InFOCUS Stage PDFs/InFocus/1516... · In Focus page 6 Volume 5 Issue 1 page 7 What’s Going On in...
Transcript of InFOCUS Stage PDFs/InFocus/1516... · In Focus page 6 Volume 5 Issue 1 page 7 What’s Going On in...
A Note from the Academy DIrectors
FYI...Your adventure awaits in our 2015-16 season!Save up to 50% over single ticket prices when you purchase a family package. Call (414) 267-2961 or visit www.FirstStage.org.
NEWS FROM THE ACADEMY • Volume 5 Issue 1 • Summer Academy 2015 at MYAC
...read more inside...
IN FOCUSis the newsletter of the
First Stage Theater Academy,published each session to
highlight the work of our staff and students.
Jennifer AdamsEditor
Patrick G.H. SchleyGraphic Design
Want to get moreinvolved at First Stage?Join the Green Room Society, our Volunteer Group! Contact Heather at (812) 201-4285 or [email protected] for info!
Summer Academy is an experience like no other! You are about to spend a session on your feet working with your peers and professional actors to learn all about theater, yourself, and building a strong community. Through our philosophy of teaching life skills through stage skills, our dynamic staff cultivates an environment where everyone achieves and believes in themselves and each other. Whether you want to sharpen your acting skills to be seen onstage, or just want a fun and creative outlet, we are ready to help you reach those goals.
YOU are what make First Stage so unique and we are here for you. Let us know how we can help make this the best summer of your life!
— Jennifer Adams and Katie Cummings
All photos byLindsey Abendschein
InFOCUS
Young Performer Audi-tion Appointments
now available!Young people ages 8-18 can audition for our 2015-16 season. Call (414) 267-2963 or visit FirstStage.org/auditions.
proud Cornerstonemember of
FIRST STAGETHEATER ACADEMYLife Skills Through Stage Skills
Every Summer Academy session culminates in a presentation of class work for family and friends. Reminders will be sent home prior to the presentation date.
The following classes will have presentations on the final day of class:• AM (morning gr. K5-2) = 11:30am-
12:00pm• PM (afternoon gr. K5-2) = 3:00-
3:30pm• LM (full-day gr. 1-2) = 3:00-3:30pm• OM (one-week gr. 3-4; end dates 6/19,
7/3, 7/17, 7/31) = 2:15-2:45pm
• OM (one-week gr. 3-4; end dates 6/26, 7/10, 7/24, 8/7) = 1:45-2:45pm
• TM (two-week gr. 3-4) = 1:45-2:45pm• DM (two-week gr. 5 & 6-7) =
2:00-3:00pm• DM (two-week gr. 7-8 & 8-12) =
3:15-4:15pm• HM (three-week gr. 5-6) =
3:15-4:15pm
FM (four-week gr. 6-12) presentations will be held on the final Thursday:• 6/15-7/10 = 7/9 from 2:30-4:00pm• 7/13-8/7 = 8/6 from 2:30-4:00pm
Don’t forget about final presentations!
In Focus
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Volume 5 Issue 1
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Story Drama: Story Drama is a student’s first introduction to theater through well-known books, movies, and TV shows. Using acting techniques and a shared vocabulary, we will learn about self, story, and community as the students view the world from the perspectives of multiple characters.
Playmakers: Playmakers uses the baseline of a popular theme to explore story structure. Developing their own characters and building the environment of the story, students will work in role to create a collaborative and one-of-a-kind plot.
What’s Going On in the Classrooms?
Amy Bahr
lead teachers
Brenna Kempf,Resident
Teaching Artist
K5-2ND GRADE STORY DRAMA & PLAYMAKERS
Musical Theater: The world of Musical Theater is vast—using shows from yesteryear to today, we will explore storytelling through dance, singing, acting, and movement. Students will perform in large and small groups as well as work on building character through song and dance.
Scene Study: Scene Study classes will focus on individual character development as well as working together in a scene to establish strong relationships with scene partners. We will explore these ideas through movement, creative storytelling, improvisation, and games!
Voice and Movement: Voice and Movement will teach students how to tell a story using only the tools within themselves. Students will use poetry, games, scenes, and exercises to work their physical and vocal muscles. Throughout the summer the students will work together to exercise their creativity and find confidence physically and vocally on and off the stage.
