Stanley has a dream. Like many youngsters, he yearns for the limelight. Never mind that his sister, Hazel, doesn't care for his singing, even in the shower. Stanley's dilemma is more problematic than that.

For Stanley is a stinkbug. A stinkbug who wants more than just to emit noxious gas whilst buzzing round your bed in the night. He wants to be a singer. This is the stage set for STINK!, a musical to be produced by summer campers at A Place To Be this June. The two-week camp, held here in Middleburg, covers all aspects of production from acting and singing to set building, props and costume design. "This is our fifth one," says Tom Sweitzer, Certified Music Therapist and director of APTB.

Past performances have included Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and Best Friends, an original Sweitzer, himself a talented musician and writer. "We get a lot of returning kids and each year we get a new slew. We also have 15 to 20 mentors, so at the end of the day you have 65 to 70 people in camp every day. We try to give the kids the feeling of being in a real Broadway show."

The camp is full even before it is open with clients of the center and those seeking the spotlight; he dreams of adding a second session in future.

"We see an array of developmental, emotional, physical and mental disabilities, mixed with people who just want to perform," says Sweitzer, who founded the center in 2010. "What we love about A Place To Be, you'll have someone in a wheelchair right next to someone who wants to be on Broadway, and probably can be."

Locals well recognize Sweitzer's crazy curly hair, ready smile and the spring in his step when he teaches Zumba classes, or walks his dog (also called Hazel) around town. The past few years he's often seen with a slight, dark-haired boy called Kyle Boardman.

Boardman came to A Place To Be three years ago in trouble, as many kids do.

"I was bullied a lot and acted out. I got in trouble quite a bit and school finally said 'we've had enough,'" says Boardman. Sweitzer advocated for him to be able to come to A Place to Be for work/study three years ago. Now he leads their mentor program as well as works with clients, and has taught himself to play the piano. "I had to find something else that worked for me, and I did."

This year, he'll not only graduate from high school classes online, but debut the musical STINK! which he both wrote and composed. It's a fantastical story about following your heart in the face of adversity, played out among characters whose quirkiness would appeal to Roald Dahl. There's Dot, the ladybug waitress at the Walnut Café, a local venue featuring Carl the Cockroach, a sleazy lounge singer.

Though shy and halting when speaking about himself, Boardman comes alive as he camps it up at the piano, previewing Carl's comedic parody of Copa Cabana.

This is not only the story of Stanley Stinkbug, and Kyle Boardman, but of A Place To Be, finding a voice for kids facing adversity. Turning trouble into talent.

"When I first went to APTB I was so down and depressed about my disabilities," says Megan Jenkins, who plays Dot. Diagnosed at 6 with diabetes, celiac disease, thyroid and heart issues soon developed. "Being around people who have so much fun, being on stage and performing, I started thinking, 'what am I complaining about?'" "I definitely feel more confident," says the 14-year-old, who has performed at the White House. "With Tom this whole other part of me came out. He makes the light shine a little brighter."

FRIDAY, JUNE 26 AND SATURDAY, JUNE 27 AT 7:30; SUNDAY JUNE 28 AT 3:30.

THE HILL SCHOOL, MIDDLEBURG, ALL TICKETS $10.

DETAILS AT: http://www.aplacetobeva.org.