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SSF
SCRANTON
SHAKESPEARE
FESTIVAL
YOUTH ENSEMBLE
education programs built for innovation, collaboration, and community.
Our
APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN THROUGH MARCH 17!
ABOUT OUR NEW YOUTH ENSEMBLE MODEL
“We are incredibly humbled by the outpour of interest in our educational programming. In three years, we have now expanded and grown to allow students of all walks of theatrical experience to join the Scranton Shakes Youth Ensemble family.
In 2024, we will also be adding two experiential pilot programs for student instrumentalists, designers, and technicians. Based on high demand we will also, for the first time, be offering a middle school exploratory drama program. We are very excited to be launching an updated iteration of our high school Youth Ensemble acting program, which will now focus on technique for a dedicated two week practice with all students admitted.
Now, students who cannot commit to the full production experience will be able to study their craft, showcase their talents, and join our community in a dedicated space. Those who are interested in expanding their knowledge through a full Shakespeare and/or musical theatre production can still do so, in an audition-only capacity.”
-Lizzie Newcomb Gumula
Director of Education
SPRING 2024 CLASSES
NEW!
Due to popular demand, Scranton Shakes will be offering our first "off-season" class! Join us for Intro to Meisner Acting Technique taught by Youth Ensemble Teaching Artist Jill Aebli. Explore how to connect with your scene partner through repetition, how to make strong choices based on your truth in the world of the scene, and how to work collaboratively with your scene partner, all while participating in team-building exercises and games.
This class gives the foundation of Meisner instruction with the goal of giving the actor tools to succeed in any audition, callback, or role!
Sign up now!
Ages: 14-18
Price: $300
Duration of Class: 8 weeks
Dates: Weekly March 11 - April 29
Time/Day: Selected dependent on student availability, 1 two hour session per week on a weekday evening.
Instructor: Jill Aebli
SUMMER 2024 OFFERINGS
NEW!
Due to popular demand, we are so excited to be launching an introductory experience to the Youth Ensemble program for middle school students ages 11-13!
NEW!
Audition for our new student orchestra program, an immersion program for intermediate high school musicians into the world of professional theatrical orchestrations.
NEW!
Gain hands-on experience in technical theatre while working under the guidance of our professional mainstage production team.
Join the daring, collaborative group of young artists to gain experience in musical theater, Shakespeare, and more in a professional theatrical environment.
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YOUTH ENSEMBLE HIGH SCHOOL PRODUCTIONS
We are so excited to announce our Youth Ensemble high school programming. The Player's Piece returns alongside our Shakespeare and musical productions: The Tempest by William Shakespeare and Into the Woods.
The Player's Piece is a collaborated showcase of musical group numbers, solos, instrumental performances, scenes, and monologues curated by students, directed by students, and performed by students. Now in its third year, students are encouraged and mentored through selecting content that will both push and energize them, working alongside our teaching artists to inspire confidence and create work to add to their portfolio.
Prospero the wizard calls forth a tempest to shipwreck a passing ship, setting forth waves of book magic and spirits, murderous revenge plots, familial trauma, and the dreams we all seek to come true. Dive into one of William Shakespeare’s most fascinating comedies, the journey of a bookish mother trapped on an island left to settle both her betrayal and forgiveness.
Explore the magic and dangers of the woods and woulds through musical theatre giant Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece Into the Woods. Through a sensational, moving, and epic score, join the elaborate cast of reimagined Brothers Grimm fairytale characters as their stories intertwine and wishes come true, but not for free.
The Player's Piece
The Tempest
by William Shakespeare
Into the Woods
Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim,
Book by James Lapine
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Applications are now open through March 17th, 2024!
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Enrolled participants will be completely immersed in the professional theatre scene from auditions all the way through to showcase performance.
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They'll begin to build first-hand knowledge of theatre etiquette and will gain the valuable experience of putting on a show in collaboration with industry professional theatre-makers.
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Participants will also have the opportunity to access masterclasses with our versatile, international company of professional main-stage performers.
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Students will collaborate with peers and teaching artists to produce "The Player’s Piece", an evening cabaret of selected songs, dances, monologues, and scenes that are curated, directed, and acted by students in the Youth Ensemble meant to promote students’ repertoires of performance and push their creative boundaries.
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They will also have the opportunity to grow an industry based network of their own.
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This year, we are excited to offer more opportunities for students interested in serving as production liaisons and assistants in design areas, pit orchestra, directing, and more.
Testimonials from our 2023 Youth Ensemble:
“It was easy to make friends who had similar interests, exposed me to a wide range of people from different walks of life, and helped me establish bonds with people I wouldn't have met otherwise."
“I have performed in a few different theater companies and ensembles over the years, and the Scranton Shakes Youth Ensemble has, by far, been the most supportive and accepting environment I have experienced. Never have I gone to a theater company and made so many friends so quickly. The people I met were so friendly and so welcoming and I will never forget how quickly I clicked with each person I met there."
“I really enjoyed working with my peers to make something of our own for The Player's Piece."
“I looked forward to every day at Shakes. Everyone, cast members and teaching artists alike, were so welcoming and warm. Truly an irreplaceable experience.”
The Art White Scholarship Fund
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Students applying for the high school Youth Ensemble program in financial need are welcome and encouraged to apply for the Art White Scholarship Fund, which helps cover Youth Ensemble tuition costs. The Art White Scholarship Fund is a need-based scholarship, not a merit scholarship. Consideration will be given to students based on need when filling out their application.
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Art White was an avid actor, singer, production committee member, and patron of the arts who lived in Glenburn with his family. A frequent performer of the community acting troupe the Abington Players, he was seen on the stage in several productions including The King & I, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Man Who Came to Dinner, See How They Run, and Never Too Late. The Players, active mainly in the 1960s-1970s, performed at the Waverly Community House. Art, a respected member of the community, enjoyed working with children in shows and would have loved the vibrancy the Scranton Shakespeare Festival brings to NEPA each summer. He especially would have loved the Youth Ensemble programming and its mission of bringing students together to create theatrical art.
Questions?
See our frequently asked questions section below. If your specific enquiry is not addressed, you can contact: LGumula@scrantonshakes.com
TUITION AND FURTHER INFORMATION
HISTORY OF OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING
Summer 2021 saw the launch of our Youth Ensemble, a sister company to our Main Stage theatre company, of 14-18 year olds artists. In 2021, we performed the magical Peter and the Starcatcher. In 2022, we nearly doubled in size and presented Heathers: Teen Edition, as well as our first student-produced cabaret, The Player’s Piece. 2023 saw the implementation of two full-length productions, and the Youth Ensemble’s first Shakespeare production of Twelfth Night, alongside The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. We have housed over 50 students from over a dozen NEPA school districts - and counting!
In Summer 2024, the Youth Ensemble is expanding to offer a number of programs for students of all interest levels, including middle school-aged students, high school designers and technicians, and high school instrumentalists.
