*Prerequisite:  All students enrolled in this class must have some previous singing experience (e.g. school or church choir, music class, singing in musicals, etc...)

Explore storytelling through the magic of musical theater! 

Musical theater is a form of theatrical performance that involves acting, singing, and dancing. The story and emotional content of the musical are conveyed through music and movement.

Students enrolled in this Musical Theater Technique class will build skills in acting, singing, and dancing and learn how to fuse them together to create a strong musical theater performance. 

In this class students will focus on:

• acting fundamentals such as character creation, motivation, and believability
• interpretation of lyrics to build an understanding of the story being told
• vocal techniques to continue to develop healthy singing habits such as proper breath support, vocal pitch, and expanding their vocal range
• basic Broadway jazz dance styles
• the ability to work as an ensemble

Using scenes and songs from some of Broadway's most popular musicals (and are age appropriate), students will build their confidence and skill as young performers. Working together as an ensemble, students will present scenes and songs with choreography for the performance showcase that will take place on the final day of class.

All students who register for the class participate in every scene/song chosen for the performance showcase. Students will require practice time at home to continue work on any scenes and songs they're working on in class. Digital music tracks will be provided so that everyone is able to practice at home.

Who should take this class?

Whether you are a musical theater beginner, have some experience, or looking to brush up on your skills, this class is for you!

This class is a great stepping stone for our Musical Theater Summer Camp (Suessical Jr in summer 2024) and future musical mainstage productions.

Class location:

Honey Creek Community Baptist Church Hall

35512 Washington Ave, Honey Creek, WI 53138

Class Time:  5:30 - 7:30pm

Class Dates:  March 14, 21, 28  April 4, 11, 18, & 25

Final Dress Rehearsal and Performance will take place on the final day of class (April 25, 2024). More information regarding details for the final day will be shared a month prior.

Attendance throughout the seven weeks of class is essential for the continuity of the rehearsal and performance process. Please make plans accordingly to ensure your child attends every class. 

NOTE: Since we have students enrolled from multiple school districts, we do not include any sort of Spring Break time off from class.

Tuition for this class covers: royalty fees (if applicable), costume pieces (minus the base layer), and any set or props necessary for performance.

 Director/Instructor: Patti Punzi

Technical Director & Vocal Instructor: Peter Punzi

**WHEN REGISTRATION IS COMPLETE please check all email folders (including spam/promotions) for the confirmation email. 

In order to ensure you receive ALL future communications please add this email to your trusted sender list.**

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Important information regarding this class:

Students will be required to wear comfortable clothing that allows them to move easily since this class involves dance choreography. Clothing like yoga pants, sweatpants, athletic pants, t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc… are acceptable. Ladies, please no revealing garments.

Dressing in layers is always a good idea, especially in cooler weather. The space we use for classes can get warm once the temps go above 60 degrees so IF we have warmer weather please dress accordingly and appropriately.

Students will also be required to wear jazz dance sneakers OR tennis shoes/regular sneakers. Please, no slip-on tennis shoes (like Vans) as they do not provide proper foot support. If you already own regular jazz shoes, you may bring them to try out; however, our wood floor may be too slippery so bring along regular sneakers or jazz sneakers as a backup.

If you are in need of dance sneakers or dancewear, feel free to visit our page at Discount Dance Supply: https://www.discountdance.com/search/teacherid:140746?tp=140746

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COSTUME INFORMATION

Students in the Musical Theater Technique class will wear some sort of base costume for the performance showcase on the final day of class. This will be a simple base costume that will allow students to add costume accessories/pieces for the different scenes/songs they'll be performing.  Every student will be responsible for this base costume (shirt, pants, socks, shoes). Any additional costume pieces will be supplied by Wisconsin Theater Arts.

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“There are no small parts, only small actors”

(Konstantin Stanislaviski)

Stanislavski was the “father of modern acting”. He revolutionized the craft of acting. Not just for lead performers, but for the actors with small parts and for background actors and ensemble. Prior to Stanislavski, actors who were cast in small roles or in the ensemble often gave “smaller” performances. This means their acting lacked a sense of purpose. Their characters lacked depth and commitment and it was more like they were spectators versus performers.

Stanislavski found this unacceptable. When he arrived on the scene he expected his actors to truly engage in their roles with “equal commitment” regardless of the role size.

When Stanislavski’s company, the Moscow Art Theater, toured around the world, spectators immediately noticed the change he had made. Audiences now saw ALL the actors, even those with smaller roles or those in the ensemble, move with a sense of purpose and perform their characters with depth and truth. There was a full commitment by every actor on the stage to achieve their character’s objective no matter if they had hundreds of lines, a handful of lines, or none at all.

Here are Wisconsin Theater Arts, we follow this same philosophy. No matter the size of the role, we expect our actors, our performers to be true to their characters and create realistic representations on stage. Every single role in a play or musical has purpose otherwise it wouldn’t be there. We expect every cast member to have full commitment to their performance regardless of the size of the role they’ve been cast in. 

(Stanislavski info from: https://actingmagazine.com/2018/07/there-are-no-small-parts-only-small-actors-konstantin-stanislavski/)