BY DANI TIETZ
dani@sjodaily.com
Urbana, Ill. – You never know what you might find if you venture into the woods.
Especially if the woods are enchanted with storybook characters.
But St. Joseph siblings Brandie, Chaz and Alec Bowlin know that they will find each other on the stage at the Harold & Jean Miner Theatre at Parkland College when the Urbana Park District’s Youth Summer Theatre performs “Into the Woods” next week.
This is the first time the Bowlin children will be on stage together.
Fifteen-year-old Brandie caught the acting bug when she was at St. Joseph Middle School in sixth grade.
“A lot of my friends said it was a really good time,” Brandie said. “There was a big hype around the theatre, and how it could be a good experience for people.”
Brandie said she saw a change in her personality right away.
“I was a very introverted kid, and still am,” she said. “But I was trying to become more of an extrovert. So I was trying to make more friends, and it did help. It definitely helped with my confidence.”
Chaz and Alec became interested in acting when their brother, Tyler, tried his hand at acting as a junior at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.
“He said how fun it was and everything,” Chaz said. “But the earliest I could get into the program at St. Joe was in sixth grade. So I just started doing (theatre) this year.”
In his first role, Chaz played Nathaniel Leonards in “Creepy Acres.”
Alec, who will turn 10 in a few weeks, has grown up watching both his brothers and sister on stage.
“The more (Tyler) did, the more I started paying attention to it,” Alec said. “And the more I started paying attention to it, the more I really liked the idea and the more I wanted to do it. When I heard they were doing (Into the Woods) I was like, that musical sounds fun.”
Alec will make his debut as part of the royal family, the prince version of the Beast from “Beauty and the Beast.”
Brandie will take on the role of a princess and Chaz will be Geppetto from “Pinocchio.”
The siblings get to be engulfed in the play together as they have practiced throughout the summer months, in the car on the way home and by watching the musical “multiple times.”
“We definitely talk about how we quote the music all the time at home,” Brandie said. “And sometimes we’ll do it out in public and other people won’t get it, but we do.”
When the Into the Woods cast takes the stage on July 25, it will be the first time that Alec and Chaz have performed in front of a large crowd.
Alec is a little nervous because he will be on stage quite a bit with the royal family, but Chaz said the presence of the crowd makes him happy.
“It makes me happy to know that I’m entertaining these people,” Chaz said. “And I mean, hopefully, they like it.”
Brandie has found happiness in the continued confidence she gains by working on and being in a variety of productions.
“I’ve learned that I could be more confident extroverted if I wanted to be and if I put the effort into it, and how happy it could make you to be out there getting to know people,” she said.
Alec feels the same way.
“When I started out, I didn’t really like to make friends outside of my school,” he said. “Once I got into this, and everyone I saw was having so much fun it was like, it just completely changed how I saw things.
“Ever since we started the musical. I’ve just been really out there. And really trying to make friends with anyone.”
The Bowlin siblings, along with their newfound friends, will be on stage on July 25-27 at 7 p.m. and July 28 at 2:30 p.m. There will also be a special matinee with limited scenes on July 27 at 2 pm.
Ticket prices are $7 for children 12-and-younger, $10 for students and seniors and $14 for adults. Tickets are are available by phone 217-367-1544, in person at the Phillips Recreation Center or online at https://squareup.com/store/
