Theater Master Class Series Announced

 Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater announces a Master Class series that will take place beginning in February for middle school, high school students and adults.   Additional Master Classes will also be announced shortly for the spring. 

The series begins with The Art of the Monologue on Saturday February 2 from 11am-2pm, with guest artist Emily Hope Webster.  This class will allow middle and high school students to explore opportunities for storytelling and character development in this classic theatrical device.  The class will cover aspects of the monologue from selection of the piece to analyzing text to performance.  Participants should prepare a classic or contemporary monologue to work with.  The cost of the master class is $50.

 Emily Hope Webster is a thirty-year veteran of the entertinament world, finding her earliest success in front of the camera.  As a child actress her television credits include a five year run on the FOX hit Small Wonder, starring roles in such films as Troop Beverly Hills and Caddie Woodlawn and the Emmy-award winning series Christy.  She also worked on the New York City stage at WPA and with playwright John Guare at Lincoln Center. 

The series will continue with Improv Bootcamp on Saturday February 16 and Sunday February 17 from 12-4pm.  This two day bootcamp is led by Sam Shaw, founder of the San Francisco Improv Festival.  A alumnus of Middletown High School, Wesleyan University, and Oddfellows Playhouse, Sam has a 25+ year career in improvisational theater, performing and leading dozens of comedy troupes. 

In this two day multi-generational improv boot camp, actors will throw the script out the window, set the improve games aside, and teach students how to improvise truthful scenes from their own experiences and to collaborate effectively as an ensemble.  Learn how to say “yes-and”, “play to the top of your intelligence” and most importantly, “play hard!”.   The cost of the workshop is $90, and it will end with a performance for friends and families at 7pm on Sunday February 17, joined by some of central CT and Wesleyan’s finest improv groups. 

Interested students should visit www.oddfellows.org to sign up for the Master Class.  The Master Classes are limited to 20 students.  Call 860-347-6143 to register or to find out more information.