If you walk by the rehearsal hall by Victoria Hall this week, you’ll likely hear the sounds of singing.

The first group of performers for the 2016 summer season have arrived in Petrolia to prepare for the first show of the season – Scotland Sings. It opens in May.

Artistic Directors David Hogan and David Rogers spent the winter writing many of the shows and choosing the talent to fill the roles.

Rogers has been spending a lot of time writing his original work, Little Miss Country Fair, while Hogan has been coming up with the artistic vision for all of the shows.

And the pair work together on one of the most difficult aspects, finding just the right person for the roles available.

Hogan says they were eager to get just the right person to play alongside Michael Learned in Driving Miss Daisy. The four-time Emmy award winner will return to Petrolia to take on the lead role in the story about an elderly woman who forges a friendship with the driver her son hired for her.

Hogan says Learned, who is 5’8”, wanted her Hoke to be taller. During their casting sessions in January, Rogers picked Neville Edwards from a group of very talent actors auditioning for the role. “He was a perfect fit,” says Hogan adding “David Rogers is a master at casting. David got it right away.”

That talent was at work when selecting the cast for Scotland Sings.  It will be hosted by Brian McKay and star VPP favourites Jesse and Leah Grandmont as well as June Crowley – who has appeared in Starbright Christmas and Hollywood Sings and Zachary Read a classically trained baritone. The first performance of Scotland Sings is May 4.