Performing Arts - Theater
The following list is by no means inclusive of student opportunities in the Twin Cities area. If your student has participated in a program not mentioned here that you would like to recommend to others, please contact us.
Chanhassen Dinner Theatres – First Act Summer Camp
501 W. 78th Street
Chanhassen, MN 55317
(952) 934-1525
www.chanhassentheatres.com
Chanhassen Dinner Theatres offers week-long, half-day summer sessions for kids between the ages of 8 and 18. Morning and afternoon sessions are available for younger children (ages 8-12), with many choices in June, July and August. Afternoon sessions are available for teens, with some choices in June and July. Learn about acting, scenery, stage makeup, voice, movement, costumes, and auditioning.
See the website for more information or to request a brochure after February 1.
Children’s Theatre Company
2400 Third Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55404-3597
(612) 872-5118
www.childrenstheatre.org
Children’s Theatre Company offers a Theatre Arts Training Program (TAT) for students ages 8-18 to receive “extraordinary in-depth training that is not necessarily geared to train future actors, but to develop confident people who understand the power of working together to achieve success.” Each year, about 800 students take part in TAT.
Beginner classes are also offered starting at age 4. The new (2005-06) McGuire Education Center includes four new classrooms, a new dance studio and its own performance space. Some classes require auditions while others may be applied for online.
Guthrie Theater
818 South 2nd Street
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 377-2224
www.guthrietheater.org
The Guthrie Theater offers sampler classes for families that are typically 1-1/2 to 2 hours long and include such varied experiences as creative expression for preschoolers, African dance and drums for ages 2 and older, tap dance or jazz dance for 15 and older, stage combat or Shakespeare acting or playwriting for ages 17 and over. There are 8-week acting and musical theater classes available on Saturdays during the school year for high school students. Summer camps in beginning, intermediate, and advanced acting are held for students ages 7-10, 11-13, and 14-16. Check out "Learning Center" at the theater website.
The Guthrie offers one Shakespeare Classic day-time performance per year at a greatly reduced rate of $5 per ticket (limit 4 tickets per order). This is made possible by generous contributions to the Sheila and Kenneth Livingston Fund and is intended to bring the delight of Shakespeare to the attention of young people ages 8-15. For that reason, this performance is only for that age group with adult accompaniment. Check the Guthrie website in January or February for announcement of the spring event and call for tickets right away, as they disappear fast. There are also regular discount offerings for students ages 8 and up for other plays, sometimes even 50% off. Inquire at the box office for age appropriateness and discount availability. College students who are 17 and older are offered a student rate.
Minnesota Scholars of Distinction in Theater Arts
Grades 11-12
MN Scholars of Distinction in Theater Arts
MN Scholars of Distinction
The Minnesota Scholars of Distinction award is given to Minnesota high school students who complete required work in Minnesota’s standards, demonstrate mastery of complex subject matter and apply their knowledge and skills on challenging projects. The Scholar of Distinction award in Theater Arts is given to juniors and seniors who show extraordinary accomplishment in one or more of the following areas:
- acting
- playwriting
- directing
- design/technical theater (1 or 2 of the fields of scenic design, costumes, lights, or sound)
Students who wish to earn this award must:
- submit an application/registration form. This details the requirements for each of the five areas and asks the student to choose the area in which she will be demonstrating her accomplishment and to give a brief vision of the project idea. The student will also choose the month of March or April for presenting or performing theater work to qualified evaluators. In 2006-07, the deadline for submission of the application was December 1, 2006.
- complete the portfolio of artistic statement, resume, work samples, and letters of recommendation by the due date. (In 2006-07 this was February 2, 2007. Please check the website for current dates.)
- present the final product and go through an interview process by the final deadline. (In 2006-07 this was April 14, 2007.)
StageCoach Theatre Arts Schools
(952) 929-1991
www.stage-school.com
StageCoach Theatre Arts Schools offer fall, winter and spring sessions for ages 4-16 that meet once a week on Saturday or Sunday, depending on location. These sessions include classes in drama, singing and dance. Students are placed in “stages,” generally by age. Early Stages is available for ages 4-6 (normally through 1st grade), and includes three ½-hour classes per week. All other ages have three 1-hour classes per week. Sessions generally conclude with student performances for family and friends. Four locations are available: Deephaven Education Center in Minnetonka, Transfiguration School in Maplewood, Groves Academy in St. Louis Park and Concordia University in St. Paul.
Summer workshops are also offered by StageCoach. These week-long workshops are available at the same locations as above, and they concentrate on either production or technical aspects of theater.
