(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre, professional Theatre in Residence at Oakes Center in Summit, received a grant from the Investors Foundation in support of their summer youth program, Dreamcatcher Junior, which takes place in the month of July.

Dreamcatcher Junior is a three-week theatre experience for students in grades 5 through 12 that combines building skills through study with theatre professionals with the opportunity for students to create and perform their own play. Under the guidance of Sandy Fenelus (Elizabeth), director, the participants brainstorm characters, relationships and storylines, ultimately writing the script that will become their unique show. Musical director Vanessa Parvin (Maplewood) and choreographer Emma Wagner (Garwood) also bring their expertise to the collaborative project. They are assisted by Oona Callender of West Orange.

Each summer’s production is original and created entirely within the three weeks of the program. Scenes and songs are woven together to tell their story, culminating in the final performance on the last evening of the program.

The support of the Investors Foundation is used to provide scholarship funds for eligible students in the program. Each year, Dreamcatcher supplements tuition for a limited number of students based on financial need, and this support is essential to the company's ability to offer aid. The Investors Foundation assists organizations in New Jersey, New York City and Long Island that invigorate their local communities with civic-minded initiatives focused on the arts, education, health and human services, youth programs and more.

Dreamcatcher was founded in 1994, and is a non-profit professional ensemble of actors who build community with the audience by sharing contemporary, life-affirming stories that challenge, energize and entertain. Our work has at its heart a belief in the essential goodness of people and the power of live performance to connect people through our shared humanity. They expose theatregoers to ideas and lives like and unlike their own with the intention of awakening their imaginations and creating empathy for others. They deepen the experience of all our patrons with personal contact through receptions, talkbacks, and interactive programs. The company’s activities include mainstage productions, improvisational comedy and cabarets, new play readings and a variety of educational and senior outreach programs.

Dreamcatcher’s programs are funded by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and many other corporations, foundations and individuals.  Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre is an Equity Producing member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) corporation, incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersey.

PHOTO: Gordon Kline (back row, far left) of Investors Foundation with the students of the Dreamcatcher Junior summer theatre program. Also pictured: Director Sandy Fenelus (front row, third from left) and Assistant Oona Callender (front row, far right). Photo by Laura Ekstrand