Rising Robbinsville High School Senior Abi Valerio is headed for gold during the Olympics, but not in Rio. Instead, Valerio is working towards completing her Girl Scout Gold Award by sharing her passion with the community.
That passion manifests itself in free improvision workshops called “The Art of Improv,” which are offered at the Robbinsville branch of the Mercer County Library to middle schoolers throughout the summer. Classes will be held this month on Aug. 13 and 27.
Valerio said the project is meaningful to her because there are no opportunities for middle school-aged kids in Robbinsville to express themselves in the arts. Her class was the last 5th grade class to have any arts-focused courses at Pond Road Middle School before cuts to the art budget narrowed offerings to students. Valerio credits that class—and her teacher, Linda Hahn—for sparking her interest in drama.
“The first time I saw Abi on stage I knew she was supposed to be there,” said Valerio’s mother, Mary. “Just the stage presence she has—there was just something about her when she’s on stage.”
Throughout middle school she went to acting summer camps, such as Tomato Patch, and was involved in the chorus, plays and musicals all the while being heavily involved with Girl Scouts.
“I didn’t really get into Girl Scouts until I saw my younger sister, Aileen, get involved. Then, I was like, ‘Mom I want to do this,’” Valerio said.
That was in the third grade, and since then she has been awarded her Bronze and Silver Awards.
Her first two projects involved another passion of hers: caring for animals. She worked with her entire troop in the 6th grade during the Bronze Award at a pet shelter, cleaning and taking collections for the animals awaiting adoption. She completed her Silver Award by herself in the 7th and 8th grade at the Mercerville Animal Cat Hospital where she created “Kitty Kare Packages,” educated the community about strays, home care and how to help keep the population low. She even wrote and illustrated her own children’s book published online about cat adoption called “Furry Tales Come True.”
It was high school that turned her into an improv wizard. In 2013, she auditioned for Robbinsville High School’s improv troupe, which is part of the Fellowship of the Ravens, and made it onto the “A team”—quite impressive for a freshman.
From there, she performed on stage and worked behind the scenes through the fall and spring dramas and musicals. Valerio also participated in the Thespian Festivals, where she won an award at the state level this year. The Improv Team is relatively new, though, and this year was able to compete at the national level. Troupe advisor and Robbinsville High School teacher Alison Sussman runs the New Jersey Thespian Festival, and sits on the board where all schools with a drama department in New Jersey compete.
“She is just naturally funny, really good at improv,” Sussman said. “Abi has grown an enormous amount over the years I’ve known her…Her choices in improv now have become bigger and better. She’s not afraid…she chooses big things both vocally and physically on stage.”
This year, Valerio was thrown into the role of improv captain with a fellow troupe member, Mark Ciaola. Sussman said Valerio was nervous about the role, but that she filled it wonderfully.
“I always looked up to the graduating seniors above me,” Valerio said. “They certainly didn’t cradle me, they don’t cradle people. They helped me set in stone why I love improv, and when it was my turn to become captain I was terrified. But it worked out really well and I’m proud of us.”
The experience served her well this summer when she began to plan her classes at the library. Valerio took what she knew from her years performing at the high school, and applied them to her first classes. Her first sessions began at the end of May, with 10-20 students. She enlisted the help from her fellow improv troupe members and Sussman.
“Teens and preteens are afraid of embarrassing themselves and putting themselves out there, which is the total goal of improv, along with agreeing as a team and using ‘yes’ instead of ‘no,’” Valerio said. “If you’re disagreeable to people in real life, you’re not really going to go places, and this is what improv teaches you—such a basic life skill.”
By July, her classes were filled with a mix of returning students and some new faces. The sessions last an hour, and Valerio uses improv games to warm up her students the first few classes before getting them used to full-fledged scenes.
“It’s amazing watching them grow,” she said. “Some students I say now are better than me. I’m definitely their biggest fan.”
But it seems Valerio and crew have some fans themselves. The classes are filling up faster than Valerio imagined was possible.
“[Youth Services Librarian] Michelle Cromwell said this age is just impossible and no one will sign up, but Abi’s program is totally full,” Mary Valerio said. “Everyone is so impressed. It goes to show the need for these types of things.”
Part of the standards for the Gold Award is to make her project sustainable. Valerio plans on updating a website she created—improvisationcollaboration.weebly.com— of all of the upcoming plays, musicals, improv/acting classes, concerts and more in the Mercer County area. Sussman also plans on helping out the Improv Troupe and Fellowship of the Ravens through a monthly email discussing the latest classes, performances and awards from her students.
Although Valerio pours her heart into improv, she plans on pursuing another dream of hers in college.
“I plan on going into meteorology,” she said. “Either science or on-air. On-air sort of would be like performing, so I think I would love that.“
But one’s thing for sure, you’ll always catch Valerio on the stage somehow.
“She’ll go insane if she has no creative outlook,” Mary Valerio said.
For more information, go online to mcl.org/branches/robbr.html or call (609) 259-2150.
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Ellie Harris enjoys the spotlight while Richard Catalina looks on during the “Art of Improv” class at the Robbinsville library July 23, 2016. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.),
