NO SMALL Parts
BY BARBARA RUBEN
T Lechter can only estimate that “thousands”
of children have taken part in AFYP over the
years. “The beauty of it is I can’t go to Target
or go to a graduation and not see some kid I
haven’t already met and is excited to tell me
about what they’re doing now,” she says.

AFYP’s first classes were held in a rented
room in a fire station. Lechter says AFYP was
“nomadic” during its first years before finding
a home in 2012 at the Mason Community Arts
Academy at George Mason University in Fairfax.

Today, the program offers summer camps,
after-school programs, classes and what it calls
showcases — musical productions targeted to
various age groups. This fall, four showcases will
be in rehearsals, with performances in December.

“I impress on (the students) that there are no
small parts. We want everyone to feel important
in the process and have something special to
do,” Lechter says.

While the showcase rehearsals and
performances will be in person, audiences will
be restricted to Zoom. But that’s a step in the
right direction, according to Lechter. When
COVID-19 first shut down schools in spring
2020, AFYP acted fast, reasoning that the show
must go on.

“While the world was shutting down, they were
literally one of the very, very few organizations
to stay running,” says Meggan Strasbaugh,
whose daughter Hailey has participated in AFYP
programs for the last two years. “They moved
seamlessly online with Zoom. I was so happy
they kept going during that time when we had
nothing else,” she says.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ACTING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
At ACTING
FOR YOUNG
PEOPLE in Fairfax,
every student
has the
opportunity to shine
en-year-old Noah Campbell has
encountered the Wicked Witch of
the West, danced the Charleston and
embarked on a film noir movie marathon.

It’s all part of his experience with Acting for
Young People, which offers theater classes
and opportunities to be on stage (both real
and virtual) for kids ages 5 to 18.

Last December, online audiences could catch
Noah as Wee Willie, a Tiny Tim-type character in
“A Wicked Christmas Carol,” a kind of mash-up
between “The Wizard of Oz” and “A Christmas
Carol.” This fall, he’s looking forward to a role
in “Rockin’ Robin Hood,” in which the titular
character and his band of merry men and women
sing and dance their way through a mixtape
of pop hits. His little brother Lucas, 6, also
participates in programs for younger kids.

Fairfax’s AFYP, as it’s called, is now in its 24th
year, igniting dreams of Tonys and Oscars for
hundreds of children each year — or at least
giving them the courage to set foot on stage
and belt out a tune. AFYP is the brainchild
of Mary Lechter, a Washington-area actress
who has performed at Arena Stage and Source
Theatre, among other stages. Her credits also
include the soap opera “All My Children” and
the movie “Avalon.”
While performing, she started teaching acting
classes for kids at The John F. Kennedy Center
for the Performing Arts and Studio Theatre.

“I discovered I had a real love for teaching,”
she says. “But when I moved to Fairfax, I
realized there were no acting classes for kids, so
I just took a stab at it.”
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