Stages Theatre Company
1111 Mainstreet
Hopkins, MN 55343
(952) 979-1123
www.stagestheatre.org
Stages Theatre Company offers conservatory programs to provide young people ages 9-17 with theatre arts training. Instructors are among “the finest teaching artists in the Twin Cities area” and the flexible program of instruction is adjusted each year to meet the needs of the students. Class size is limited to allow for one-on-one time with the instructors. Specialty classes are also offered in various areas such as ballet, voice or stage combat.
Junior Conservatory, for ages 9-11, meets for three 6-week sessions during a year. Students may sign up for one or more sessions. Acting Conservatory for students ages 12-17 auditions for placement in one of three sections. Conservatory classes are held at the Hopkins Center for the Arts, with additional Acting Conservatory sessions at the FAIR School in Crystal.
A Student Perspective on Stages Theatre Company
By Katie, EPHS student
(reprinted from EPCGT NEWS, Oct. 2003)
Looking for acting classes and a great time too? A great option is Stages Theatre Company in Hopkins, Minnesota. I am starting my second year in their Acting Conservatory program. Conservatory is a wonderful experience for ages 12 and up.
To get in you will be asked to audition and perform a two-minute monologue. If you make it, you will be placed in one of 5 levels, depending on skill level and experience. While in conservatory you will learn a variety of skills such as character development, performing monologues, classical theater, ballet, and improvisation. Level 4 students even write, direct and act in their own play.
Students go to conservatory classes twice a week or more. The instructors always make class exciting using acting games and fun techniques. There are also opportunities for students to get involved in the plays at Stages, either as actors or as stage crew members. Kids run the lighting and the sound for the plays, and do the backstage crew work. Last year I ran sound for two of the plays, and was cast in another.
In addition to acting conservatory, Stages offers summer camps, classes and a junior conservatory for younger ages that does not require an audition. You will have a great time at Stages; there is so much more to theater than what meets the eye! (Katie will be appearing as Geraldine Pig in the upcoming production of Nancy Carlson’s “Witch Lady.”)
Youth Performance Company
610 W. 28th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55408
(612) 623-9080
www.youthperformanceco.com
Performances are held at:
Howard Conn Fine Arts Center
1900 Nicollet Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55403
The Youth Performance Company (YPC) was originally founded in 1989 through an alliance with Theatre in the Round Players, and became an independent nonprofit theatre company in 1993. ”The well defined elements of YPC include its distinctive empowerment principle and high standards of artistic excellence, which especially attracts artists in the distinct age range of 14-22.”
YPC offers Saturday classes for ages 5+, including classes for ages 13+ on auditioning, stage combat, group vocal performance and improvisation. They also offer an advanced acting course for students ages 11 and 12. Private coaching is offered on Tuesday and Thursdays for ages 10+ in areas of acting, voice and audition preparation.
Past productions of YPC include such performances as The “Phantom Tollbooth,”” Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,”” Number the Stars,”” Bridge to Terabithia,”” The Great Gilly Hopkins” and “Island of the Blue Dolphins."
Talking with Todd about Theater
(reprinted from EPCGT NEWS, Oct. 2003)Todd, 8th grader and participant in numerous theater shows, was kind enough to talk to us about his adventures in theater:
“I first decided to audition for a part in a show around the beginning of fifth grade, when I went to the auditions for ‘The Sound of Music’ with Eden Prairie Community Theatre. I had some training for musical theatre, with a program called ‘StageCoach’ (see article below) and some with Community Ed.
“I got the part of ‘Kurt’ in that (Community Theatre) show, and since then, I’ve been in ‘The Music Man’, ‘Camelot’ and currently ‘The Sound of Music’ at Chanhassen dinner theatre. I also performed at Stages, in ‘A Christmas Carol’ as Boy Scrooge and at CMS.
“After ‘The Sound of Music’ is over, I am going to be in ‘Nuncrackers’ on the Fireside stage at Chanhassen. My overall favorite role is probably when I was young King Arthur and Tom of Warwick in ‘Camelot.’ It was an awesome show, and I had a lot of time off stage, but my part was extremely important.
“In the last few years, I have had many classes in theatre, acting and dancing. This includes some private voice and dance, as well as the "Chan" camp at the dinner theatre and the Children’s Theatre camp, both for two years. I am currently in the prelude program at McPhail Center for Music.
”It’s very hard to get up in the morning for school after you’ve gone to bed at around midnight the night before because of the show. That’s probably the worst part about theatre. It’s also very hard to keep up with schoolwork and ‘showwork.’ All in all, though, it’s a fun and exciting experience. I really like how when you’re in a show, it’s like you’re just a huge family with everyone involved - even the audience. I can really be myself when I’m at the theatre, and that’s about the best part.”