The Media Theatre's
Winter Semester of Acting Classes begin the weekend of January 6, 2018. Along
with the popular Children’s and Teen Acting Classes, a new “Tween” class will
join the curriculum. The Adult Class will continue, and the Dance Machine will
return.
Each semester brings
a fun educational atmosphere as students develop by working together and
creating within a group setting.
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| Students perform on The Media Theatre stage |
Classes are under the
supervision of Broadway World Award winning Artistic Director Jesse Cline, who
studied with the renowned Sanford Meisner. All classes at The Media Theatre
follow the Sanford Meisner Technique which basically states that 'acting is
living as truthfully as one can under an imaginary circumstance'. This means
that all actors should create without copying anyone else's performance or
trying to be who they are not. It's a confidence booster while raising
self-awareness.
The Acting Classes
focus solely on acting skills and stage presence while also featuring
improvisational theatre exercises for each age group.
Students from the acting
classes are given performance opportunities throughout the year at The Media
Theatre, playing roles in the Children's Series such as the upcoming "Princess
And The Pea" and, when applicable, the Broadway Series.
Roger Ricker, who has
been in over 100 productions at The Media Theatre and has worked with Artistic
Director Jesse Cline since 1991, will continue instructing the Level One
Children's Class on Saturday mornings at 9am for ages 4-8, and the Level Two
Children's Class on Tuesday afternoons at 4:30 for ages up to 11. He'll also
instruct the Teen Acting Class on Sunday evenings at 6pm, as well as the new
Tween Class on Wednesday afternoons.
Here, by start date,
are the classes for the Winter Semester:
The Level One
Children's Class starts Saturday January 6 at 9am, continuing for a total of
ten weeks. The weekly hour long class is perfect for ages 4 to 8, with a focus
on basic stage skills, working with other children, theatre games, and
developing good diction and interaction dynamics.
The Teen Class,
Sundays from 6-7:30pm, begins the new semester on January 7. The eight week
course features group improvisation, as the young actors create scenes
together, learning to react without over-analyzing and discovering how they
would react to certain situations relevant to their age group.
Tuesday, January 9,
is the start date for the Second Level Children’s Class which takes place from
4:30-5:30pm. For ages 8-10 (or for those a bit younger with more stage
experience) the class features skill building within fun group theatre
exercises. It’s a ten-week semester, an hour each week.
The Adult Acting
Class also starts up Tuesday January 9, meeting from 7:30-9pm each week for an
eight-week semester. Scene study is a big part of the class.
The new Tween Class,
for ages 11-12 (and specific 10 year olds with stage experience) starts
Wednesday January 10 for one hour each week. The ten-week course is strictly
for youth who are no longer little children but are not quite teenagers. The
class will focus on improvisation and building self-awareness as well as stage
presence.
The "Media
Theatre Dance Machine" starts up again Sunday January 21 meeting from 10am
to 11:30am each week through April 8 (no class on Easter Sunday). The
instructors are popular Philadelphia performers Ronnie Keller and Kimberly
Maxson, both who frequently appear on The Media Theatre stage. The class is suitable for ages 9 and up.
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| Ronnie Keller and Kim Maxson, Dance Machine instructors |
Ronnie Keller says,
"We are thrilled to be working together as a team to create a fun, safe,
and informative environment where students will learn while having a great
time."
"The dance class will focus on learning the
importance of strength, rhythm, musicality, and acting through dance,"
Kimberly Maxson added. "We will focus on body strengthening through proper
warm-ups, while introducing students to core ballet techniques, expanding their
musical theatre dance repertoire, and learning to sing as an ensemble while
retaining this new information."
To register for the
Acting Classes or "Dance Machine" call 610-891-0100 or visit
mediatheatre.org. All Media Theatre classes are $400 for the Winter Semester.
