Actor/director/writer/teacher Cori Anne Laemmel’s Theater Bug has carved out a special niche in the local theater scene. Part conservatory, part producing organization, Laemmel’s startup has thrived as a training ground for young people. But The Theater Bug has also functioned as a conduit for Laemmel’s original script ideas, which usually revolve around the emotional and social challenges of growing up and what it’s like to be different. Her latest, If I Were You, is a musical about four young people, ages 8 to 18, who share the same birthday and have similar experiences at home, at school and in their relationships, but whose unique feelings and reactions are colored by very diverse personal situations. Laemmel’s collaborator on the project is Laura Matula, a performing musician and one of Nashville’s most accomplished musical theater actors, with big recent credits for Studio Tenn Theatre Company. The production will feature 70 young actors in two casts. MARTIN BRADY
If I Were You
