(upbeat music) - [Narrator] When you think of the Florida Repertory Theater in Fort Myers, the first word that comes to mind, of course, is entertainment.
But just as important to their theatrical mission here in Southwest Florida is the word education.
- Education is very dear to my heart, and to all of us here at Florida Rep.
So in the summertime, we traditionally do our summer camps, our summer intensives.
Most of the children that join us in the summer come in to work as actors, singers, and dancers.
We do a lot of modern and classic musicals like Big River, the Wizard of Oz, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and what these kids do, in a period of basically two weeks, I mean, they will take a show, they will rehearse the singing, they'll rehearse the blocking, they'll rehearse their lines, and they will be ready to go up with a show in about two weeks time, and they're terrific.
But it's really a fantastic learning experience for all the kids who come out for summer camp.
- [Narrator] And these immersive summer camp experiences can be a real springboard to the stage at the students' prospective grade schools, middle schools, and high schools.
- A lot of the children that join us in the summertime are also very active in their drama departments at school.
And those students will often go on to college careers in theater.
And we absolutely have had people come through our program who have made it to the Broadway stage.
- [Narrator] And receiving an entertainment indoctrination at the Florida Rep is not just limited to the younger performers.
- What a lot of people might not be aware of is that Florida Repertory Theater, while we are a professional equity, regional theater, we're also a training facility.
Anywhere between 18 and 26 or so graduates from college will come and join us each season.
It's also an opportunity for them to decide, "Hey, is this for me", you know, "is this what I wanna pursue as my career, is this is what I wanna really get into?"
Because, you know, until you're really doing the hands on work, the real work of what it takes to produce professional theater, no one really knows, but everything from them from acting, directing, lighting design, electricians, sound design, front of house marketing, as I said, all of that is afforded to interns when they come here and train at Florida Rep.