I make no attempt to hide my love for live theatre. I’ve written about it on this blog before, about how special I think it is for children to experience it, and for families to enjoy it together.
I’m pleased to introduce The Academy for Musical Theatre as a blog advertiser this month!
New to the Ottawa scene, they certainly aren’t new to the area or theatre productions. They were formerly the Perth Academy of Musical Theatre and was founded in 1998 to offer high quality acting, musical and dance instruction to children aged 5 to 19. These lessons would culminate in a full Broadway production. There’s more to these workshops than just singing and dancing – they offer a chance to learn about the behind-the-scenes magic that is needed to produce these plays. Have a tech savvy child who might be interested in the sound effects of a show? Or a fashion lover excited about stage costumes? There’s something for everyone it seems (and I just described each of my children 😉
Just take a look at their performance offerings right now and you’ll get excited at the possibilities of your little actors and performers to be involved this summer with one of their workshops. There is a lot to choose from: Annie (ages 5-9), Pirates of Penzance (7-18), Fiddler on the Roof (8-14), and Rent (13-19). Doesn’t it sound like it would be so much fun?
Here’s a bit more about the Academy from their own information:
The Academy is a very special and unique community of non-judgmental and spirited individuals with positive attitudes, devoted to providing a fun and safe environment for experimenting artistically without fear of negative feedback. The Academy’s primary mandate is to build confidence, and while several alumni have gone on to successful careers in the performing arts, students find that the life skills they learn here are exceptionally valuable regardless of their chosen career. Students come from as far away as California, New York, Winnipeg, Germany and Mexico to attend their unique and acclaimed programs. Their family of young performers always have the time of their lives, discovering new abilities, gaining new confidence, and forging new friendships, and the performances always draw rave reviews from audiences (even from those without children in the production!)
After 17 years of running a successful business in Perth, and seeing over 3,000 students develop their theatrical skills, as well as their confidence, Heidi decided that it was time to share her passion and award-winning methods with a larger community, and she is excited to be opening a new branch in Ottawa at the Gladstone Theatre this summer.
-The Academy for Musical Theatre
Summer workshop registration has begun (you can register directly from the website). Each week in the summer offers a different age group and production.
Workshops Begin the week of July 14 and continue through the week of August 25.
What can your budding performers expect at one of the workshops? The Academy for Musical Theatre shares the following description which highlights that there is a role for everyone!
Each workshop includes training in triple threat skills provided by professionals in their art (dance, voice, acting), training in various technical aspects of musical theatre (sound/microphone use, lighting, props, costuming, make-up), a script, costumes (provided by their own costumer), and a chance to perform in a professionally staged production with high quality sound and light engineering. Each workshop participant is cast in a specific role, and has the opportunity to be featured, for has Heidi says, “everyone deserves a little time in the spotlight!”
For more information about The Academy for Musical Theatre, visit their website.
You can register your child for one of their summer workshops online as well!
They are on Facebook too!
*images posted with permission of The Academy for Musical Theatre
