Around Town

New Canaan-Founded Middle School Girls’ Summer Camp To Launch New Performing Arts Piece for 2016 Session

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Ahhsha Crooks, an eighth-grader at Scofield Middle School in Stamford, last year participated in the first session of a brand-new New Canaan summer camp that brings together local middle school girls with girls from cities such as Stamford and Bridgeport, to empower them and gain new confidence through exploring their interests and passions. While she enjoyed the sports activities of Camp LiveGirl, Crooks said more offerings might have made the experience even better. “I am really excited for the musical theater program,” Crooks said on a recent afternoon. “Last year it was only sports and it’s nice to try new things.”

Thanks to a new partnership with Summer Theatre of New Canaan, the LiveGirl campers this summer will explore the performing arts, with the guidance from the nonprofit organization’s professional staff. Camp LiveGirl launched last summer, and founder and director Sheri West of New Canaan is taking applications now for the upcoming July 25 to 29 session.

Around Town

Spotlight: The Story Behind Summer Theatre of New Canaan

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The sound of jump ropes cracking in succession echoes across the meadow where New Canaan High School meets Waveny. But this is no school fitness program—it’s group of seasoned actors from Connecticut and New York, practicing the choreography for the musical number “Whipped Into Shape” from the upcoming Summer Theatre of New Canaan performance of “Legally Blonde—the Musical.”

“It’s all really coming together,” Ed Libonati, executive director of STONC, said with a smile as he stands near the makeshift tent and stage that for 12 summers has transformed this bit of wilderness into a highly touted entertainment venue. Established by Ed and Melody Libonati, a New Canaan husband and wife who moved from New York 27 years ago and sought to bring a thriving performing arts scene to both the town and county, STONC is a nonprofit organization with a highly personal history for the family, and it’s become as integral a part of the summer scene as the water towers that loom over this landscape. Libonati, who holds many TV and theater directing credits, does not just work in theater but lives it—something his home life reflects. Melody herself has a number of Broadway credits to her name, including playing Sandra in the original company production of “Grease.” Their daughter, Allegra, is resident director of the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass., and son Christian, runs a theater company in Chicago.