Roustabout Theater Apprentice Program and Summer Theater Camp

The Roustabout Theater Apprentice Program and Summer Theater Camp includes a Summer Theater Camp where participants take dance classes, acting classes, and singing lessons. The program features professionally produced performances with actors, singers, and dancers, and offers Master Classes in addition to weekly training. All levels of experience are welcome, and no audition is required to participate in the Summer Theater Camp.

• Ages: 11–18 years old

Roustabout Theater has been a federally recognized nonprofit since 2005 and describes its Apprentice Program as award-winning. Its mission is to build a vibrant regional theater in Sonoma County producing Masterworks of the 20th Century and new plays in their West Coast premieres, while also sustaining an actor training program for all ages. The Apprentice Program develops the skills of dedicated student performers during rehearsals and performances of professionally produced musicals throughout the year, and young performers between the ages of 11 and 20 receive comprehensive training and coaching. Intensive training includes weekly classes in dance, acting, and singing, plus periodic Master Classes delivered by Tony Award–winning composers, Broadway actors, and nationally recognized casting directors. Roustabout Theater states that it is one of the leading theatrical training and performance programs in the San Francisco Bay Area and that it is Sonoma County’s creative home for live theater and theater training. Roustabout Theater actively affirms the wide diversity of the community and supports efforts to eradicate inequity, injustice, and marginalization.

Roustabout Theater’s leadership team includes Founder and Artistic Director Clark Houston Lewis, Director of Education William Davis, and Stage Manager Sheila Brock, along with board members Catherine Hamrick-Down, Teresa Norton, and Debbie Raike. Clark Houston Lewis has directed more than 50 productions, including West Coast and Regional premieres, and holds an M.A. from Juilliard in Conducting (on scholarship) and a B.A. in Music with honors from the University of Virginia. William Davis studied at San Francisco State University, The American Conservatory Theatre, and U.C. Davis, and is a practicing veterinarian. Sheila Brock graduated from CalArts with a BFA in Theater Management and has been involved in theater productions for over 40 years. Dance, acting, and singing instruction is provided by seasoned professional performers, including Joseph Favolora, who has 15 years of professional Broadway credits such as “Beauty and the Beast” and Cathy Rigby’s “Peter Pan,” and has won two San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critic Circle Awards for excellence in choreography as well as awards for his dancing as Mr. Dance of New England, Junior Mr. Dance of America, and East Coast Junior Ballroom Champion.

Roustabout Theater has served thousands of the community’s families and theater lovers through professional productions, classes for all ages, and scholarship programs, and its programs are made possible in part with funds from Creative Sonoma and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Roustabout Theater Professional Ensemble presents live theater featuring the North Bay’s professional performers, often in West Coast premieres. The Summer Theater Camp experience culminates in a weekend of live performances.

Testimonials about the Roustabout Theater Apprentice Program include comments from Jason Robert Brown, a three-time Tony Award winner, who described an evening with the Apprentice Program’s students as “always a joy.” Broadway, film, and TV actor and comedian Mario Cantone stated that “the material shined” and that the director “did a magnificent job.” Broadway music director Mary-Mitchell Campbell said that working with the Roustabout Apprentice students was “a complete joy,” and described them as prepared, enthusiastic, professional, and talented singers.

Last updated March 28, 2026.