Fall 2008 courses available
By Cara Kelly
The Blowing Rock Stage Company’s Theater Education
and Outreach Program (TOPS) has announced its class schedule for
the fall semester of 2008.
Programs are available to students of all ages and skill levels,
and for Watauga County residents or people living in surrounding
areas.
Although there are obvious benefits to theater classes, such as
acting and learning stage directions, many other advantages are
not as well known, according to educational director Kim Cozort
Kay.
“We do teach other things besides theater, there are so many
wonderful things that you can learn in our classes,” Kay
said. “Ninety-five percent of our students are not going
to be actors and we are to going to encourage them because we
know it is not an easy life at all. Most of our students are going
to go on to be teachers and preachers and lawyers and a lot of
our classes can really help them to prepare for that.”
Kay is a firm believer that being on stage and learning how to
express oneself can aid in self-esteem, interview skills and public
speaking skills. Other benefits include increased fluency in reading,
creative writing, movement, problem solving, sequencing and listening
skills.
“Our students can use these skills while reading or giving
a presentation in their classroom, church or civic setting,”
Kay said.
Beginning acting classes for children and teens most often open
with theater games, which help instructors identify areas each
student needs to work on, in addition to meeting each other and
feeling comfortable in the space.
“We let the students take the lead so we can learn what to
focus on with them, so we can address those problems through the
theater games,” Kay said. “After that we get down to
the concept. Beginning acting is about learning the basic dynamics
of stage, how do you open your body up so you can be seen and
heard, how to read with more expression, how to punctuate for
better expression and sometimes with more advanced classes we
tackle musical skills.”
The Teen Actors Guild (TAG) Conservatory is geared towards students
who have a substantial amount of experience with the theater arts
and is a performance-based group.
“We do casting right away, meet for auditions, talent agencies;
so we bring a lot of guest artists for TAG,” Kay said.
With several performances scheduled for the fall, students have
the opportunity to meet professional actors and actresses from
New York and other larger areas who have extensive knowledge of
the industry.
Most classes are not performance based, but rather prepare students
to audition for productions sponsored by the Blowing Rock Stage
Company. A Christmas play is hosted every year, which serves as
a good start for those who want to use the skills they learned
in class in front of an audience.
Kay, who has been working with the educational department since
its inception in 2002, has seen that children with many different
personality types have prospered as a result of enrolling in classes.
“There are children who start out very shy; they are almost
in tears before going on (stage). Some of those students are now
in our teen acting guild,” Kay said. “It helps them
to get up on their feet in front of a small amount of people,
and because there is no performance there is no pressure.”
Classes begin Sept. 8 and run for six weeks. Students can register
until classes begin, yet class sizes are kept small, to “only
about 10 to 12 students in each class just so they can receive
individual attention.”
To register, call Kim Cozort Kay at (828) 295-9168 ext. 3 or at
kimbrsc@aol.com. All classes are held at the Mariam and Robert
Hayes Performing Arts Center on Jamie Fort Road off U.S. 321in
Blowing Rock.
All Classes Meet Once a Week
Begins Week of Sept. 8 - Concludes Week of Oct. 16
Monday
4-5 p.m. - Imagination Station (ongoing)
(Ages 5-7) A journey to unlock the most active imaginations;
using movement, song art and poetry.
Focus: Improvisation, creative play
5-6 p.m.- TOPs Tap! (ongoing)
(Ages 8-12) A classic tap class using songs from the American
Musical Theatre genre. Think Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers!
6-7 p.m. TOPs Tap! (ongoing)
(Ages 13-19) See description above
Tuesday
3:45-5 p.m. - My Pretend Place (ongoing)
(Ages 8-10) Every acting moment begins with a sense of space.
Join us for six weeks as we create characters that live on the
moon, in a magical forest or under the mushrooms! With students
deciding, anything can happen!
Focus: Storytelling, sequencing, sense of place
5-6:30 p.m.-Intermediate Acting* (ongoing)
(Ages 11-18) Intermediates are for students who have had prior
experience on stage. Students focus on writing original material,
scene study, monologues and dialect work.
Focus: Writing skills, ensemble, enunciation
6:30-8 p.m.-Adult Acting: (ongoing) (This class begins August
26)
(Ages 20 and up) - Designed to meet the needs of the adult student,
at any level of training and experience: Using scene study to
explore character choices dictated by the text. No experience
required
Focus: Scene structure, characterization
Wednesday
4:30-6:30 p.m. -TAG Conservatory* ( This Class runs through
December 17) (ongoing)
(Ages 13-18) - TAG stands for Teen Actors’ Guild. Conservatory
is for those who have had substantial stage experience and are
seriously focused on theatre arts. This is a performance based
group. By audition only
Focus: Communication of intentions, objectives, rehearsal and
performance standards
Thursday
4-5:30 p.m.- Beginning Acting (ongoing)
(Ages 11-18) - Little or no prior acting experience required.
Beginners focus on staging and teamwork skills.
Focus: improvisation, stage geography
4-5:30 p.m.-We Build Character!* (ongoing)
(Ages 11-18) - Beginners who have taken BRSC’s beginning
acting sessions are now ready to focus on character development.*
Focus: Characterization, Diction, Vocal Production
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