Curtain up

By Lisa Fiedler

Subjects: Friendship, fiction, Community life, Theater, Theater, fiction, Musicals, Fiction, Children's fiction, Sisters, fiction, Sisters, Friendship, Community life, fiction

Description: After 12-year-old Anya is cut from her middle school soccer team, she decides to pursue her true passion, which is theater. With the help of her sister and new friend Austin, Anya puts together a kids' summer theater troupe, recruiting area kids as actors and crew members. Acting as director, Anya has to navigate the ups and downs of a showbiz life, including preparing scripts, finding a venue, and handling ticket sales, not to mention calming the actors' insecurities and settling conflicts. It's a lot of responsibility for a 12-year-old. Will their first show ever get off the ground? This series is closely based on the real-life experience of Anya Wallach, who began a summer theater "camp" in her parents' basement when she was just sixteen years old.