Ohio Light Opera summer season provides students hands-on theatre experience

The Ohio Light Opera, America’s premier lyric theater festival and resident professional company of The College of Wooster, will present its 46th season from June 14 to Aug. 3. With performances taking place at the Freedlander Theatre (329 E. University Street), the season will feature a rotating schedule of classic Broadway musicals, operetta, and comic opera. Ohio Light Opera offers audiences an experience of the best of operetta and musical theatre and provides Wooster students the opportunity to develop their skills in a professional lyric theatre setting.

From Ohio Light Opera’s beginning, the organization has offered a professional performance environment to theatre, music, and arts management students at the College. The company’s artistic leaders, all affiliated with prominent national universities, colleges, and conservatories, spearhead a summer season that provides Wooster students as well as other college students and theatre professionals from across the country invaluable opportunities to develop their skills in the performing arts. Students may take part in all aspects of the production process depending on their interests, from acting to set construction to arts management, with some students working with the company year-round as they help prepare for the upcoming season.  

“Ohio Light Opera’s intention has always been to provide an educational environment for college students and emerging professionals as well as more established performers in the field,” said Laura Neill ’89, executive director of the company. “There’s nothing like being a young performer and getting a professional experience.” 

Vocal auditions for summer seasons occur each fall in October and November. Students can also get involved as part of the orchestra, providing musical accompaniment to the over 50 performances put on each summer, as part of the technical crew, or in front-of-house and arts management positions. 

Students who spend their summers working with Ohio Light Opera find the experience to be a rewarding way to gain practical experience in the arts. Julianna Grimes ’25 began working with the group during the 2023 season and found that their time with the company has given them a new passion for the arts. “It was working for Ohio Light Opera that made me want to pursue work as a theater carpenter outside of my undergraduate education,” Grimes said. “Working for Ohio Light Opera and The College of Wooster has given me not only the skills I need to do well within this field, but proof of these skills, allowing me to build a portfolio despite only having started doing this work in college.” 

Founded in 1979 as a Gilbert and Sullivan repertory company, Ohio Light Opera has more than 150 show titles to its credit. With a dedication to producing these works with maximum faithfulness to the original creations, the company has earned an international reputation as one of America’s most revered, respected, and accomplished summer festivals. The 2025 season includes classic Broadway musicals Carousel, Brigadoon, and Tip-Toes, along with operettas Patience, Bitter Sweet, and The Cousin from Batavia. To purchase tickets, or for more information, including a full season calendar and opportunities to get involved in the summer 2025 season, visit the Ohio Light Opera website or call 330-263-2345. 

Featured Image: The 2024 Ohio Light Opera season included several classic musicals, including Guys and Dolls, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows.

Posted in Homepage Featured, News on February 19, 2025.