Zac Jenkins has spent the past month forgetting, then rediscovering, how to be human.
It’s a process he repeats every time he steps on stage, as the title character in Centerstage Academy’s production of Disney’s “Tarzan.”
“You have to kind of throw everything you know out the window,” Jenkins, 22, said of exploring the role of a man raised by gorillas. “You have learn how to be a person again.”
The entire production has been an explorative process for the cast of nearly 50, from memorizing the nuances of gorilla movement to mastering the art of aerial silks. And the process has been nothing short of fun.
Yorktown’s Centerstage Academy of Performing Arts will present this 20th anniversary production July 29-31 at James-York Playhouse, in partnership with the Williamsburg Players.
“Everything is coming full circle,” said Rebecca Lowe, Centerstage founder and director, as she sat in the Playhouse lobby.
Nearby, younger cast members in full gorilla gear, waited their cue to enter the theater. Lowe has witnessed many of her students grow from young children to young adults. What makes “Tarzan” special for Lowe, and many involved, is seeing those young adults return to lead this production.
“This is the first time we’ve made it a big alumni cast and student cast,” said director Cory Steiger, 21. Steiger himself started as a Centerstage student.
With such a large cast, “Tarzan” operates a little differently. The ensemble, composed of Centerstage students, remains the same through all four productions. But most of the main roles, except for Tarzan, are double-cast, meaning a student performs two shows and an alumnus the other two.
The double-casting not only allows for mentorship, it also raises the production standard, Steiger said.
“Audiences can expect a professional quality production,” he said. “The dancing is something like you would see at a regional Broadway theater.”
Choreographer Alexx Stachowiak, who recently directed the Player’s “Backwards Broadway,” incorporated three aerial silks into the production. It’s Centerstage’s first foray into aerial work, Lowe said.
The silks allow Tarzan to swing and climb (safely, of course). A few trained aerialists perform more advanced choreography.
It’s a movement-heavy show. Steiger said the production has pushed students to move in ways they never have before.
“Trying to use your arms as locomotive aids is really difficult,” said Elayna Farino, 16, cast as the student Kala. But Farino said the cast has adjusted.
The production truly has brought Cassie Donegan full circle.
In the fall, the 18-year-old enters her sophomore year studying musical theater at Belmont University. But her theatrical journey started at age 5, as Kaa the snake in Centerstage’s “The Jungle Book.”
Thirteen years later, Donegan jokes that she started in a jungle, and now returns to a jungle, cast as Jane Porter in Centerstage’s “Tarzan.”
It’s a dream come true for Donegan, who said she’s always been obsessed with the role.
And to play the role surrounded by people and a place so familiar to her, an organization she’s grown with, well, Donegan couldn’t describe the experience as anything but magical.
“With theater, there’s always magic,” she said. “The magic that I find in every show is just amplified with this one.”
Bridges can be reached by phone at 757-345-2342.
Want to go?
When: 7 p.m., July 29-30 and 2 p.m., July 30-31
Where: James-York Playhouse, 200 Hubbard Lane
Tickets: $20/adults, $12/children 10 and under. Call 229-0431 or visit williamsburgplayers.org.
