New stage for new talent.

Haley Seller, 13, of Vicksburg, named her character Winnie Winifred. Justis Gibbs, 11, chose Samuel Smurf for his character. Not your typical names--but "The Pirates of Penzance, Jr." was not your typical production.

Character names were just one of the creative freedoms that Kate Roselle, director of the Broadway Junior Summer Theatre Intensive at New Stage Theatre in Jackson, allowed her 58 students to have when forming their characters.

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The four-week summer program offered theatre education for rising fifth through twelth graders. Bright-eyed campers began each day with classes ranging from dancing to improvisation to making it in show biz. In the afternoon, they applied their learned acting skills in rehearsal. The program started on June 25, and ended with the farcical, irreverent Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, "The Pirates of Penzance, Jr."

Justis enjoys the dancing the most. "It's really healthy to do, and it is also fun to stretch, dance, and kick up our heels," says the 11-year-old from Jackson. As a leading pirate, Justis garners some of the biggest laughs from the audience with Samuel Smurf's lines.

Roselle brings in mostly local, professional actors who have worked at New Stage to coach the kids. This is her second year to head up the camp. "I love watching the progress from the day of auditions to the day of opening night. They go from saying "Oh, I don't dance, or I can't dance" to doing flips across the stage," she says.

Promoting the arts is Roselle's forte. "Art is important because it teaches them many things: self-expression, personal responsibility, and how to think about problems in ways they are not used to doing," she explains. "Giving children the chance to be on stage instills great discipline and confidence and gets them out of their comfort zone."

Roselle, a native of Vicksburg, caught the acting bug at age eight. She received her B.A. in Acting from Washington University in St. Louis, where she also directed theatre. She loves setting the example of being an actress from Mississippi. "I love the opportunity to show the kids that you can do theatre if you are from Mississippi. You don't have to say, "Well, I'm from Mississippi, so I can't be an artist.'"

The players in "The Pirates of Penzance, Jr." collectively put on a great show, brimming with natural stage talent. And many, like Haley and Justis, want professional careers in acting. The Broadway Junior Summer Theatre Intensive at New Stage offers the early training they may need. "I want to do anything that has to do with acting," Haley says. "It's such a tight knit community. It's like everyone is part of your family."