There is something new to be found at the Capitol Arts Youth Theatre. Months after making the hard decision to change the course of the program and dealing with the subsequent fall out, Capitol Arts Alliance Managing Director, Karen Hume, sat poetically framed and composed by the back drop of her office window. With a view of Bowling Green’s downtown square area surrounding her, I asked her about the future of CAYT. The decision, to no longer have a permanent artistic director or theater director for the CAYT, was a huge departure for the program. “It was decided that ‘talent’ could be pulled from the wealth available in the arts community of the western Kentucky region”, she explained as she glanced over her shoulder at her view with a knowing smile. After talking with just two of the “talents” Karen Hume has found to recharge CAYT, Carol Jordon and Ashley Gentry, it’s evident that the energy and excitement currently being generated by the Capitol Arts Youth Theater is at a new and revolutionary level.

Carol Jordon brings her infectious boundless energy and an impressive list of theatrical involvements – ranging from stages of New York City to Washington, DC to Richmond, Indiana – to the stage and classroom of the CAYT. Relatively new to the western Kentucky region, Carol Jordon’s Masters in Theater Education from Emerson College in Boston, Mass is infusing the students and participants of CAYT with more than just a theater experience. Ethics and professionalism are keystones in the training that Carol Jordon teaches to the students taking classes at the CAYT. She teaches her students how to relate and to respect all of the other people involved in the production process – technicians and actors alike.

Carol Jordon has been the guest director for both The Hobbit and Dracula. Her production of The Crucible with CAYT has been hailed by many as one of Capitol Arts Alliance’s and CAYT’s finest performances. We chatted over coffee at Spencer’s Coffee House about her own future with CAYT and the hopes she has for helping the program grow. Her face sparkled with delight as she hinted at the possible Shakespeare in the Park program this summer for CAYT. Her praise for all the community support she and the program have received in last few months was constant as the interviewed moved towards the CAYT’s current production of The Jungle Book and guest director Ashley Gentry.

A perfect compliment to Carol Jordon’s talents is the poise and deceptive calm of Ashley Gentry. Demonstrating the posture of a life time of training in dance, Ashley described in depth her objectives for CAYT’s production of The Jungle Book. Using her hands to emphasis the basic element of rhythm for the production, she went on to reveal that each one of the 55 young people cast would have their own percussion instrument to be used for the performance. Most of the instruments will be made by the actors themselves with just a few being borrowed from community resources.

Just coming off of a  production of  The Outsiders as the assistant director at the  Kentucky Public Theater, Ashley used the phrase, ‘hit the ground running’ more than once to explain her plans for the executing the production needs of her vision for The Jungle Book.

Her first major objective was to write her own script for the play. Wanting to stay away from well known story lines like those of Disney and Zoltan Korda’s 1942 Jungle Book, Ashley wanted to highlight what she thought was author Rudyard Kipling’s main theme of acceptance. Referring to her writing her own script as her ‘writing debut’, she added that it seemed that acceptance was a running theme with quite a few performances around Bowling Green as of late.

A graduate of Western Kentucky University, Ashley Gentry has stayed heavily involved in the theater in both Kentucky and her home state of Tennessee, and though mostly as a choreographer she has had quite a few spins at directing.

Making her own debut into the western Kentucky theater scene is Louisiana State University graduate Emily Sanders as costume designer for The Jungle Book. A recent addition to the community, Emily brings her work experience with a touring opera company and a Tony award winning Shakespearean festival.

Now that the creative energy of the western Kentucky region has been tapped and channeled into CAYT, it seems the potential for even greater heights of excellence is in store for the students, parents and supporters of one of the regions finest learning programs for young people.

The CAYT’s performances of The Jungle Book will be March 12th through the 14th with the school day performance being on March 17th. Information on classes and future auditions for upcoming CAYT’s productions are posted to their website. www.capitolarts.com.

About the author: Franne J. has lived in 5 major cities and 7 states, but has always loved this area and considered Bowling Green home. She’s been a part of and writing about the local art and music scene, off and on, since the mid-90’s. She recently met the love of her life, a ship’s captain, who has encouraged her to write again. Find her on Facebook.