FLEMING ISLAND — If the summer heat is getting to you, the Island Theater has the solution: "Frozen." After all, what could be better than a singing snowman in the summertime? The family-friendly musical based on the Disney movie opened last weekend and has one final round of shows, closing on July 26. 

Tricia Williams founded the Island Theater in 2018 to make theater education accessible to all. It is a nonprofit with every show made possible by the community. Ticket sales go directly to costs of the show and interested community members can donate to the Island’s scholarship fund. This summer, 35 students were able to learn at the Island through scholarships.

The Reinhold Foundation, which supports nonprofit organizations in Clay County, has also been a generous and vital supporter of the Island Theater’s work.

“It brings the community together in a joint project, where the well-being of the whole is the most important thing, and they all get a feeling of accomplishment when they are finished with that," Williams said on live theater. "It’s great for them to find a second home, a second family where they can explore things and enjoy each other’s company.”

Williams is a unique community figure as she not only owns the Island Theater but also teaches at Fleming Island High. With the Island Theater located at 1860 Town Hall Circle, right across the street from the high school, Williams has built a partnership that allows drama students to learn all aspects of professional theater and excel in state and local competitions. All rehearsals, performances and competition preparations are sponsored by the Island.

“When students or adults do this, it engages their creative processes and has applications into real life as well,” Williams said. “Theater education is super important, whether they want to go into it as a professional, or whether they want to work on social skills, soft skills, reading comprehension, math skills, all of those developmental skills.”

The Island’s theater education program runs year-round, but offers camps for ages 5 to 18 in the summer. "Frozen," for example, is being taught in a summer theater workshop to 80 local children. These upcoming "Frozen" performances, however, are mainstage productions, meaning older, more experienced actors and actresses will be performing.

Sarah Mosier is one such actress, starring as Elsa as well as choreographing and assisting with musical direction. She has nearly two decades of theater experience and studied musical theater in college. 

“I moved to Jacksonville in 2024. A couple weeks after I moved here, I auditioned for Beauty and the Beast, and that is where I found my community," Mosier said. "I knew no one here except for my now-husband so I was completely, basically on my own island, and I just grew a family here.”

Mosier said she applauds how the Island promotes a well-rounded understanding of performing arts, where you can learn stage performance along with technical aspects of production. She mentored student choreographers in Hadestown last year and saw firsthand these young people honing their artistic and technical talents and becoming more confident.

There is one remaining Island Theater summer camp, Aladdin, which will begin July 27. The fall season of shows will begin in August with the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Cole Porter’s Anything Goes.

To buy tickets for "Frozen" and other upcoming shows, learn about auditioning or donate, visit theislandtheater.com. Event information is also posted on their Facebook page and on their Instagram, @theislandtheater.