Tree Community Church in the Stony Hill area of neighboring Bethel. And while the theater at that facility offers a number of technical advantages in terms of lighting and sound reinforcement, program Director Michael Unger is not stopping there.

This summer's sixth and seventh productions under Mr Unger's professional guidance - a youth version of

"This is not just an arts program for those participating," Mr Unger recently told

"I'm not saying these shows will rival

To help deliver the most authentic experience for patrons as well as the hundreds of participating actors, house management, and technical crew volunteers developing the sets, sound, lighting, costumes and properties, the 2016 productions are combining dynamic elements that have been custom built for NewArts, along with rented and purchased pieces and equipment.

"It is real theater with professionals in charge of every department, so you're seeing the best sets we can afford," Mr Unger said. "We've had access to resources you might not even see in an off-Broadway theater. We're trying to bring Broadway style to these productions so you can go just down the street instead of to New York to see a show of great quality."

Newtown residents Lew Socci, Bobby Gaffney, Mitchel Girgasky, and Eric Greto are among tech crew members working to make the magic happen from a scenic perspective. Mr Socci, an educator and coach who lives in Sandy Hook and teaches in Norwalk, has seen three of his four children participate in the NewArts summer productions.

He said the intense preparation and critical execution that make technical aspects of these shows appear natural is not unlike what he experiences coaching young people in a different setting - the Staples High School football team. Mr Socci considers his own level of stagecraft talent minimal, but working alongside Broadway-caliber experts helps him push far beyond the simple chicken coop that up to know has been his crowning DIY achievement.

"I value the process of things, the teamwork and being part of something bigger than yourself, like what football, or theater, or orchestra is," he observed. "This takes a bunch of people and teaches them how working collaboratively produces something so much greater that they ever might be able to achieve on their own."

One of the other advantages NewArts is enjoying this year is access to its own costume shop adjacent to the theater wing at Walnut Hill Church, and a neighboring scenic shop in cavernous donated space at Danbury's South Street Self Storage.

Moody Fantel Properties provided room for the NewArts tech team to spread outward and upward, constructing the many set and prop elements creators believe will thrill NewArts audiences more than ever before.

And just when it seemed that those volunteers might have to fall back on personal, borrowed or rented equipment to get the job done, Home Depot of Danbury stepped up donating a Rigid 13 Amp 10 Inch Professional cast iron table saw that is helping to expedite their efforts.

Over at the Walnut Hill costume shop, the pounding of hammers and whine of the table saw is replaced with the quiet rustle of fabrics and the occasional snip of scissors or whirring of a sewing machine.

There, shop supervisor Caitlin Brown and her assistant - WestConn theater school grad Victoria Rojas - keep tabs on every T-shirt and school uniform being donned by

Since School

"Take the school kids in

Walking over to a large table where Ms Rojas was working, the shop manager waved her hand toward a field of elaborate green hats and headwear.

"The residents of Oz are each wearing one of these 38 different hats, each with a kooky, fun element in a different shade of green pushing the Emerald City look," Ms Brown said. "The Munchkins have a completely different look - a lot of bright colors, many of which have come in from home."

From the director's perspective, Mr Unger is also excited to be working in the Walnut Hill facility, which also affords plenty of space for not only a costume shop, but for staging, dance and musical rehearsals as well.

"It's a director's dream come true that we were invited to this partnership with Walnut Hill," Mr Unger said.

The director, as Mr Socci previously noted, also knows that despite his own intense work ethic, he could not deliver these high caliber NewArts productions without similar efforts on the parts of dozens of other support staff and volunteers.

"Every day during these productions, I get up at 5 am and I'm usually not home until after midnight," Mr Unger said. "And there's no way this could happen without a bunch of people working way beyond what any normal job would ask them to do. I ask way too much and pay way too little. And yet, because of the mission and the kids, so far we have delivered."

[mappress mapid="288"]