Class taught by Denise Page & Ryan Van Buskirk

Kids: Beginners Acting

Ages 7-11

Fridays 4-5

Classes begin the week of 9/22 and end the week of 11/10

** No classes on 9/26 and 10/31

11/7 and 11/19 will be 2 hour classes from 3-5 pm ***

This kid’s acting class is going to cover A LOT in a short time! This is an ideal course for

the young student who is either completely new to the stage and acting, has never tried it but

wants to OR for those young actors who have performed here and there but want to elevate

their skills. All actors will get a chance to shine in our end of course show case! We will learn (a

review for some) the basics, stage direction, diction, emotions, body language, facial language.

We will cover audition prep, tactical approaches to conquering an audition as well as the

anxiousness and confidence issues that can sometimes plague both the inexperienced actor

and those who have been doing this a long time. (hint: most people don’t like auditions, but we

have some tools to share to help cope with that!) Ultimately, we will be focusing on a small

play/skit for presentation at the showcase, however we will also touch a little on improv and how

that relates to staying in character, being in the moment and exploring creativity while remaining

true to someone else’s written work and the vision of an overall production… “improv with

boundaries.” Lots to do and we can’t wait to get started!

Private voice lessons with Jennifer Almeida. Eight weeks; 30 min lessons. Please register here and Jennifer will contact you for scheduling

Jen is incredibly excited to be teaching voice at the Academy where she is proud to be the President of the board and The Director of Education. She has an extensive background in teaching and performance. Jen has directed musicals, plays, and concerts and has taught private voice and classroom music as well as classes in acting and musical theater.

As a singer and actor in the community, she recently performed as The Woman in Death of a Salesman in the black box at CCFTA, Maria in The Sound of Music, Justice in Rock of Ages, The Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, Laurey in Oklahoma, Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins, Sarah Brown in Guys & Dolls, and Sister Amnesia in Nunsense at the Academy of Performing Arts and with Falmouth Theater Guild as Marian and Chiara in The Bridges of Madison County. She performed the role of Emily Hobbs in Elf the Musical at Cotuit Center for the Arts along with her son, Lucas as Michael Hobbs.

Jen completed her undergraduate degree at the Hartt School and her graduate degree at the New England Conservatory where she was a member of the opera theater program. Jennifer has sung as a soloist with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra and was a regional semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She was a young artist with PORT (Opera Maine) and has performed in several seasons with them.