Taking center stage, NCS senior Jack Forte rehearses a scene during the iTheater summer workshop in New York.

This summer, Jack Forte, an NCS senior, went to New York City for a theater workshop run by iTheatrics. Jack, along with freshman Sarah Hendricks, was selected to attend the summer workshop after attending the Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta, Georgia.

Jack said, “The whole point of the workshop was to take a broadway show and adapt it so that high schools could do it. This meant taking out inappropriate content like alcohol or drugs. Our first day there, we auditioned for roles. I managed to land one of the lead roles.” The play performed was Nice Work if You can Get it.

“When I got one of the lead roles, I felt really excited since I got the lead role in New York, which is a pretty big deal. After they cast us, we started rehearsals. We rehearsed 9-5 every weekday for two weeks. We did things like learning choreography, songs, and blocking scenes. It was a lot to take in in a two week period, but the directors were amazing, so they made things a bit easier.”

All this practice wasn’t for nothing. At the end of the two weeks, there was to be live performance in front of an audience.

“We then performed for multiple celebrities, including the original  playwright, Joe DiPietro, and the owners of Playbill, a big musical industry company that makes programs for shows. About 30 [theater professionals] watched in total. The play was about two hours [long].”

When Jack was there, he didn’t just spend all his time practicing. He also had free time to go explore the city.

“When I was in New York, I saw the musical Wicked, which was really, really good. I also met my favorite actress, Kara Lindsay and got to take pictures with her. It was really exciting. We went to Time Square, the Statue of Liberty, the Natural History Museum, and ate at the Stardust Diner.”

“Overall, it was an amazing experience. It’s a great experience for anyone aspiring to be a professional actor in New York. It gives you a look at what the day in the life of someone with that career would look like. If anything, it made me more interested in making acting my career. I would recommend doing this to anyone that wants to be an actor.”

Smiling for the camera, NCS senior Jack Forte takes a photo with professional actress Kara Lindsay.

NCS senior Jack Forte during a rehearsal at the iTheatrics summer workshop in New York.