Skan-E-Antics readies for a return after 30 year absence
Local talent trickled into Waterman Elementary last Monday to audition for the revival of Skan-E-Antics, a fundraising cabaret that swept Skaneateles every other spring from 1965 to 1987.
After 30 years, Skan-E-Antics will return to the Skaneateles High School Auditorium on Saturday, April 14 as a fundraiser for the Skaneateles Education Foundaiton.
Those auditioning ranged from Skaneateles thespians to an opera singer from Philadelphia, who drew cheers with an animated performance with “Art is Calling for Me” from “The Enchantress.”
Despite her classical training, Rebecca Carr is considering doing a standup routine for the show. A board member at Syracuse opera and a SKARTs grant recipient, Carr sees Skan-E-Antics as “an opportunity to do something fun.”
Community, cheer, and change have been central to the mission of Skan-E-Antics since the troupe was founded in 1965 to raise funds for the playground at Austin Park.
Successive performances paid for new developments including Austin Park’s baseball diamond and tennis courts, but the formula remained the same; every other spring an off-Broadway director would drive up to Skaneateles with a prewritten script and a truck full of costumes. With only two and a half weeks to rehearse, a cast of local volunteers would put on a cheeky variety show that concluded with a public cast party.
When Heather Carroll, the executive director of the Skaneateles Education Foundation, proposed reviving the show at a meeting in Johnny Angels it was met with enthusiasm from everyone, including a random patron who passed by their table.
“She had been in Skan-E-Antics and was visiting from Baltimore” recalled Carroll. “She said it was one the greatest experiences of her life.”
With the SEF breathing new life into an old cabaret, the 2018 Skan-E-Antics will resume it’s charitable mission with a few notable changes, including an original script written by the cast and local direction under Bradley Benjamin Stone, a Broadway veteran and 2001 alumnus of Skaneateles High School.
“It’s like going around full circle” said Stone’s mother Susan Benjamin, a returning Skan-E-Antics cast member who performed in the 1970s.
In another coincidence, Stone was looking to direct a local production to complete her masters degree in arts administration from LeMoyne College when Carroll called in search of a director.
“It’s a great opportunity to bring the community together for a fun time,” Stone said.
Sitting front row at the auditions Stone was full of enthusiasm, welcoming each newcomer on and off the stage with cries of “Amazing! Beautiful!”
When the auditions waned, the assembled board members and Skan-E-Antics cast came together to brainstorm and sketch out a plot.
Songs from iconic productions such as “A Chorus Line,” “Hamilton” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie” were paired with puns about local characters and businesses.
Enthusiasm bubbled over and Skan-E-Antics veterans were pressed for anecdotes of performances past.
Long after the scheduled conclusion of the meeting, the cast members filed out of the Watermen auditorium buzzing with ideas for the show and acquaintances to recruit.
“It doesn’t have to be serious,” said Stone as she zipped up her jacket. “just a good time.”
