About

A love for theatre and teaching combined.

Theatre Intensive’s goal is to bring back entertaining and affordable teen theatre to Forest Lake. This past year has been hard for the theatre community. Many young people are missing or limited in their involvement in theatre. Since the closing of YPA in 2019, there has been a hole in the community theatre world in Forest Lake. I have three main goals in mind that I am hoping to accomplish with this program. 

The first, and most important goal is to instill a sense of community to teens in our area who love theatre. Our target group is teens 16-23 years of age.  We will be doing this by providing low cost ($25 per kid) participation. This will allow those who cannot afford the larger price points of other community theatres and high schools to participate. We will also offer a scholarship to any teen who cannot afford $25. Being separate from the high school also allows us to expand the community to those in neighboring towns and those who are homeschooled. Participation alone does not build community. We will do this by being an encouraging environment to all. We will also end each rehearsal with a time to share prayer concerns and praises. This allows the teens to get to know one another at a level beyond the stage. Leading the prayer time will allow me to be aware of any concerns or areas of need with which the church may be able to assist. 

The second goal is to provide training and leadership skills to the participants. We have an amazing group of teens in this area that love all aspects of theatre. We will be working with teen actors on auditions, resume building, resources and acting. We will also be expanding to work with those that like to be behind the curtain with roles in stage management, student directing, costuming, and technical applications. A future goal will be to hold workshops throughout the year covering auditions and resume prep, and technical aspects. 

Thirdly, we seek to offer free theatre to the community. As we have seen this year with no live performances there is a missing piece in our lives. Live theatre is a cornerstone of our community and not everyone can afford to see a good performance. Collecting a free will donation this allows people of all income brackets to see a live theatrical show. 

About the Director: I grew up in theatre both on stage and behind the curtain. When my daughter decided at age four that she wanted to be on stage my world refocused on theatre once more. Since, she started acting I have gone from stage mom to costumer to director. But, one thing I wanted to do more of was teach teens how to excel at all aspects of theatre. Theatre Intensive was born out of that desire.

The program is sponsored by Hallberg Foundation and donations.

Cassi Betker

Production Volunteers:
Directors: Cassi Betker
Student Director: Amanda Barsness
Stage Manager:
Costumer:
Stage Design and Tech: Steve Betker