Breaking Records at Education @ Hartford Stage Summer Youth Studio and Looking Ahead Toward Fall

By Erin Frederick Rose, Education Enrollment and Marketing Coordinator

Education at Hartford Stage Summer Studio just wrapped up its biggest year to-date!  With nearly 300 students ages 3-17 participating in 10 different programs, the halls of Classical Magnet School were filled with excitement. Our youngest students (ages 3-5) explored storytelling, song and dance in Day Dreamers, while the 5-8 year-olds created their own original plays in both the Children’s Cast and Bookends programs.  The 9-15 year old participants of the booming Youth Ensemble program presented the Shakespearean spoof, Romeo and Winifred, and the classic Hollywood tale, Singin’ in the Rain, Jr.  A particular highlight of that program was the students’ trip into New York to see the 100th performance of Broadway’s Anastasia, which premiered at Hartford Stage in 2016.  Following the performance, they were able to participate in a talkback with director (and Hartford Stage artistic director) Darko Tresnjak, where they learned about the creation and rehearsal process of the show.  Our Teen Musical students presented Steven Schwartz’s hit musical Pippin at Hartford Stage.  Featuring a cast of twenty talented students from around the Greater Hartford area, the exciting, colorful show was a hit with our audiences.

All around, this record-breaking Summer Studio season will be a tough one to beat, but Fall Studio classes are now on sale, with even more fun programs for students. Little ones ages 3-5 are invited to explore imagination and storytelling with a parent or guardian in our popular Pretend Together program.  Students ages 5-8 can show off their inner Broadway baby in Musical Theatre Cabaret Jr., perform in our Mini-Production of Mirthful Myths, or experience the adventure of Creative Drama: Superheroes and Villains.  For ages 9 and up, students can fine-tune their performance skills with Young Actors’ Toolbox or Acting for the Camera, work on their playwriting skills with From the Page to the Stage, or strut their stuff onstage in a full-length play with the Production Class.  For those looking for more individualized instruction, Hartford Stage also offers private acting and voice coaching.

For more info on how your child can participate in Hartford Stage Studio classes, visit www.hartfordstage.org/education or call 860-520-7277.