3RD-4TH GRADE ONE- AND TWO-WEEK SESSIONS
AlexandraBonesho,
Musical Theater
lead teachers
Maggie Bridges, Scene Study
Hayley Cotton, Voice &
Movement
AmandaSatchell,
Musical Theater
Acting Theory: “matters of the heart, matters of the mind” In Acting Theory we’ll learn basic human behavior and apply it to text: what a character wants and how they struggle to get it. We’ll dive into some social ticks we all know about but perhaps haven’t yet studied, and apply them to monologues and scenes.
Improvisation: There is no better way to describe the two week Improv class than by using this description created by the teachers in a game of Dr. Know-it-All… “Improv will give everyone an opportunity (banana!) to explore other skills and to experience new vistas in an extemporaneous manner.” Wait—what does that even mean? These skills include observation, team work, accepting and adding to offers, characterization, story building, and staying in the moment. Maybe your class will play this game too!
Musical Theater: The two-week Musical Theater experience offers a smorgasbord of styles, time periods, and themes in the huge world of musical theater. Students dance, sing, and act every day in class while absorbing the fundamental skills of performance. By the end of the session, the class will join together to showcase what they’ve learned to present a short excerpt from a classic show of their choice.
Shakespeare: In Shakespeare, students will follow the clues left by da Vinci that prove that so-called William Shakespeare never wrote a word, and was in fact illiterate... or…We will give the students the tools to “speak the speech” with confidence, and demystify the thought that his plays are somehow out of reach. Either way, there is much detective work in store!
5TH-12TH GRADE TWO-WEEK SESSIONS
James Boland, Improvisation
lead teachers
Matt Daniels,Improvisation
Angela Iannone, Acting Theory
Beth Lewinski, Improvisation
Kris Puddicombe, Improvisation
Paula Tillen,Musical Theater
Grace DeWolff, Acting Theory
James Fletcher, Shakespeare
SamanthaMontgomery
In Focus
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Volume 5 Issue 1
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What’s Going On in the Classrooms? (continued)
Acting Theory: In Acting Theory this summer, students will take an in-depth look at themselves and the human condition, using a wide variety of exercises, scenes, monologues, and texts. Students will explore and discover their individuality, embrace their imperfections as strengths, and create their own pieces of work based off of what’s important to them.
Improvisation: Through improv, young actors will understand how to build scenes, collaborate with friends, and make their own choices for their own successes. Games, classwork, independent workshops, and mutual respect will guide this course to a summer of fun and learning!
Musical Theater: This summer in Musical Theater, we will follow the S.T.A.R. anagram: Show us who you are; Theatre World/Our World; Always stay positive; Ready, set, show! In this class we will develop talent, confidence, and character as we combine song, dance, and acting as we work together to create a musical number for performance.
Shakespeare: In Shakespeare, students will learn to take ownership of their choices as they “re-hear” (rehearse) comic scenes or monologues from the great kings and queens of Shakespeare’s stories. Students will build a toolbox of skills in physical and verbal wordplay to apply to classical texts.
5TH-12TH GRADE THREE- AND FOUR-WEEK SESSIONS
Bill Jackson, Improvisation
lead teachers
Marcella Kearns, Shakespeare
Marvette Knight, Musical Theater
Josh Pohja,Acting Theory &
Shakespeare
Karl Iglesias, Acting Theory/
ResidentTeaching Artist
Colleen Schmitt, Musical Theater
Liza Basso,Musical Theater
Teaching Apprentices
Chris Gilbert, Musical Theater & Acting Theory
Kami Graham, Story Drama
AudraHandschke,
Improvisation & Story Drama
Max Bahneman, Acting Theory &
Shakespeare
Kiaran Hartnett, Playmakers & Shakespeare
Di’MonteHenning,
Acting Theory
Kavon Jones, Scene Study & Improvisation
Ashley Jordan, Shakespeare &
Playmakers
Justin Lee,Playmakers & Scene Study
KathrynHausman, Voice and Movement & Improvisation
LauraMesrobian,
Musical Theater & Voice and Movement
Lillian Schley, Playmakers
Amy Shu,Shakespeare &
Playmakers
Emilie Thomas, Improvisation & Musical Theater
You can read more about our faculty and staff onlineat www.FirstStage.org!FYI
In Focus
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Volume 5 Issue 1
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What’s Going On in the Classrooms? (continued)
TARZANBook by David Henry Hwang Music and Lyrics by Phil CollinsBased on the story Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Disney film Tarzan Performances July 10 & 11(Recommended for ages 5 and up)Washed up on the shores of West Africa, an infant boy is taken in and raised by gorillas who name him Tarzan. Apart from striving for acceptance from his ape father, Tarzan’s life is mostly monkey business until a human expedition treks into his tribe’s territory and he encounters creatures like himself for the first time. Tarzan struggles to navigate a jungle, thick with emotion as he discovers his animal upbringing clashing with his human instincts.
