Yahoo Finance This Children’s Theatre program offers a safe space to help young actors grow
Not everyone can step into someone else’s shoes and spark magic on stage, but the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte has given thousands of children in Charlotte the opportunity to try.
The Children’s Theatre’s School of Theatre Training serves about 400 students each year at ImaginOn with 20-week programs based on the Stanislavski method of theater training, which involves teaching actors to understand the world that characters live in and insert themselves in that place.
Unlike other acting programs, there’s not a show at the end of each class, said Michelle Long, the Children’s Theatre’s director of education.
“We want to make sure that we’re meeting them where they are, and there’s growth as an individual,” Long said. “This is really about learning the craft of acting.”
There’s an acting track and a musical theater track in the program, and students can move between the two. Enrollment for the general public for these in-person classes starts June 22, and tuition for most classes is $400.
Open enrollment classes are 1 1/2 hours long, while the audition-only conservatory classes last three hours. Musical theater students in conservatory classes split their time between music and vocals, and dance.
At every age level, the classes vary so instructors meet students where they are in their development as actors. No more than 14 students are in a classroom, with options Monday through Thursday and on Saturday.
The basics of acting
Students don’t use scripts in the foundation classes because it becomes about memorizing and not really about listening or reacting or understanding your objectives and motivation, Long said.
”You have to create those moments for yourself,” she said. “And then when the script is set in front of you, you know it’s not about the lines. It’s about the moments in between.”
The classes are all about making sure there’s an entry point for students to learn about their body, voice and imagination. Students are focused on learning about objectives, how to handle the given circumstances of the moment and other fundamentals they’ll come back to in every theater situation.
Core classes focus on applying what students have learned in the foundation classes. There, they learn about auditioning, head shots and resumes and other topics related to the business of acting.
Because the advanced conservatory classes meet only once a week on Wednesday, those students can also take advantage of focus classes that are more specialized, with topics such as “Crush That Callback” and “Broadway Bound” to assist in future auditions.
In the spring, some of the School of Theatre Training’s students put their talents to work in OnStage, with a professional theater experience with seasoned directors and designers.
There, students put what they’ve learned in classroom into practice in a bridge between classroom and theater.
Students walk through the process of auditions and callbacks, learn how to talk to a stage manager and other theater professionals, and practice rehearsal etiquette and other work.
Glad to be working in person
Directors with the Children’s Theatre’s education team place students into one of four shows — two musicals and two non-musicals. During callbacks, directors make the final casting decisions before rehearsals begin.
Despite COVID-19, the Children’s Theatre team was still able to have OnStage productions this year, with face masks and social distancing.
“One of the things we learned is how important it is to be in person. Thank goodness we had Netflix and Hulu and whatever to keep us going during lockdown... but there is nothing like a live performance. The electricity in the room, the communal performance is something that you feel.”
Continuous learning
Long said one of the things the school wants to instill in young actors is a need for lifelong learning and growth, noting that even Broadway actors continue to train in dance and voice, along with acting lessons.
“While you are trying to improve in your craft, sometimes you need to go backward to go forward... You can’t stop training in the mix of this. We emphasize the process of the work and the craft of acting,” Long said.
Lily Mannon, 23, who grew up in South Charlotte and attended United Faith Christian Academy, took School of Theater Training classes from third grade through 12th grade and fell in love with the craft.
She went on to major in drama at NYU, with a minor in film, and ended up with college experiences she credits to that training that included a role in a Shakespeare production that toured in Shanghai, and a special lab class taught by actress and director Bryce Dallas Howard.
“Children’s Theatre started my passion and told me it’s OK to be an artist and to follow my dreams. You can tangibly be an artist and be successful at it,” Mannon said.
She said she was not the most talented right away and spent many years with parts like “tree No. 1.”
“But I showed up and I worked really hard, and eventually somewhere along the way I ended up making incredible relationships with all the staff there,” Mannon said. “So many of the teachers I had as a kid are now my own colleagues and my own friends.”
Now, Mannon has become a teacher herself at the Emerald School of Excellence in Charlotte for students in recovery from substance abuse and is working on a documentary.
“Children’s Theatre really prepared me. Steven (Levine, director of production) taught me that it’s OK to fail, and that’s a big part of the curriculum. He always just said try things and never be afraid to fail because it’s OK... and there’s actually magic in failure,” Mannon said. “That’s a beautiful lesson that allowed me to succeed at NYU and do so well there.”
Long echoed the sentiment.
“It really is understanding human nature and why we do what we do and what motivates us. That authenticity is what we’re really working on in our classes,” Long said. “It takes allowing a safe space to fail, and that’s what we’re always trying to do here.”
School of Theatre Training
Registration: Starts June 15 for donors, June 17 for students and subscribers and June 22 for the general public.
Cost: $400 for 20-week open enrollment classes; others vary. Payment plans and partial and full scholarships are available.
Details: https://ctcharlotte.org
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