Playwrights Theatre’s Creative Arts Academy
Spring Classes for Ages 4 through Adult
(Madison, NJ) Playwrights Theatre’s Creative Arts Academy spring classes for kids, teens and adults will begin in January/February 2008. All classes are held at Playwrights Theatre, 33 Green Village Road, Madison, NJ. To register visit www.ptnj.org or call 973-514-1787 X21.
Playwrights Theatre Creative Arts Academy classes are an opportunity for students at all levels of experience to bring their imaginations to life, while practicing basic performance and writing skills. Students work collaboratively with their peers creating characters and telling stories while building the confidence needed to enjoy creative freedom. Most classes conclude with a “sharing” of class work for family and friends.
Classes offered for Kids (Pre-K through 6th grade) include:
Pre-K & K, ages 4 & 5
Creative Play, Thursdays from 4-5:30pm, February 21 – May 8 (no class March 27 and April 24), $250 ($225 for returning students). Fun drama exercises, storytelling and other activities use body, voice and imagination to develop students' creative expression. Build self-esteem and communication skills. Registration deadline: February 14.
Grades 1 – 3
Playmakers, Saturdays from 10am-12pm, February 23 – May 17 (no class March 22, 29 and April 26), $275 ($250 for returning students). Theatre games, pantomime and improvisation provide exciting means for learning basic performance skills in movement, voice and imagination. An engaging and nurturing environment for children to create and express themselves. Registration deadline: February 15.
Musical Performance, Wednesdays, from 4:00-6:00pm, February 20 – May 28 (no class March 5, 26, April 16, 23 and May 14), $275 ($250 for returning students). Explore sound and movement through imaginative theatre games and exercises in an energized and encouraging environment. Registration deadline: February 13.
Grades 4 – 6
Musical Performance, Thursdays, from 4-6pm, February 21 – May 8 (no class March 27 and April 24), $275 ($250 for returning students). Build skills in using the "actor's instruments" in an energized and encouraging environment. While exploring sound and movement through singing, dancing and acting, students learn about breathing, rhythm, projection and timing. Registration deadline: February 14.
Acting Lab, Wednesdays, from 4-6pm, February 20 – May 7 (no class March 26 and April 23), $275 ($250 for returning students). Act, play and create in a supportive, process-oriented class with an emphasis on play building skills through improvisation, theatre exercises and group collaboration. Registration deadline: February 13
Playwriting, Thursdays, from 4-6pm, January 17 – February 21, $185 ($165 for returning students). Students explore their imaginations while learning the basic elements of playwriting, including developing characters, creating dialogue, building scenes and stories. Registration deadline: January 10.
Creative Dramatics – Home School Students (ages 6-9 and 10-13)
Creative Dramatics, Wednesdays, from 1:30-3:30pm, February 20 – May 28 (no class March 5, 26, April 16, 23 and May 14) $275 ($250 for returning students). Give your student an opportunity to build valuable public speaking and collaboration skills while participating in fun acting exercises and theatre games. In a nurturing environment, students practice decision-making, problem solving, and strengthen their leadership and listening as they work together towards a common goal. Registration deadline: February 13.
Grades 6 – 8
Youth Troupe, Mondays, from 7-9pm, January 7 – May (No class January 21, February 18 and April 21), $450 (no discounts available). A comprehensive theatre program for the experienced student. Working with other talented performers, students will build skills to prepare them for further work in the theatre, and have a chance to explore their own experiences and collaborate on a production to share their discoveries with an audience. Their work will premiere on the Playwrights Theatre stage. Admission to this class is by audition only. Application deadline: Friday, December 21. Auditions will be held by appointment on January 2 – 4, 2008. Prior experience at Playrights Theatre not necessary. We will consider applications from students with similar experience at other organizations. To receive an application, call the Education Department at 973-514-1787 X21. Previous involvement with a Troupe does not guarantee placement.
Playwrights Theatre offers a variety of classes for Teens (grades 7 – 9 and 10 – 12). Teens work collaboratively in a nurturing and stimulating classroom environment. Taught by professional teaching artists, each Creative Arts Academy class is designed to be taken multiple times as new skills are presented each semester. Most classes conclude with a “sharing” of class work for family and friends. Teen classes include:
Acting Workshop, Mondays, from 7-9pm, February 25 – May 12 (no class March 22 and April 21), $275 ($250 for returning students). Through exercises in voice, movement, and improvisation, students familiarize themselves with the fundamentals of acting. This class leads to further study in monologue and scene work. Registration deadline: February 18.
