Oddfellows Outdoor classes start September 8!

Photo by Bill De Kine of Children's Circus of Middletown 2019 performers anticipating social distancing, but clearly not understanding the importance of wearing masks that cover your mouth as well as your nose. 

This Fall Oddfellows Playhouse will be offering a 6 week series of classes outdoors on the Front Lawn of Middletown’s City Hall (between City Hall and deKoven Drive) as well as at the North Pavilion of Middletown’s Harbor Park. Classes and performance opportunities for ages three through twenty begin September 8 and run through October 17.

Social distance will be maintained throughout and masks will be required for all classes and programs.  Class size will be limited to 12 for most programsMost classes run 4:30 – 5:30 pm, though classes for teens run later. For details, and to register, go to www.oddfellows.org.

Stage One classes (ages 6 – 8) include “Out the Box” (a class in creative thinking) on Mondays with Lanea Sellem; “Circus I” Tuesdays with Maegan Fuller; “Intro to Acting” Wednesdays with Diamond Wynn; “Character Movement” Thursdays with Nicki LaPorte; and “Circrobatics I” on Saturdays, 11 – 11:50 am, with Megan Berritta.

Stage Two classes (ages 9 – 11) include “Improv for the Actor” on Mondays with Nicki LaPorte; “Circus II” Tuesdays with Allison McDermott; “Clowning and Physical Comedy” Wednesdays with Maegan Fuller; and “Hip Hop Dance” Thursdays with Felicia Goodwine.

The Thursday “Hip Hop Dance” class is open to ages 8 – 14.

Programs for older students include the “Junior Rep Acting and Poetry Project”, open to ages 11 – 14, which will meet Mondays, 4:30 – 6 pm under the direction of Laugh the Poet.

“The Teen Rep Company Riverside Performance Project”, open to ages 14 – 20, will create an original  piece exploring environmental justice to be performed outdoors at Harbor Park October 16 & 17. Rehearsals will be Tuesdays, 4:30 – 6:15 pm, with a dress rehearsal on Thursday, October 15.  The Project will be directed by Playhouse Artistic Director Dic Wheeler and new Program Manager Jacque Brown.

“Circophony Teen Circus” will offer fall outdoor circus training to ages 12 – 20, led by Allison McDermott. Circophony will meet at Harbor Park Wednesdays, 4:30 – 6:15 pm and is open to all teens regardless of circus experience.

Children ages 3 – 5 can enroll in “Circrobatics for Little Fellows”, a unique blend of circus, movement and acrobatics, on Saturdays, 10 – 10:45 am with Megan Berritta.

“Musical Mentoring”, which provides one-on-one music lessons with Wesleyan music students, will be offered virtually starting September 28. Sessions for ages 6 – 8 will be Wednesdays, for ages 9 – 11 Mondays, both 4:30 – 5:30 pm.

Tuition for the 6 week fall programs range from $80 - $150, and financial aid is available to any family that needs it. It is Playhouse policy never to turn anyone away because of inability to pay. 

Oddfellows’ Fall Outdoor Programs are made possible by generous support from the City of Middletown, as well as The Fund for Greater Hartford, Connecticut Office of the Arts, Middletown Commission on the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, Middletown Youth Services Bureau, Middlesex United Way, Community Foundation of Middlesex County, State of Connecticut Judicial Branch, The Stare Fund, Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation, Community Development Block Grant Program, Thomas J. Atkins Memorial Trust Fund, and many generous donors.

For more information, or to register, go to Oddfellows.org, email info@oddfellows.org, or call (860) 347-6143.