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Registration is now open for Fall Classes at Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater located at 128 Washington Street in Middletown! Beginning September 17th, classes in theater, dance, circus, music and visual art will be offered for ages 3 - 20. Teenagers are invited to audition for our fall mainstage production.
Teen Repertory Company (ages 14 - 20) will hold auditions for Journey to the West on September 12th & 15th, from 6:30 - 9 pm. Teens are asked to pre-register for one of the two audition evenings, to arrive on time, and plan to stay for the entire time. Everyone who auditions and commits to the rehearsal and production schedule will be cast in the show. Regular rehearsals will be Mondays and Thursdays, 6 - 9 pm. Performances will be November 10th - 12th & 18th - 19th.
Circophony Teen Circus (ages 12 - 20) offers fall circus training in preparation for a winter mainstage production. Acro Focus! will be held on Tuesdays evenings 6:30 - 8:30pm and Juggling+ on Wednesday evenings 6:30 - 8:30pm, culminating in a Fall Circus Showcase on December 2nd. Students may register for one or both classes! No previous experience is required. Classes run September 20th - November 30th (10 weeks.)
For our youngest Oddfellows, Saturday Classes feature Circrobatics (ages 3 - 5 and 6 - 8) combining circus, acrobatics and creative movement. Other classes include Faerie Tale Theater (for ages 3 - 5) as well as Circro-Balance (ages 6 - 8) with a focus on stilting, unicycling, rolling globe, tight rope, and spool. Classes start September 17th and continue through November 19th (10 weeks.)
Musical Mentoring, which offers students one-on-one music lessons with Wesleyan Music students, will be held on Saturdays this fall for students ages 6 - 8 and 9 - 11. Classes will be held October 1st - November 19th (8 weeks.)
Technical Theater & Design (ages 14 - 20) will be held on Sundays, 4 - 6 pm, September 25th - October 30th (6 classes & Practicum).
This year, the Fall after-school program will be split into two 6-week sessions. Session one runs September 19th - October 27th, culminating in a Share Day on Friday, October 28th. Session two runs October 31st - December 8th, with Share Day on Saturday, December 10th.
Stage One classes for ages 6 - 8 include Circus I, Visual Expressions, Creative Movement, Fairy Tale Theater, and Hip Hop Dance, Musical Theater (ages 6 - 11).
Stage Two classes for ages 9 - 11 include Circus II, Whole Body Acting, Culture Tuesdays, Into the Story, Theater Improv, Watercolor Painting, Afro-Caribbean Dance, Musical Theater (ages 6 - 11,) Hip Hop Dance (ages 9-14,) and a Mini Production of James and the Giant Peach (ages 9 - 14.)
Stage Three classes for ages 12 - 14 include Clowning and Physical Comedy, Scene Study, and Hip Hop Dance (ages 9 - 14,) Musical Theater, Advanced Acting: Michael Chekhov Technique, and a Mini-Production of James and the Giant Peach.
Most after-school classes run from 4:45 - 5:45 pm, though the Stage Three classes and James and the Giant Peach Mini-Production run a bit longer. Middletown Public School students may complement their class experience with Oddbridge, an extended day program which provides transport from Middletown schools to the Playhouse, a snack, and supervised arts activities, games and homework help before classes start. This year Oddbridge will extend throughout the school year, providing special programs and field trips on early dismissal days or days when regular Oddfellows’ classes are not in session.
For more details on times, tuition and class descriptions, please go to www.oddfellows.org. If you have specific questions, email info@oddfellows.org or call (860) 347-6143. Financial Aid is available for all programs. It is Playhouse policy that the arts should be available to every young person regardless of ability to pay - no one is turned away for lack of funds.
Oddfellows Playhouse, founded in 1975, is Connecticut’s oldest and largest performing arts program for young people. Oddfellows programs are made possible with support from the Middletown Commission on the Arts; Connecticut Office of the Arts/DECD; City of Middletown; The Fund for Greater Hartford; American Savings Foundation; State of Connecticut Judicial Branch (Youth Violence Prevention); Middletown Youth Services Bureau; Community Foundation of Middlesex County; Middletown Health Department; Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation; Thomas J. Atkins Memorial Trust Fund; Middlesex United Way; CHEFA Cultural Relief Grant; New England Foundation for the Arts/New England Arts Resilience Fund; George & Grace Long Foundation; and many generous individual donors.
Photo attached by Bill De Kine of Teen Repertory Company 2021 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream
