By Andrew Welliver

On July 14, the Baldwinsville Theater Guild will share its premiere performance of “13 the Musical” as part of their Summer Youth Production.
The show will be performed on July 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, and 22 with shows starting at 7 p.m. with a 3 p.m. Sunday matinee.
According to a brief summary of the play on the organization’s website, baldwinsvilletheaterguild.org, the show which is directed by Ceara Windhausen, with music directed by Nick Godzak and produced by Kathryn Woods, is a “…hilarious, coming-of-age musical about discovering that ‘cool’ is sometimes where we least expect it. Evan Goldman is plucked from his fast-paced, preteen New York City life and plopped into a sleepy Indiana town following his parents divorce. Surrounded by an array of simpleminded middle school students, he needs to establish his place in the popularity pecking order. Can he situate himself on a comfortable link of the food chain… or will he dangle at the end with the outcasts?”
Tickets are on sale now for $22 and bundles of four tickets are available for $82, with bundles of eight available for $150.
Offering affordable tickets is one of the aspects of what makes the Baldwinsville Theatre Guild prosper.
Kathryn Woods, the managing director for the guild, brings her theatre experience to help give back to the community.
“We have some of the lowest ticket prices in the county,” she said.
The theater guild is celebrating its 81st year in 2023.
The organization was founded in 1942.
According to the group’s website, the guild was founded in 1942 by Rosemary Sinnett Nesbitt, who was a theatre professor at SUNY Oswego.
The Baldwinsville Theatre Guild has been presenting quality theater to the Central New York area ever since.
“This makes us one of the oldest continually-performing non-professional community theater groups in New York State,” the website states. “In addition to theater productions we have one of the largest costume collections in the state and have presented a scholarship annually to an area high school graduate since 1969. We heartily thank the members of the First Presbyterian Church of Baldwinsville, who have welcomed us with open arms to their Education Center. The stage suits our needs very well and gives us an opportunity to continue bringing quality theater productions to our wonderful friends in the community!”
The Summer Youth Production is made up of all students from the range grade six, to recent high school graduates.
The program has been a part of the guild for eight years now, with some returning members who continue to work in the guild on various other productions. Each member of the production is under the age of 18 except for just a few members.
“We mentor them, but the production is put on by students,” Woods said.
The theatre is located at 64 Oswego St. and the Summer Youth Production has become an integral part of the mission of the guild.
That mission, according to their website, involves fostering theatrical productions of professional caliber, and to conduct, direct and produce said theatrical productions.
This includes acting, stagecraft, stage lighting, business management and all phases in said theatrical productions, with the goal of fostering community development of the arts. The purpose of the corporation shall be to foster theatrical productions of professional caliber and to conduct, direct and produce said theatrical productions, including acting, stagecraft, stage lighting, business management and all phases in the said theatrical productions and to foster the development in the community of an appreciation of theatrical and allied arts by carrying out the purposes aforesaid.
Since the guild began in 1942 and a solo production of “Tish” was put on stage in 1943, the guild has found success, putting on as many as eight productions a year.
The guild is always looking for people to become members and to help support their mission to present high quality performances.
Each member receives benefits such as free tickets to preview night performances, and participation in annual guild meetings and voting privileges of new board members.
For more information visit baldwinsvilletheatreguild.org.