Business Profile: Spotlight Arts, Inc., Brewster
DAVID PROPPER PHOTO
Before Margaret Carey and Stephanie Rubino started Spotlight Arts in Brewster, the two were both running separate programs at the same location.
One day though, it became clear the two working as one would be more effective than essentially competing against each other. With Rubino’s musical background and Carey’s theatre/acting background, the mix of expertise meshed perfectly.
“So the two of us independently could compete against each other,” Carey said. “Or we could join forces together for a common goal.”
As a result, Spotlight Arts was born, becoming an outlet for young students in the area looking to hone their acting, singing, and dancing skills. Offering classes, workshops and main stage performances, students at every level and with every schedule have a chance to not just become a successful performer, but also become a “comfortable performer,” as Rubino said.
And it’s not just about the tools picked up by students, but the other attributes they can pick up over time. Self-confidence, cooperation, team building, communication, and diction are all tools many students attain, Carey said when attending classes. It’s why as a mother of three, she encouraged all her own children to go into theatre.
Carey even recalls a young girl who came in at first with trepidation, but by the end of the class she was talking and completely broke out of her shell.
“That’s the kind of thing as a teacher you love to see, as a mom, you’re ecstatic,” Carey said. “For a kid to gain that sort of confidence, that’s just gravy on top of everything else.”
Carey said a lot of theatre students don’t have many options to turn to outside of the school district, which puts on one play and one musical each year in the high school. The middle school only puts on one performance in the fall. She also noted some students aren’t even originally interested on getting on stage, but rather play “theatre games.” Eventually, after some practice, Carey said they have the confidence to perform in front of an audience.
Right now Spotlight Arts has two locations. One is the Studio Around the Corner on Main Street behind the Southeast Museum and for a bigger venue that can accommodate an audience, Carey and Rubino use the Melrose/Bluestone farm as the other option. The long-term goal, Rubino said, is to find a permanent location, something that can be considered home.
Going into the summer, Spotlight Arts, a Brewster Chamber member, will have day theatre camps and on alternating weeks, intensive camps in July and August. And there is also a summer main stage, where students will be performing Urinetown the Musical. There are early bird specials available and scholarships for the families of students who are financially strained.
Carey has lived in Brewster for almost 20 years and Rubino is lifetime resident, born and raised. For Rubino, she originally wanted to pursue performing, but since then her life as taken her to directing and teaching “and loving every bit of it.”
Both want to see the village become a hub for the arts that brings the community together.
“Both Stephanie and I are very big proponents of supporting the studio to try and build Brewster back to that kind of place where people can come down here, bring their kids, come see a show,” Carey said.
Spotlight Arts is located on 67 Main Street in Brewster. Its phone number is 845-444-ARTS and website is http://www.spotlightartsinc.com.
