The group of high school students gathered in the James Madison High School auditorium Thursday morning had only just met each other the week before, but it was as if they had all been friends since freshman year.
Andy Mays, Cappies program coordinator, watched as the students, all Cappies honorees from across the country, jumped around the stage on pogo sticks, tossed Frisbees into the seats and sang along to music piped through the loudspeakers.
"They’re a spirited bunch, aren’t they?" she said.
On Saturday, July 16, the Fairfax Partnership for Youth and Cappies National Theater had convened the Cappies honorees to the Washington, D.C. area to perform in three different shows in three weekends.
Many of the honorees are local, but other students hail from Orange County, Calif., El Paso, Texas, and Orlando, Fla., among others.
"Their high-school theater teachers will see a big jump in their acting abilities when they go home," said Mays.
The students performed "Starz!: A Cabaret of Songs and Vignettes," which featured "11 Variations on Friar John's Failure" by Yuri Baranovsky, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 24 at James Madison High School and at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, July 25 at McLean’s Alden Theater.
Students will perform one-act comedies "Cards of Fate," "This is a Test," and "Adaptation" at the upcoming "Playz!" The performance will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 31 at Madison, and at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 1 at the Kennedy Center’s Theater Lab (2700 F. St., N.W.). Tickets are $10 for the Sunday show and $20 for the Monday show.
The final production, a musical titled "The Yellow Wood," will be presented on Sunday, Aug. 7, at 2 p.m., at Madison, and at the Kennedy Center’s Theater Lab on Monday, Aug. 8, at 7:30 p.m., Sunday tickets are $10 and Monday tickets are $20.
Tickets for Cappies National Theater performances at Madison High School can be purchased online (www.fairfaxyouth.org/cappies) or at the door. For Kennedy Center tickets, call the ticket and information line at 1-800-444-1324 or 202-467-4600.