TheatreWorks Will Offer Summer Programs For Kids And Teens

NEW MILFORD — The TheatreWorks Kids program and the TheatreWorks Stage 2 program for high school students are currently accepting applicants from young thespians for summer 2006.

TheatreWorks Kids, now in it tenth year, is under the direction of children’s theater instructor Beth Bonnabeau-Harding, and is open to 20 students entering grades 4 through 8 in the fall of 2006.

“The main theme of this year’s kids program is something we call ‘Broadway Our Way,”’ said TheatreWorks president Richard Pettibone. “It affords budding young performers the opportunity to work on parts that are right for them … they’ll play Annie or Liesl [roles for child actors}. It’s all about kids being kids on stage!”

TheatreWorks Kids will hold an orientation on Wednesday, June 28. Sessions will begin on Wednesday, July 5.

Children will learn about performance in theater by auditioning, rehearsing, and performing a play. Rehearsal and play production activities will be the order of the day for 13 three-hour sessions, Monday through Friday, from 9 am until noon, and will run through July 21.

The program will end with two matinee performances for the public on Saturday, July 22. Enrollment is $250 per child on a first come, first serve basis.

TheatreWorks Stage 2, now in its second year, will focus on advanced acting techniques and is open to teens entering high school in the fall of 2006.

Under the direction of actor and New Milford schoolteacher Keir Hansen, TheatreWorks Stage 2 will explore the craft of live theater by focusing on character development and scene study. Students will also be introduced to improvisation and focus skills as well as production study, and will work collectively on audition techniques as part of this four-week summer outing.

TheatreWorks Stage 2 will begin July 10 and is also limited to 20 young performers at $275 per student. The schedule will be 16 three-hour sessions Monday through Thursday, from 1 to 4 pm, beginning July 10, and will culminate with a matinee performance for the public on Saturday, August 5.

For more information and to register, visit TheatreWorks.US or call 860-350-6863. TheatreWorks, an award-winning, regional theatre company, is at 5 Brookside Avenue, just off Route 202.