Connor Snyder helps the kids get in costume for a dress rehearsal.

In just five days a former M*A*S*H* actress has molded young students from a popular after school program in White Springs into budding actors. That local troupe will perform Kids 4 Broadway at 7 p.m. Friday night, June 15, in the auditorium of South Hamilton Elementary School (SHE). The cast are students of the H.O.P.E after school program/Boys and Girls Club who will be presenting “Little Orphan Annie Meets Richie Rich”, an original play written by actress and HBO producer, Connor Snyder.

This one-week Kids 4 Broadway program started on Monday, June 11 with the selection of cast members, who learned the script and choreography for the play in just five days.

“There’s lots of mayhem, lots of comedy, lots of music and lots of dance,” Snyder said in an interview in White Springs Tuesday. “It’s just fun.”

Snyder said she did the same play in St. Johns in the U.S. Virgin Islands after being invited there by 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) and it was very successful.

Snyder, whom you may remember as ‘Nurse Able’ in a late 70s episode of the popular television series M*A*S*H*, utilized her 22-year professional career experience as actress and producer to come up with her own theatre company, aptly named Kids 4 Broadway, which is ‘just for kids’ ages 7-17.

Snyder began her theatrical studies at the University of California Berkley, and UCLA, and later studied with Michael Learned (The Waltons) and Tracy Roberts, who was Ava Gardner’s nemesis in the late 40s and 50s. She also worked extensively with Claudette Colbert.

“That’s where I learned all my comic timing,” said Snyder. “Claudette was the mistress of comedy. She taught me everything.”

Snyder’s journey to the town of White Springs is an interesting one, and if you don’t believe how far-reaching and advantageous the worldwide web can be, then you are not living in the 21st century.

On Sept. 15, 2011 The Jasper News published a story about the White Springs H.O.P.E. after school program, which was funded by a Florida Department of Education (DOE) Mentoring and Student Assistance Initiatives program grant. That grant, however, was only available for one year. When that money ran out the town of White Springs applied for funding from 21st CCLC, but it was not approved. Out of 130 applications that year, only 28 grants were awarded by DOE statewide.
Even without funding, the town felt compelled to continue the successful after school program and teachers and mentors agreed to volunteer their services in order to pay for rent, utilities and supplies. The town had suggested a contribution of $25 per week per family or three volunteer hours per week from each family, and they also held fundraisers and sought donations to keep the program going.

Snyder, who lives in California, happened upon the online edition of the article while doing research to find potential after school organizations that might be interested in her Kids 4 Broadway program.

“Never in the 12 years that I’ve been doing it had I ever found a mayor of a town running the after school program,” Snyder said. “That, to me, was so unique in its own right. It just blew me away.”

She was so intrigued that she tracked down Mayor Helen Miller of White Springs.

“She answered the phone, which was really way cool,” Snyder said.

The two women talked on the phone for about an hour and Miller told Snyder she would get back to her. Two days later Miller called Snyder back and said, “We’re going to do this.”

Snyder sent Miller a dvd of the production so she could get a visual of what was needed on her end as far as props, as there is a certain amount of give and take in the deal. The two women stayed in touch as they worked out details over the next several months.

“My major job is to get the kids trained, and get them up and ready in five days for a show,” said Snyder. “People don’t think we can do it, but I’ve done it almost over 100 times.”

It has been 21 years since Snyder started Kids 4 Broadway and it is clear she is enjoying it immensely. She stays active drumming up new business in between jobs by contacting Boys and Girls Clubs and other after school programs across the country and around the globe. She is about to make her second visit to Hawaii to work with 21st CCLC and she is excited.

“I love to smile and dial when I’m not producing and directing,” said Snyder.

Snyder said her husband John passed away 10 years ago and he was the one who motivated her to start the Kids 4 Broadway program.

“He believed in this program so much,” she said.

So, if you’re looking for a lively evening of fun musical entertainment starring “the kids” be sure to come out to South Hamilton Elementary tomorrow night and prepare to be wowed.

Meanwhile, Miller is already planning for another Kids 4 Broadway production next year that will be incorporated with the STEM program. Snyder has just the right play, too, called “The Inventive Inn”.

You can learn more about Connor Snyder and Kids 4 Broadway by visiting www.kids4broadway.com.