West Virginia Universitys Community Theatre Program is currently registering students, ages 5-17, for fall and spring classes at the Creative Arts Center.
The Community Theatre Program gives young people from the Morgantown area the opportunity to participate in all aspects of theatre and to gain self-confidence by performing on stage.
Registration for all classes will be held Sunday, Oct. 26, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., in the WVU Creative Arts Center main lobby (look for the balloons).
The fall 2003 classes includeThe Tempest: A Young Persons Production of the Famous Shakespeare Classic!for ages 9-14. In this class, students will be involved in a fully mounted production of ShakespearesThe Tempest,to be presented to family and friends. The young cast will enjoy acting out shipwrecks and wizardry, as well as monsters and other wonderful characters with sets and costumes. Costumes will be created for each character that the students will take them home with them after the show. There will also be a full slate of period-study workshops. The instructor for this course is Elizabeth Roberson, a student in the WVU Division of Theatre and Dance who has toured with the WVU Puppet Mobile, taught as a workshop leader in several drama summer camps, and toured in Germany as stage manager of last years WVU production ofThe Compleat Works of Willm Shkspr, (abridged).
Also scheduled for the fall and the spring isActing for Young Artistsfor ages 8-17. Brought back by popular demand, this class trains up-and-coming actors in improvisational exercises, masks and clown work, monologue and scene study, text analysis and audition preparation. Classes will be structured to help students develop confidence as well as performance and presentation skills. The class will culminate in a mini performance demonstrating the skills learned.Voice and Movement for Young Artistsis for ages 8-17. This training for up-and-coming actors includes improvisational exercises, speech and dialect work, exercises to free and relax the voice, vocal warm-up exercises and movement related to making the best of the speaking voice. These classes, held in the fall and spring, are also structured to help students develop confidence, performance and presentation skills.
Students in Session 1 (ages 8-12) of bothActing for Young ArtistsandVoice and Movement for Young Artistswill register on Oct. 26 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and students in Session 2 (ages 13-17) of those classes will register from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There will be a special bonus price for students who take bothActingandVoice and Movement.
Do you have a young child bursting with the desire to perform?Theatre Games for the Young Artistfor ages 5-7 is the perfect opportunity. This class will include theatre activities that enhance collaborative, communication and performance skills through acting, voice, improvisation and puppetry. The class will culminate in an event of group activities with family and friends led by the young artists.
A special day-long event scheduled for the spring isMatinee Madness: A Day Full of Magic, Makeup and Monologuesfor ages 8-12. Students in this class will spend an entire day learning magic tricks, designing and applying character makeup and pulling costume pieces from the Crazy Costume Carrel. All of this is in preparation for the rehearsal and performance of a brief monologue to share with family and friends at the end of the day. The day of Matinee Madness will be Saturday, February 28, 2004 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration for this class is by phone or mail only.
Fall classes begin Nov. 1 and will be held each Saturday during the month of November. Spring classes (except forMatinee Madness) begin Jan. 24 and will be held each Saturday through Feb. 28. Costs vary from $25 to $110 per child, depending on the class. Students who cannot register on Oct. 26 may register by calling the WVU Division of Theatre and Dance at (304) 293-4841 ext. 3120.