Onstage or Offstage?
All are welcome here!
Theatermakers choose between two tracks:
Performing or Tech/Design.
Visit our About Page to learn more about who we are and what we do!
The Onstage Track:
Performing Emphasis
If you thrive under the spotlight, or simply cannot refrain from singing and dancing every chance you get, this program is for you!
Performers will rehearse full-time(six days a week) for two weeks, learning the music, staging, and the choreography of a full-length commercial Broadway musical.
In the third week, they move from the rehearsal room to the stage, where they will collaborate with the Design/Tech students and the Production Team to integrate the technical elements into the show: lights, sound, set, props, costumes, hair/make-up, music, etc.
The final weekend culminates in multiple public performances for a paying audience on the state-of-the-art stage at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.
While this is a competitive, pre-professional program geared towards young people with a keen interest in performing, we understand that not everyone has the privilege and/or access to theater training before working with us. We encourage anyone auditioning to trust that we don’t need to see a polished product. Talent will get you in the door, but we are also interested in your potential to grow and thrive.
The Offstage Track:
Tech/Design Emphasis
We get it, not everyone who loves theater wants to perform. If you’d rather build the costume than wear it, or if you can’t WAIT to nerd out on mixing the soundboard or running the light cues…WELCOME friends. If your happy place is organizing chaos and calling cues (hello future stage managers), we have a program for you.
Technical/Design students will work directly on mounting a full-scale musical under the mentorship of top industry professionals to hone their skills in lighting, audio/sound design, set design/construction, costume design/construction, stage management, and more!
Our tech/design students will spend three weeks fully immersed in the hands-on experience of working with state-of-the-art equipment at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts (seen in photo).
In the first week, they will get a broad overview of all the elements available to them when pursuing a life in theater tech or design. In other words, they will spend a lot of time bouncing between the theater, costume shop, scene shop, and even the rehearsal room. They’ll build props and costumes, assemble set pieces, hang lights, shadow stage management, and develop the skills necessary to build a show in a group format.
The second week, they have the option to choose a specific specialty, and they will focus their efforts on whatever element they feel most drawn to, under an assigned mentorship team. If they wish to remain broad in their focus, we will also support their right to not choose a specialty, and instead remain collaborative with multiple teams.
The third week is “all hands on deck”. A collaborative spirit is a must, as Tech/Design students will be working directly with our brilliant Design team, Creative team, and Production Team to build the show that our public audiences will see. The show you see in the final weekend will be run in part by our tech/design students, teaming up with their professional faculty mentors and the cast of performers, to experience what it feels like to tech and run a full-scale show with a live audience.