Posted: September 6, 2023.
Act One and its instructors hope that everyone is having a safe and enjoyable first week back at school for the upcoming 2023/24 year. In the same light, with Act One’s classes scheduled to begin this coming Saturday, Sept 9th, we also want to keep all those interested in the school's programs, updated on current registration status and the school's plans for the upcoming Fall Term.
The topics below include both new announcements and some of the most common subject areas that we have been asked about over the past few weeks:
On-line registration for Act One’s 2023/24 Fall Term classes is now available. Classes begin Saturday, Sept 9/23. We can accept late registrations up until Thanksgiving week, as long as there is still space in the desired class.
For those considering classes for 2023/24, here are the start dates and current registration status (as of Sept 5/23) for each of our Fall classes (in order of when they begin):
A quick reminder that all previous students and/or Summer and March Break campers receive a 5% discount off class fees if continuing on this year.
You can find more detailed information on all classes on the school website. The on-line registration form can be accessed from here.
To help prospective students with advance planning, key registration, term and performance information/dates for the 2023/24 school year can be found here. Please note that these dates reflect our best planning given current circumstances. They are all subject to change, depending on future events.
Over the past few years, I have received numerous inquiries as to whether or not Act One can offer an adult-oriented Improvisation pogram. This year, working with Steve Hobbs, the school's long-time Improvisation instructor, we are happy to be able to offer TWO exciting options on Sunday evenings for 2023/24.
For the past few years, the Saturday morning 9:00-10:30am Theatre for Ages 10-11 class has proved very popular, to the point where for the past few years it has ended up being completely full. As of today, this is the case again this year. As a result of this and not wanting to prevent any other students in this age range from having a Saturday drama opportunity, I am happy to announce that Act One will be offering a second Theatre for Ages 10-11 class option. This one will run from 3:00-4:30pm on Saturdays and will offer the same class and performance experience of the morning option.
More information can be found on the school website on the Classes page.
Sadly, for 2023/34 we have had to say good-bye to two of Act One's instructors, Marissa Blagrove. Marissa, after teaching here for seven years, had the opportunity to accept a tremendous new career opportunity. After we unsuccessfully explored the possiblilty for her to still teach here, she has had to step away from Act One. While it is always sad when an instructor has to leave, we thank them for the passion and dedication they gave to all the students during their time here and hope that their time here contributed to their career goals. We wish Marissa the best for future success.
In her place, we are excited to welcome Alexandra Augustine to the teaching staff. I am excited for the new approaches and passion that Alexandra will bring to her classes. I believe they will provide valuable new perspectives on drama and acting for Act One students. You can find Alexandra’s bio on the school website, if you wish to learn more about her.
Almost all the 2022-23 year end show performance videos for the stage theatre, musical theatre and improvisation classes have been completed and posted to a private section of the school website. Emails providing the link to stream them weren sent to the families of all students in the relevant classes. If you do not recall seeing that e-mail, please check your junk mail folder and if not there, please contact the school and we would be happy to resend it. For anyone wishing to download a performance video for their own personal use, please contact the school so that I can send you the applicable access link.
The only exceptions are the following:
We hope all the campers who were able to attend one of the 2023 Theatre Summer camp’s four sessions enjoyed the experience and discovered some new things about themselves as performers. The videos from Session I have been posted to the school website in the Theatre Summer Camp section of the Student Gallery. Session II and III are completed but as mentioned above, due to the weekly upload limits on the school's Vimeo account, the earliest we will be able to post these is next week. Session IV should alos be completed by next week. Depending on file sizes, it will either be uploaded next week or the following. Whenever a session is uploaded, we will send a ntoification e-mail to all the families of the campers in the relevant session.
I hope the above information helps answer many of the common questions I have had over the past couple of weeks and keeps everyone updated with respect to Act One's current and planned future actions, as this Fall Term begins.
If anyone has any questions regarding this update or any other topic, please feel free to contact the school.
Sincerely,
Mark Nathanielsz
Owner/Artistic Director