Contact: Robbie S. Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Like most students involved in Summer Scholars at Mississippi State, 16-year-old Casey Pressler takes the program very, very seriously, even if she grins and laughs much of the time.
The Aberdeen resident has spent recent weeks with about 50 other gifted students from Mississippi and other states preparing for "2011: A Space Oddity," a musical comedy they have written and produced while at the university.
Summer Scholars Onstage developed the three-act play, which debuts at 7 p.m. Friday [July 22] in the McComas Hall main auditorium. The performance, and a repeat presentation at 1 p.m. Saturday [the 23rd], are free and open to all
Now in its 29th year at Mississippi State, the three-week Summer Scholars camp attracts a range of talented students with an interest in the arts who not only create a play from their combined imaginations, but also fill the roles of actors.
Inspired by the final Space Shuttle launch earlier this month, the 2011 play's sweeping plot covers early ideas about space travel through NASA's awe-inspiring flights of the 1960s to interpretations of today's aerospace industry.
Pressler, who will attend the Mississippi School of the Arts in the fall, portrays "Helen, the crazy cat lady." In discussing the role--in which she covers a Pink Floyd song--the two-year camp veteran expressed appreciation for Summer Scholars, saying participation has meant much more than an opportunity to perform. The camp feels like "a second family" to her.
"When you walk in here, it's a place of acceptance," she said. "I look forward to this every summer."
Summer Scholars Onstage began three decades ago with an idea by Joe Ray Underwood to help junior and senior high school students learn more about themselves.
"It's not just trying to do a play," the MSU professor emeritus of counseling and educational psychology said. "We're trying to help students accept themselves and learn who they are."
The selective program uses competitive criteria to determine each camper's enrollment. Those invited must have participated in a state talent program, have an IQ of 120 or higher, or be recommended by a teacher of the arts or gifted students.
While there is tuition to participate, the Summer Scholars program also operates on grants, sponsorships and donations. Organized through the university's Division of Academic Outreach and Continuing Education, the camp is sponsored by the academic departments of communication and educational psychology.
For Underwood, the program also is a labor of love. He receives no pay for his considerable efforts and, in fact, must spend much of each year soliciting funding sources.
His great passion has been contagious over the decades. Camp staff members primarily are previous participants. One volunteer this summer, Starkville native Eric Fritzius, traveled from West Virginia to help.
"I gained a lot of confidence and learned that I was not only capable of doing things I dreamed of doing, but I was pretty good at them," the 1989-1990 participant said in explaining what became a life-changing experience during his first summer.
Fritzius said skills developed at Summer Scholars helped give him the confidence to pursue a career in the arts. A few of his plays have been professionally produced, while some of his short stories have won awards.
His success isn't unique. Other participants have gone on to careers as professional musicians, playwrights, actors--and even Miss USA. Others now work in technical careers throughout the theater world.
Though Underwood retired as a faculty member in 2007, his passion to help young people did not end. Four years later, he's still making future plans for what long has become a regular summer activity for generations of students, a number of which are the children of previous campers.
"This really makes a difference in people's lives," Underwood said. "I'll do it as long as I can."
Current Starkville High School student Mike Klaskala is just one who is grateful for Underwood's continuing commitment. He said Summer Scholars helped him realize how much he enjoys performing, particularly on the piano. Spending time with 50 like-minded artistic students has taught him a valuable life lesson.
"It's all right to be different," Klaskala said.