Of the nine years Jared Mezzocchi has been the producing artistic director of Andy’s Summer Playhouse in Wilton, he said the recently completed season at the summer youth theater – which included five main-stage shows, three workshops and a new makerspace program called “The Tool Shed” – was the best yet.
“It was great. We had our largest enrollment in decades, and it went really well. Everything was great,” said Mezzocchi, who has been on the Andy’s staff since 2009. “We’re hitting 100 kids now, where in years past, we were hitting 40 to 45. It feels like it’s finally found its traction in the community.”
The increased enrollment, from 32 towns this summer, has come in the three years since Andy’s went tuition-free, charging a one-time $150 registration fee for the whole summer instead of $500 per participant for each show.
“That’s always been a dream of…