Auditions are over and parts have been cast. Now many area kids are off to summer theater programs.

From Nyack to Clarkstown to Suffern and Sloatsburg, the summer theater circuit is a popular way many Ramapo Central school kids spend idle days away from the books — some are involved in multiple productions. This year’s most popular programs include The New Generation Theatre, Hudson Valley Teen Theatre and Suffern Clifford Theater Workshop, which will be presenting Les Miserables (School Edition), Avenue Q (School Edition) and Legally Blonde the Musical.

The New Generation Les Miz production has been highly anticipated, with the recent movie version of the popular Broadway musical. A summer theater intensive program for kids 8th grade through 12th, New Generation, directed by Sol Bloch and Justin Boccitto,  is a collaborative effort with the Helen Hayes Youth Theater in Nyack, where rehearsals are held. New Generation’s August performances take place at North Rockland High School in Thiells, NY.

New Generation has captured the high-end teen summer theater market in Rockland, with Sol Bloch’s popular productions drawing from a wide pool of Rockland theater students. For example, this summer’s Les Miserables auditions eventually hung out a closed to females because of the large number of interested students. The cost to participate is $390 for the summer program, which has its performances August 15 through August 17.

Hudson Valley Teen Summer Theatre is a smaller group that also draws students from throughout Rockland ages 13 to 20. Stacie Moye is the group’s director and choreographer, with Douglas Feig acting as musical director for this summer’s production of Avenue Q. At $375, the tuition cost is slightly less than New Generation.

Avenue Q will have performances August 9 through 11 at Clarkstown HS South.

Both HV Teen and New Generation are pay to play but also have very competitive audition processes open to students throughout Rockland.

The Suffern Clifford Theater Workshop is local and open to Ramapo Central middle and high school students. At only $50 per student, the summer program is a bargain. Rehearsals take place at the Clifford Theater in the Suffern Village Hall. Due to the large cast this year, the performance location is yet to be determined, but will be held on Friday and Saturday, August 2 and 3.

This year’s production is Legally Blonde the Musical, which is a popular show and drew large interest.

Chris Abato, along with his sister Jillian Munoz, oversees the summer workshop program. Although the Clifford draws only local middle and high school students, that is one of its strengths — it allows local theater students an opportunity to appear on stage.

The theater’s major weakness is that for the third year running the same leads have been cast by the Clifford team, which can be discouraging to some students. It gives the appearance that the director is risk averse when it comes to casting talent — or that the fix is in.

So, if you’re looking for some musical entertainment this summer, summer stock begins in early August featuring some of your favorite teens.