Alexis Dascoulias serves at Seacoast Repertory Theatre as the educational director, and the managing director. I'm sitting with her, watching her students wrap their rehearsal of the school edition of "Once On This Island," which will run Jan. 14-23.

"No matter how stressful my day is, no matter how much negativity piles up on me during the day, as long as I can make it to rehearsal, I know I'll be fine," she says.

And it's easy to see why. The evening might be bitter cold, but inside the theater we're somewhere in the Pacific, with palm trees and people dancing to bongo drums and belting out legendary songs with a passion and maturity that belie their tender years. It's inspiring, it's invigorating, and it's the second year SRT has placed a school edition in this slot; last year's "Les Miserables" was a huge success.

It's one of many shows coming to the Seacoast over the next couple of months that highlights the new talent in the theater community.

"Once On This Island" is not the only show this spring where teenagers are being called out. The Players' Ring is also dipping into the huge pool of talented youngsters in the area, with "Star Crossed," which runs Feb. 4-20. Everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet, but few know exactly why the Capulets and the Montagues were at war in the first place. Playwright S.A. Shipley is one of those few, and Billy Butler snatched up her story for Soul Soup productions to put onstage. The entire cast, with the exception of the Nurse, is made of up teens. "These kids are more talented than the generations before them," says Butler.

The New Hampshire Theatre Project is bringing back a show that was created here on the Seacoast. "Resurrection" is a one-woman performance that looks at the journey from darkness to light with both poignancy and humor. Written and performed by NHTP director Genevieve Aichele, it will be staged Feb. 4 -13 at the West End Studio Theater (WEST). Then they're going to bring Shakespeare back to us in a one-two punch: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" directed by Christy Cloutier-Holmes and performed by the Junior Youth Repertory company will play April 8-10. Following that, Aichele will direct the Senior Repertory Company's "Comedy of Errors" and "The Tempest," May 13-22. NHTP tends to focus on character development within fascinating tales, so this miniature Shakespeare Festival will be a treat to bring us into the summer season.

WEST is a theater shared by two performing arts organizations and the community. Pontine Theatre is the second company that calls WEST home, and on Jan. 28-30, they'll bring "The Life of James Mars: A Slave Born & Sold in Connecticut" to the stage, a thoroughly original production by the Puppetsweat Theater of New Haven, Ct., incorporating puppet-based performance with projected shadow, animation, music and live narration. Expect a dramatic and creative evening.

Locally written plays abound. In addition to Aichele's work, on March 17-27 my own "Dear Daddy, Love Cassie," about a young woman recovering from a suicide attempt, will play at WEST, and Gamaliel Theatre will be lighting up the Mill Pond Center for the Arts with "The Man Who Laughs," an original musical by Adi Rule and Chris Cote based on the Victor Hugo novel, April 8-16. With Sarah Duclos choreographing and Les Coates directing, it's bound to be a piece that pushes the boundaries. David Mauriello's "A Passage of Time" plays at the Ring Feb. 25-March 13. It's an original play that follows the relationship of two businessmen running a resort at the seacoast of Maine who must hide the actual nature of their relationship from their families.

Classics continue to draw seasoned performers and audiences as well. At the Players' Ring, original work shares the stage with "Rhubarb and Rose Honey," Jan. 14-30, is a variation of a Moli?re play, and "The Children's Hour," Feb. 4-20 is a Lillian Hellman classic. Moli?re, born in 1622, changed the face of the French comedy forever, and Lillian Hellman reminds one of Tennessee Williams, with a bit more humor, just as much alcohol, and maybe a little less closet homosexuality sewn into the text.

SRT will follow "Once On This Island" with "Mousetrap," directed by Bill Humphreys, Feb. 4-March 6. "Mousetrap is a great choice because of its history... that of the longest running show in the world, 56 years on the London stage. And, of course, Agatha Christie is the Grande Dame of mystery theatre." Humphreys says. Following that, will be the musical "Ragtime," set in New York circa 1910 and following the era's struggle with immigration, labor and race issues. "Ragtime" runs March 24-April 17.