Newman Theater Conservatory: Summer Camp for Thespians

[FULL STORY]

Newman’s Summer Theater Conservatory is in session. In this four-week program, students with a passion for theater can hone their talents under the guidance of dedicated professionals. Each day the talented students take classes in dancing, singing, and acting, as well as rehearsing for a theater recital and performance of a stage musical. At the end of the program, the troupe will put on a performance of Into the Woods Jr. in the School’s Henson Auditorium. Show times are set for June 29 and 30 at 7:00 p.m.

The program’s 29 students come from schools around the New Orleans area, including Jesuit, Country Day, Ecole Bilingue, Arden Cahill, Sacred Heart, McGehee, and Newman. The participating students are by no means strangers to theater, collectively, they have been in over 230 shows total.

Each morning the students gather in the Krohn Foyer before heading off to morning classes. The group splits into three sections for acting, vocal, and dance lessons. One group takes the stage in Henson Auditorium for acting lessons with Maggie Lee Hart, a member of Savannah’s The Collective Face, who has taught in the Conservatory for four summers. Another group takes vocal lessons with Anthony Sears, the School’s choral director. The third group travels to the dance studio to study dance with Jennifer Avery, once a ballerina with the Atlanta Ballet, who went on to perform all over the world with companies such as Broadway Asia and as a professional musical theatre actress.

After lunch, the whole group works on the upcoming stage production, Into the Woods Jr., directed by the CJ Harbison, who has directed many Newman Theater productions in addition to teaching English. Into the Woods Jr. is a fairytale mash-up with a star-studded cast of characters, including Cinderella, Jack (of the Beanstalk), Rapunzel (of the long hair), Little Red Riding Hood, a Witch, a Wolf, and many more. This musical, which opened on Broadway in 1987, is based on the book by James Lapine and features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

At the end of the month, the students’ hard work will pay off in the form of a recital and performances of the musical. On June 21 at 1:00 p.m., the students will perform a recital that will feature everything they have learned in the vocal, dance, and acting classes. On the evenings of June 29 and 30, the students will stage public performances of Into the Woods, Jr. Tickets are $5.00 and will be available at the door.