Steppin Up and Moving On

On Thursday, July 30th, the Studio students gave a fabulous performance to an enthusiastic audience of friends, family, New Rep staff, and even some Summer Studio alumni! As I watched the performance from the back row with Wendy, what struck me most was the growth and commitment I saw in each student's performance. One student confessed earlier in the week that she had never had a solo in a performance before -- ever! What a leap, in four short weeks, to command a stage in a solo piece and to do so convincingly. Ben, Chris, Wendy and I were very proud of all the students! Thanks to Rachael Donnelly, who instructed the group on make-up application, the students had wide-awake eyes and looked really good under the lights. I hear there are some great production photos taken by our own Todd Michael Hall, so stay tuned to the New Rep website....

It's been a while since my last post, so I also wanted to mention highlights of the Theatre Tastes programming that occurred in the last two weeks. Chris Webb gave an introduction to Viewpoints (the actor training program made popular by Tina Landau and Anne Bogart), in which the group explored the viewpoint of Tempo in depth. The group remarked on the wildly different experience of thinking of one's own body as elements of space and shape and tempo. It was inspiring to see the sense of release and depth of articulation this type of training brings to actors! Sign me up!

Speaking of inspiring, last week New Rep Artistic Director Kate Warner led an illuminating discussion about the work of a director. To have a director's work demystified was, in my opinion, important for young people who sometimes don't see themselves in any other role but that of performer. Kate also had some great answers for their most dreaded audition questions! Though there was a lot of laughter, and the group was drawn to Kate's welcoming presence, they all took away some good information about a life working in the theatre.

We're having a good last day together, giving audition tips, learning music and choreography "just for fun," and playing Theatre Sports-style acting games. I'll miss this bunch of enthusiastic students, but know they'll see future success!

Happy August!
Liz Fenstermaker, on behalf of the Summer Studio Team