Students' display a new state of mind upon return from Broadway

Lakewood Ranch High’s Savanna Katter had a difficult problem to solve for a student who likes to perform on stage.

She wasn’t very confident.

She wasn’t sure how she would fare during a March theater department trip to New York to perform at the Tada! youth theater.

“It taught me confidence,” said Katter, who is now a senior. “Not being afraid and taking those workshops definitely helped me get out of my shell and learn so many new things. Now, I am confident in what I do on stage.”

Katter performed Dec. 1-2 in “A Broadway State of Mind” with the rest of the Mustang Players.

Twenty-five students from Lakewood Ranch High School’s theater department performed “Exhibit of the Mind” at Tada! during the March visit.

The students said they returned to Lakewood Ranch High with a fresh mindset.

Roxane Caravan, Lakewood Ranch High’s theater director, said the two productions are “apples and oranges,” but the skills needed to perform can be similar.

“While we were in New York, we took a dance workshop and we use a lot of those dance techniques in the show we are doing now,” Katter said.

Junior Ty Dearing came home with more passion.

“Performing on Broadway and working with crazy good professionals, they really taught us heart,” Dearing said. “If you do not care about your show, then nothing will come out of it. I’m so blessed to be working with a cast that cares. We became a family and that’s what makes a good show — a good sense of ensemble.”

Dearing said “A Broadway State of Mind” wouldn’t have been the same without the March trip.

Tada! “expanded our minds theatrically, but the most important thing was the heart and soul it inspired in us,” Dearing said. “I guess taking a bunch of kids to New York will do that to you.”