Orfeo Education and Outreach

Orfeo Group is very excited to offer its very first educational training program, ORFEO BASICS*, during the February 2010 school vacation week: Monday, February 15th - Friday, February 19th. The course will take place at the Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont Street, Boston from 9:50am - 3pm daily.

In our pre-professional theatre conservatory workshop, high school students aged 14 - 18 will work alongside Orfeo Group professionals to investigate a wide range of methods and styles including Stanislavski, Suzuki, and Commedia dell'Arte. The week of exploration will culminate in an early evening performance of selected scenes from Pierre Marivaux's THE ISLAND OF SLAVES at the Plaza Theatre on Friday, February 19th. Complementary tickets for Orfeo Group's production at 8pm for each student and a companion are included in the cost of tuition. *ORFEO BASICS Beginner Acting Students' Intensive Collaborative Sessions

View the Digital Sign Up Form (PDF) or Download and Print the Sign Up Form (PDF)

Joy Lamberton Lead Teaching Artist Joy Lamberton is a professional theatre teaching artist (Ed.M. Harvard GSE) and founder of Playhouse Education, Boston, MA. Joy was the 2008 recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Creative Teaching Partners Fellowship and is on the steering committee for the New England Consortium of Arts Education Professionals (NECAP). Joy has extensive training in classical theatre both on stage and as a teaching artist, having trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and as a founding company member of the Saratoga Shakespeare Company, Inc. Joy trained and taught with Kevin Coleman in the award-winning Education Program at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. Angie Jepson Movement/Suzuki Instructor Angie Jepson is an actress, teacher, and fight choreographer in the Boston area.  She received her MFA in Acting from Brandeis University in 2005. At Brandeis, Angie had extensive Suzuki training with Eric Hill, Adrianne Krstansky, and David Dalton. Since graduation from Brandeis, Angie has continued to work extensively in the Boston area - most recently playing multiple characters in Shipwrecked! at the Lyric Stage Company, and Honey in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with the the Publick Theatre. As a teacher, Angie has worked with students from middle school through to the college level. Angie is passionate about teaching Suzuki, as she feels it helps actors focus their energy, become more grounded and present in the moment, and it encourages and builds strength - physically, imaginatively, and emotionally. Students will use the Suzuki training for movement-based transitions during their workshop production of The Island of Slaves.  Risher Reddick Voice Instructor Risher Reddick is an active actor, director, producer and arts educator. He is a founding member of Orfeo Group, where his credits include The Complete WOWS(A), Look Back in Anger, Martha's (b)rainstorm, and Marisol. As a teaching artist, Risher has collaborated with the Boston Public Schools (including Boston Arts Academy), Brookline Public Schools, Montessori Schools, Belmont Day School, Fayerweather Street School, Actors' Shakespeare Project, Huntington Theatre, New Rep, Stoneham Theatre, Shakespeare Now! and The Strand Youth Theatre Project. Currently, Risher is the stage director for the PALS Children's Chorus and is an adjunct faculty member at UMASS Lowell. A graduate of the acting conservatory at Boston University, Risher has also trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and Shakespeare & Company, where he helped write the manual for their Middle school programs. Gabriel Kuttner Scene Study Instructor Gabriel Kuttner is a core member of Orfeo Group, where his credits include: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) and Look Back in Anger, which he directed. As a teacher, Gabriel has taught and directed all over New England including: Boston Arts Academy, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School, King George School and Academy at Swift River. He has worked extensively with troubled teens as a counselor and advocate and will be joining the Actors' Shakespeare Project - Incarcerated Youth at Play residency at the Elliot Boys Facility in February 2010. Gabriel is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Scholarships Available! Orfeo Group is proud to offer this intensive training opportunity to the next generation of theatre artists. We are confident that the caliber of instruction your student will receive in this program is both unique and affordable. Your student receives 25 hours of intense professional training for only $285. We did the math for you: that's a mere $11.40 per hour! In addition, we are offering two need-based scholarships to ensure that no eligible student misses out on this opportunity due to financial shortfall. Please inquire about a scholarship application if you think your student may qualify. Our Price: $285 Scholarship Price: FREE

Sample Class Schedule 9:50am doors open, participants arrive 10:00-10:10am Check In/Warm Up 10:10 - 11:00am Voice 11:00-11:15  Break 11:15-12:15pm  Suzuki 12:15 - 12:45pm Lunch 12:45-2:30pm Scene Study 2:30 - 3:00pm Scene Work Share   Class will vary day to day. This is a representation of what a typical day may look like.

View the Digital Sign Up Form (PDF) or Download and Print the Sign Up Form (PDF)