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Creative kids who love performing will soon have a new outlet. A new Burlington chapter of TTS (That’s the Spirit!) Players, which already has five established locations in the Metro West, will hold auditions in January for its first musical production, Annie Kids. 

Started by Mike Fay in Byfield nearly two decades ago, TTS has grown into a group of five very supportive chapters that produce more than a dozen different musicals each year across its Beverly, Andover, Ipswich, Byfield, and Bradford locations.

Fay, who has been an athletics coach for more than 25 years, was introduced to musical theater by Burlington’s own John Middleton Cox, who heads up the Burlington High School theater department and runs the summer BEST program for elementary and middle school students.

“In 1999, six years after I started my TTS Sports programs, someone asked me to be in a show and I was like, ‘What do I know about theater?’ … I show up at rehearsal, and I hear a guy on a piano – It's Middleton – and there's about fifty-five people around the piano singing, ‘Oh, the Wells Fargo wagon is, a-comin’ down the street. Oh, please let it be for me.' And and they're all laughing and having fun, and I'm thinking to myself, 'What? These people aren't afraid to sing in front of each other?' This is incredible. So I joined, and I got a very small part, and from that moment on, I got the bug.”

After participating in several productions for adults that struggled to find an audience, Fay shifted his focus to kids’ musical theater, which he said has a built-in audience of parents who are excited to watch their children perform and share their talents with family and friends.

After around 15 years of running the TTS Byfield chapter, Fay began spreading the spirit by opening new locations, each with its own production team. “Only recently within the last five years or so, I started adding locations. And now I'm learning that I can get out of the way and hire people that were really good at this – better than me! –  and the same magic happens for kids and families without me.”

Fay said he has found the perfect location for this newest chapter right here in Burlington at the United Church of Christ Congregational. He’s holding an event at UCC, and “during the site visit the UCC team showed me the ‘hall out back,’ and when I walked in I saw a big beautiful hall with a full stage.” At that point, he knew he'd found a home for TTS Burlington.

Auditions for Annie will be held on January 25 from 2:00-4:00 PM and January 27 from 6:00-7:30 PM at the UCC (6 Lexington St.). Kids ages 5-13 are invited to audition, and those wishing to play a lead should prepare to sing as a part of the audition. Rehearsals begin February 1, and the shows will be April 10, 11, and 12. 

Fay said he’s seeking a local production team, as well, and parents and other community members with experience or interest in musical theater should apply.

Learn more about Coach Mike Fay and TTS Players at the TTS facebook page; you can reach out to learn more by email at coachmikefay@gmail.com or by phone at 978-476-6053.

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