Youth theater group forming at Lakeview

BY SETH MANDEL
Staff Writer

JAMESBURG — Usually, when performers scare off their audience, it’s not an encouraging sign.

But when Monroe and Spotswood high school students did just that at a Halloween performance this year, Don Bernhardt Jr. saw an opportunity to bring community theater to Jamesburg.

Bernhardt, a North Brunswick resident and member of the North Brunswick Adult Drama Group, coordinated an event at Jamesburg’s Buckelew mansion that turned the historic house into a haunted house.

“We had mostly students from Spotswood and Monroe come down, and they were just a fantastic group of kids,” Bernhardt said. “And I played the host for the evening. I led the tour around and it was their job to basically scare people. And they did a very good job.”

Bernhardt, who a year ago graduated from Rider University, Lawrenceville, has been involved in many volunteer projects in town, including Civil War re-enactments and Buckelew Day, the annual celebration of the borough’s history.

Impressed by the participants in the Halloween performance, Bernhardt decided they should form their own community theater group.

He said of all the area theater groups, only North Brunswick’s has a policy that anyone auditioning for a performance is guaranteed to have a part in the play. This inclusive atmosphere is what Bernhardt envisions to be the Lakeview Players, so named for the Buckelew mansion, which is also known as Lakeview. The historic building is located on Buckelew Avenue.

“I wanted to have another option like that,” he said. “So, our basic policy will be [that] no one will be turned away. If you don’t get a part, you’re automatically in the ensemble.”

Bernhardt said that no experience is necessary to join the Lakeview Players. All kids in high school or who are of college age are welcome to participate.

“We just want to be a group where people can come in and just have a good time together, and hopefully put on a really good show,” Bernhardt said.

But, he said, the Lakeview Players are still far from being able to produce their first musical.

The first meeting of the group was expected to take place last night, at which time Bernhardt was to get an idea of how many participants were planning to join the players.

Also, Bernhardt said, the group will have to raise money to afford to put on performances.

He said the first fund-raiser is planned for late May or early June, which will most likely be an improvisational comedy show, similar to the cable television program, “Whose Line Is It Anyway.”

“It’s something simple, it’ll be fun, and it’ll get us a little money, hopefully,” Bernhardt said. “Since the [Jamesburg] Historical Association has allowed us to use the mansion, there’s basically no cost to us, so we charge a couple bucks for tickets, and it’s pure profit for us. And then we can use that money to get started in performing an actual show.”

Bernhardt said all the feedback he has received so far about the players has been very positive.

“Everybody who came to the Halloween event said that we did a very good job,” he said. “If you get a group of people who are this talented and this enthusiastic, you really can’t go wrong. And like I said, those kids were phenomenal. If we get half of them back, we’ll be in great shape.”

Bernhardt said that, to his knowledge, this is the first community theater group in the borough, but it is his second try at starting one.

“We attempted once with a few friends of mine, but it did not turn out well because we really didn’t have a very enthusiastic group to start off with,” Bernhardt said. “And with the Jamesburg group, we really do.”

Bernhardt said his girlfriend, Old Bridge resident Sophia Zaks, will be producing the performances and handling the group’s budget.

He said the biggest challenges facing the fledgling group have been getting the word out and obtaining enough money to eventually put on a musical, which is one of Bernhardt’s goals, as well as finding a venue for the musical.

“Basically, we want to get to a point where hopefully within a year, two at the most, we can put on a full musical,” Bernhardt said. “And then once we get to that point, we want to do one musical a year.”

Bernhardt said that following the improv night, the group plans to put on a sketch show.

He said there are several games that theater groups use to prepare for any unplanned moments or slip-ups during a performance. The Lakeview Players will use these games to prepare for the improv and sketch shows.

“The nice thing about it is usually the games end up being very funny and entertaining to watch,” Bernhardt said. “So, if you have a couple of creative people together for it, it can be very funny.”

But Bernhardt is confident that the players will be ready for the improv show, since, he said, they all exhibited their improvisational talents at the event that inspired the group’s formation.

“In most of the Halloween event, the kids were each assigned different rooms and then basically what they wanted to come up with was up to them,” Bernhardt said. “So I already know these are very talented people.”

Those interested in joining the Lakeview Players can call the Historical Association at (732) 521-2040 and leave a message, or e-mail Don at LakeviewPlayers@yahoo.com.