Acting for the Camera Master Class, Mondays, from 7-9pm, January 7 – February 11 (no class January 21), $150. Learn the elements of acting on camera! Students work on physical and vocal exercises to develop on-camera skills, as well as practice typical commercial and television techniques needed for further work on camera. Registration deadline: December 21.
For students of any age
Create-A-Class, for groups of 5 or more. We can design a theatrical class that is tailor made for your group. Call for more details.
Private Coaching. One-on-one or small group coaching sessions are possible for all courses of study. Call the Education Department for more details 973-514-1787 X21.
Playwrights Theatre’s Adult Classes are taught by professional instructors who are working actors, directors, writers and artistic directors. The intimate class sizes allow individuals to explore in a safe, non-judgmental environment with a plethora of individual attention given to each participant.
Adults interested in poetry can take the Poetry Workshop from co-instructors Penny Harter and William J. Higginson on Wednesdays from 7-9 pm, February 6 – March 12 (no class February 20) for $160. This workshop for beginning and experienced poets focuses on writing and sharing. Work with peers and instructors to polish your poems. Learn how and where to submit your work for publication and how to present it to an audience. To conclude the course, interested participants will give a public reading for family and friends. Co-instructors Penny Harter and William J. Higginson have published many books of poems, translations, and criticism. They have taught throughout the world and currently teach in schools through the New Jersey Writers Project.
The Improvisation Workshop taught by Jane Keitel will take place Tuesdays, February 5 – February 26 from 7-9 pm for $135. This class will introduce you to the fundamentals of improvisation─ acting and reacting in the moment and without a script. Designed for those newer to acting as well as experienced students who need a workout, this class will give you an opportunity to strengthen your creativity and intuition while honing character-building dialogue and performance skills. This fun and fast-paced workshop will develop acting tools you can apply to further work in improvisation or text-based scene study. Jane Keitel has degrees from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Montclair State University. Improv training at Chicago City Limits. Acting and music teacher for 15 years. Performed many roles on professional NJ stages, including productions of The Good German and Where the Sun Never Sets at Playwrights Theatre.
For those that have taken a playwriting class at Playwrights Theatre before, there is the Advanced Playwriting Workshop: A Structural Approach class, taught by Artistic Director, John Pietrowski, which will take place on Tuesdays from 7-10 pm, from February 5 – May 13, for $400. This will be a basic workshop class where students share ongoing works in a supportive environment. Enrollment is open only to those who have previously taken a class at Playwrights Theatre, and have either a work in progress, or a solid idea that will allow writing to proceed during the semester. Students will be expected to have something to share every other week, and are expected to attend on the weeks they are not sharing to assist the other writers with the progress of their work. John Pietrowski is the Artistic Director of Playwrights Theatre, where he has directed numerous world premiere productions of plays in his 15-year tenure. A winner of the Agnes E. Nixon playwriting award at Northwestern University for two of his plays, he has had readings and productions of plays at theatres in New Jersey and New York.
For adults interested in acting, Michael-David Gordon will teach an Acting and Performance Workshop on Tuesdays, 7-10pm, February 19 – June 10 (no class March 25 and April 22), tuition is $400. Students develop and refine acting skills such as expanding vocal and physical range, tools for releasing inhibitions, stage awareness, improvisation, character development, monologue work, and script analysis. These techniques will be applied through various performance material, advancing from basic storytelling to contemporary drama (Miller, Wasserstein, Simon, etc.) A director-led rehearsal process will prepare the actors for a final public presentation. Michael-David Gordon (Director, Actor, Singer) has been a working artist and educator for 20 years. His stage credits include: Freedom Train (National Tour); Play To Win (National Tour); The Beds Are Burning and Macbeth (Theater For The New City); Why Shakespeare? (Irondale Ensemble Project); The Book and Sunrise at Monticello (Playwrights Theatre).
