April Franzino and Cathy Meinhold met through a mutual passion: the fight to protect the performing arts programs in the William Floyd School District when the economic crisis caused painful budget cuts. When the beloved musical theater production was cut from the budget, they decided advocacy alone was not enough so they took over the Cultural Arts Committee of the William Floyd Community Summit
and launched their own theater production. With the financial support of the Community Library Friends of the Arts and the complete support and cooperation of the William Floyd School District, they produced Seussical, The Musical, on a shoestring budget in April of 2012. This was followed by a production of Bye, Bye, Birdie 2013, The Drowsy Chaperone in 2014, Grease! in 2015, The Little Mermaid in 2016, and The Addams Family in 2017. All five shows were successful, with a lot of support from the local community, who attended the shows, and from local businesses, who bought advertising in the program. In May of 2014, The William Floyd school district dedicated funds to pay for the performance rights and materials for the future productions, alleviating a large financial burden. More importantly, this was an endorsement of the committee’s hard work, and further acknowledgment of the importance of a theater program. In 2014, they launched a new program for younger children in the form of a Musical Theater Summer Camp. The two-week camp was a huge success; with 30 children ages 7 to 13 performing Disney’s the Jungle Book followed by Annie Kids in 2015 and Aladdin kids in 2016. Each year, the programs have grown in popularity. In the fall of 2015, they were able to bring small holiday productions to both William Paca and William Floyd Middle Schools. In the fall of 2016 they have produced a full scale Broadway Junior version of Elf the Musical, and Shrek Jr. at William Floyd Middle School in the spring of 2017. Although the relationship with the William Floyd Community Sumit was a wonderful mutually beneficial partnership, the time came in 2017 to stand alone. With plans for multiple programs, Cathy and April needed the freedom to explore funding streams that will support full time dedication to the programs. To this end, they formed OCEAN Arts. With the help and dedication of our musical theater director Kyle Imperatore, and an incredibly dedicated and smart board of directors, the vision has become a reality. There is an ocean of possibilities.
