Highland County Arts Council Youth Theatre Workshop Set for April 22

The Highland County Arts Council is sponsoring another theatre workshop this month.  It’s coming up on Saturday, April 22.

Brit Chambers has more.  She is the Vice President of the Highland County Arts Council.

“We will be doing a Stage Presence Workshop for youth,” says Chambers.  “Youth of all ages are invited.  We will work on how your stage presence, how you’re using your body on stage, helps you to tell a story and also work on voice projection and changing your voice to get into character.”

This workshop is part of the Highland County Arts Council’s collaboration with the Wayne Theatre in Waynesboro.

“We wanted to have it right up against the John Hardy performance that we’re doing on April 15,” says Chambers.  “For those of you that were able to come out and see Mr. Hardy, he came and did A Christmas Carol.  He does it as one person, so he is able to use his stage presence and very minimal props to tell a whole story, with lots of characters, with just one person.  So, we knew that if kiddos came out to see the RATTLESNAKE performance on April 15, that they would get a glimpse of how important stage presence, voice projection, are and they would be interested in attending this workshop and learning how to do some of the same things.  So that they can really enhance their performance on stage as well.”

The Arts Council has another workshop planned for May.  A week-long theatre camp is planned for August that will feature a performance for the community.

“I think that working in the drama field at all, being on stage and learning stage presence, is definitely a precursor to being able to speak publicly, being able to know how to use your voice, whether that’s on the stage or you’re giving a speech for student council president or something,” says Chambers.  “It’s very important to know how to project yourself on stage.”

The Stage Presence Workshop will be held on Saturday, April 22, from 1 until 3pm at The Highland Center in Monterey.  The workshop is free.  Please register in advance.  Email britchambers@gmail.com or call 540-468-2474.

“I also wanted to mention that the Arts Council’s mission is to bring youth into the arts, that’s one of the tenets of our mission, and so we do have scholarships available on our website that you can get a scholarship if you want to go to camp for the summer,” says Chambers.  “If there’s an arts camp that you’re interested in, that’s something that we don’t provide here through the Arts Council.  Or if you are a college bound senior that’s going to major in the arts, we have a scholarship available for you as well.  So, we would love for people to take advantage of those.  I know that there are lots of camps in the valley for painting and some of the camps for drama that could further your skills.  We can help you guys pay for those and would love to sponsor a kiddo to go to camp this summer.”

For more information, visit www.highlandcountyartscouncil.org

The Highland County Arts Council is a supporter of Allegheny Mountain Radio.