Hear What Our Fans Are Saying!

“Directed by Terry Sweet Bouma with Assistant Directors Alyssa Bouma and Alex Foley, this true comedy of errors and mistaken identities is a fine showcase of youth digesting and transforming Shakespeare…Sheer bombacity arrives in the rowdy and cantankerously engaging Sir Toby Belch (Jeremy Crawford.) Words simply cannot due his comedy any square hope of justice. Crawford nails every moment of comedic genius scripted into the Toby character….A merry-making fool, or a fool of merry-making, Lauren Foley as Feste is sweetly sublime. The lyrical vocality of Miss Foley is well-suited to the singing that Feste must accomplish throughout the production, but moreover it’s her comic timing and overall presence of mind that wins the hearts of the audience. Sincere and yet well-balanced, Foley is well-hung with humors, touched with tomfoolery, and puts to use her foolish talents to earnestly draw forth the laughter that accompanies Feste into this tale…Equally engaged in her character’s narrative as she is with her scene work, Alysa Fitch sets a firm and easy to follow example of how to lay down the character of Viola in Twelfth Night…With great command of his moody and melancholy text, Ian Cripe transforms the Duke Orsino from a bit part in Shakespeare’s nonsensical musings into a central focal point for all things egocentric. Potently presenting the character’s gushing narcissism, Cripe makes the audience see the gleaming vain mirror of his perpetual gaze with sharply smug facial expressions and bodily animations…A statuesque goddess that dominates the stage the moment she wafts onto it, Audrey Kawecki’s Olivia is a mystical essence of Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, and Jean Harlow, all spun into one mythical diva. A true vixen that could slay an army with a single, intensely animated glare, Kawecki gives a new leading-lady life to the Olivia character, drawing the audience into her narrative with great intrigue.”
-Theater Bloom (Read the whole review HERE)

"Directed by Terry Sweet Bouma, this fairytale adventure [Into the Woods] sets the bar high for the academy’s first production, but Bouma and the staff deliver, giving these student performers an exceptional chance to experience a real musical theatre production from every angle. Incorporating students into the tech crew in addition to having them perform on stage, the one-weekend run appears to be a smashing success... The cast is chock full of dedicated and eager young performers, some of whom are taking to the stage for the very first time..."
-Theater Bloom (read full review HERE)

"Storytellers is an outstanding performing arts academy! Under the artistic direction of actor and singer Terry
Bouma, StoryTellers offers students exceptional performing arts training in a positive, encouraging environment.
Terry serves as teacher, mentor and coach, personally guiding each student to achieve his or her full potential.
A graduate of Oberlin and Peabody Conservatories, she tirelessly devotes her creative energies to inspiring,
training, and supporting young performing artists. StoryTellers’ performance opportunities range from cabarets
to Shakespeare to full-scale musicals. Their 2017 production of Into the Woods was called a “smashing
success” by Theatre Bloom. Indeed, every Storytellers production has been brilliantly performed. My son has
been a part of StoryTellers since its inception and has received excellent acting and vocal training. Terry has
worked to further nurture him and help refine his craft, serving as his college audition coach. Her investment
has proven invaluable, resulting in his acceptance to a number of college performing arts programs, opening
doors for him to pursue his goal of becoming a professional actor. I cannot say enough good things about
Terry Bouma and StoryTellers!
-StoryTellers Parent, 2018