The Writing Prose Narrative class will take place on Thursdays, from 12:30-2:30pm, from February 21 – March 20 for $160. Explore your experience and imagination through prose narrative forms: fiction, memoir, personal essay, and more! Emphasis will be on point of view, voice, dialogue, and creative revision. Through in-class writing assignments and short readings, you’ll begin to write the stories you have been carrying inside–or telling to your friends!
Practical Public Speaking will run on Thursdays from 7-9pm, from February 21 – May 8 (no class March 27 and April 24) and will be taught by Steven M. Hollow. The same techniques used to train actors will help participants feel more comfortable speaking in public or in front of any audience with a special emphasis on business presentations. Learn how to think on your feet, use humor appropriately and how to avoid common Power Point mistakes. Steven M. Hollow is a professional actor, director and writer who has coached many business professionals to be more successful speakers. In 2003, Mr. Hollow was named a Distinguished Teaching Artist by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and in 2004, he received the Governor’s Award for Arts Education.
Playwrights Theatre Creative Arts Academy teaches classes year-round for children, teens and adults. In addition to traditional enrollment where students take one session at a time, the Creative Arts Academy is offering a Creative Arts Academy Degree Program for children and teens only. The Degree Program is a complete Creative Education where students can matriculate and earn credits towards a Creative Arts Academy Degree. Summer Camp credits towards the Degree Program are available online at www.ptnj.org. Students will receive a complete creative education with a professional theatre that is nationally recognized for its artist and educational excellence. The Creative Arts Academy Degree Program assists in the artistic, academic and emotional development of its students.
The Creative Arts Academy is committed to nurturing independent thinking, artistic and personal development through the literary and performing arts. At the Creative Arts Academy, students are part of a community where self-expression and creativity thrive and every person is a valuable member of the whole. Playwrights Theatre’s Creative Arts Academy strives for artistic excellence while emphasizing the creative process, both of which are vital to the personal, social and academic evolution of students of all ages. Creative Arts Academy instructors are highly experienced professional artists who are perceptive and dynamic in the classroom. Creative Arts Academy teachers are committed to developing their own skills, as well as those of their students, and to refining their artistry through continued practice and education. For additional information or to register, visit www.ptnj.org or call (973) 514-1787, ext. 21.
About Playwrights Theatre:
Playwrights Theatre is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, professional (Actors’ Equity) theatre. A community of professional playwrights, theatre artists, and arts educators, Playwrights provides opportunities for writers to develop their works in a nurturing environment and connect with new audiences. Our New Play Development Program is a multi-step process through which playwrights, theatre artists, and audiences collaborate to bring selected texts from rough draft to finished production. Our Education Programs introduce students of all ages and backgrounds to the possibilities inherent in thinking and communicating creatively. Playwrights Theatre's New Jersey Writers Project provides hands-on workshops led by professional writers-in-residence to students in schools and community centers throughout the state reaching over 15,000 students annually. We place an equal emphasis on New Play Development and Educational activities, and encourage our community and audiences to participate fully in both.
We are honored that for the years 2007-2010 the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA) designated Playwrights Theatre as a Major Arts Institution. This means that the Council considers Playwrights Theatre to be “an anchor institution that contributes vitally to the quality of life in New Jersey” (along with Paper Mill Playhouse, George Street Playhouse, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and the McCarter Theatre Center).
The 2007/08 Main Stage season opened in October with FORUM (October 18-November 3), and is followed by Flying Crows adapted by James Glossman from the novel by Jim Lehrer (January 31-February 17, 2008), and the season concludes with David Wiltse’s Sedition (April 23-May 4).
Funding for Playwrights Theatre is made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the F.M. Kirby Foundation, Inc., The Prudential Foundation, the Victoria Foundation, the New Jersey Cultural Trust, Bank of America, Campbell Soup Company, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, The Turrell Fund, Atlantic Mutual Companies, Novartis, Pearsall Family Foundation, Pfizer, PSE&G, St. Paul Travers, Wyeth and many other corporations, foundations and individual contributors. FORUM is supported by grants from the Puffin Foundation, The Shubert Foundation and The Dramatist Guild Fund.
Playwrights Theatre is a member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, the National New Play Network, American Alliance for Theatre & Education, Theatre Communications Group and Madison Arts & Culture Alliance.
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