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAMBy William ShakespearePerformances July 24 & 25(Recommended for ages 8 and up)Fairies mix with mortals, a feuding king and queen unleash magical practical jokes on one another, spells yield improbable love affairs, and a band of comical tradesmen wander into an enchanted wood and are transformed in the most unlikely ways in Shakespeare’s most popular and enduring comedy. The language, poetry, and wit of Shakespeare shine as bright as the moon in this timeless classic.
ARGONAUTIKABy Mary ZimmermanPerformances August 7 & 8 (Recommended for ages 10 and up)Set sail with Jason and the Argonauts in this ancient tale of the quest for the Golden Fleece, an epic journey of love and loss, hubris and honor, unpredictability and adventure. Danger lurks at every turn as they encounter sea-monsters and water nymphs, wicked and savage kings and a city of women. But no danger proves as great as the overwhelming love of a teenaged sorceress named Medea.
COMPANY CLASSESCompany Classes are opportunities for high school students to work with professional directors for four weeks to broaden performance skills, deepen knowledge of theater, and produce a show. Students take on the additional challenge of both class work and rehearsal while serving as a role model of teamwork and positive energy for all students.
Chris Feiereisen, Director
Musical Company Class Directors
AmandaSatchell,
Musical Director
Matt Daniels, Director
Classical Company Class Directors
Matt Roth,AssistantDirector
Jennifer Adams, Director
Contemporary Company Class Directors
Ashlea Woodley,AssistantDirector
Laura Bolling, Office Assistant
Our administrative team
Mitch Bultman, Headmaster
Katie Cummings, AcademyDirector
SamanthaMontgomery, Headmaster
Jennifer Adams, AcademyDirector
Patrick Schley, AcademyServicesManager
Sarah Severson, Extended Care
Supervisor
Malkia Stampley, CommunityPartnership Coordinator
KC Rasch,Office Assistant
Contact the Academy Office at (414) 267-2970 [email protected] at any time with questions
about your student’s class!FYI
Check out our kid-to-kid cabaret fundraiser!Join us in supporting our students in their Kid-to-Kid endeavors! Kid-to-Kid is a student initiative to raise money for their peers who may not be able to afford classes at First Stage. First Stage prides itself at having never turned away a student due to financial concerns.
This summer, the teaching artists of the First Stage Academy are putting together a cabaret! Come for a night of singing, acting, dancing, improv and more!
Where: Milwaukee Youth Arts CenterWhen: Tuesday, July 21, 2015 @ 6:00pmCost: $5 suggested donation to Kid-to-Kid
Permission slips will be available for students who would like to stay at MYAC until the event. Questions? Contact the Academy office at [email protected].
W W W . F I R S T S T A G E . O R G
Family Series Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach
October 16 – November 15, 2015 A Charlie Brown Christmas
November 27, 2015 – January 3, 2016Holes
January 15 – February 14, 2016The Snow
February 26 – March 20, 2016Ella Enchanted
April 1 – May 1, 2016Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse
May 13 – June 12, 2016
First Steps Series Spookley the
Square PumpkinOctober 10 – November 1, 2015
Just a Little Critter Musical
February 13 – March 13, 2016
Young Company Series All’s Well That
Ends WellDecember 11 – 20, 2015
AntigoneApril 8 – 17, 2016
Family Packages to
t he 2015-16 season now available
*Choose 3+ plays and SAVE over regular
single ticket prices!