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Local Voices

The Performer's School announces Winter Classes/Workshops for Kindergarten through 12th grade


FLASTER AND FAUNTLEROY FOUNDERS OF THE PERFORMER’S SCHOOL ANNOUNCE WINTER 2014 Classes and Workshops Winter Session begins Jan. 13, 2014, Other classes scheduled for Spring and Three Summer Camps June, July, AugustClasses  held at Highwood Recreation Center
Classes for Kindergarten Through 12th Grades



(HIGHWOOD, IL) Nov. 21, 2013 – Critically acclaimed director-choreographer Stacey Flaster and vocal coach Elizabeth Fauntleroy (Lincolnshire) announce the Winter Session of Classes and Workshops at The Performer’s School, Chicagoland’s premier performing arts school on the North Shore. All classes and workshops  take place at the Highwood Recreation Center, 432 Green Bay Rd., Highwood, IL.  

Classes range from a weekly Monday  Kindergarten Class to classes for 1st through 12th Grade.
“We are pleased that the theater space created at the Highwood Recreation Center provides a home for our classes,” said Fauntleroy. “Stacey and I have more than 40 years of professional theater experience combined, and our passion is helping students be successful for auditions and on stage.”
The Performer's School just completed a successful first year of classes and workshops and is expanding to include classes for Kindergarten and 1st-4th graders in addition to their complete lineup of classes for 5th-12th graders.
The classes are the outgrowth of private coaching and highly successful classes that began in 2012 under the tutelage of Flaster and Fauntleroy.  “Students who have a dream of being successful in theater will gain confidence after learning tools and skills,” said Flaster. “We provide students with personalized coaching on songs and monologues to optimize their audition experiences. If it helps forge a path into a performing career, so much the better.”
Classes include: Acting: On Camera, Stage Acting, Acting for Musical Theatre, Improv                         Dance: Tap, Ballet, Musical Theatre Dance                         Tumbling/Acrobatics                                      There will also be a Saturday Guest Artist Series throughout the Winter with such working professionals as Beckie Menzie, Doug Peck, Rob Lindley, Sam Samuelson (agent at Stewart Talent), Bob Mason (Casting Director/Artistic Associate: Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Andy Hite (artistic director: Marriott Theatre) as well as the founders of The Performer's School, Stacey Flaster and Liz Fauntleroy. 
Spring Session and Summer Camps in June, July and August. Info coming soon.

For enrollment and further information, call (847) 528-9318 or contact by email at Staceydans@aol.com.  

LISTING INFORMATION:
THE PERFORMER’S SCHOOL

Highwood Recreation Center, 432 Green Bay Rd., Highwood, IL


For more info: Call: (847) 528-9318 or email: Stacey@theperformersschool.com
www.theperformersschool.com
left: Stacey Flaster, right: Liz Fauntleroy
Founders Bios:
STACEY FLASTER co-owner of Style Theatrical Casting, most recently directed and choreographed the critically acclaimed productions of Cabaret for Light Opera Works and A Class Act (Jeff Award Winner-Best Musical)for Porchlight Theatre.  As a director/choreographer, Flaster’s credits include GodspellLittle Shop of Horrors, The Wiz, Jesus Christ Superstar (Broadway World Award, Best Musical and Best Choreography), Footloose, Cats (Jeff Nomination, Best Choreography), A Wonderful Life and Nunset Boulevard for Theatre at the Center; Joseph…Dreamcoat and Route 66 for Paramount Theatre; Married Alive for Metropolis Performing Arts Center, and Carousel and The Secret Garden for Light Opera Works.  As choreographer: Joseph… Dreamcoat (Jeff Nomination, Best Choreography-Theatre at the Center), My Fair Lady, Carnival, Oklahoma! and Darling of the Day (Light Opera Works), Miss Saigon and Something’s Afoot (Drury Lane Oakbrook), Willy Wonka (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Marriott Theatre); I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Noble Fool Theatricals); The Spitfire Grill and Smoke on the Mountain (Provision Theatre); Master Harold…and the boys (Steppenwolf Theatre); and Madame X  (Alley Cat Productions).  Stacey worked on the film "The Dilemma" directed by Ron Howard and the television show Sirens.
ELIZABETH FAUNTLEROY has been teaching voice for over 15 years.  Her students have gone on to appear in productions at Drury Lane Oakbrook, Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Steppenwolf, Light Opera Works and Northlight.  As a performer, Ms. Fauntleroy’s career includes over 30 operas with The Lyric Opera of Chicago and other credits including:  Mame, Evita, Pirates of Penzance, Beauty and the Beast, My Emperor’s New Clothes, Phantom, Kismet, Phantom of the Country Palace, Nutcracker Now and The Sound of Music, all at The Marriott Theatre.  She has also performed extensively with Drury Lane Oakbrook and Chicago Opera Theater.  Elizabeth was the children’s musical director for the 2009 Chicago tour of the The Wizard of Oz, and helped cast the Chicago cast of the acclaimed TV series “The Glee Project.”

THE PERFORMER’S SCHOOL MISSION: To become the North Shore's premier performance studio for young people, specializing in improving their self-confidence, self-awareness, skills and creativity as they embark on their performing journey.


To see the complete class and workshop schedule please go to  http://www.theperformersschool.com/schedule.html



MEET OUR INSTRUCTORS

  • Adria Dawn has taught workshops or spoken at DePaul University, Loyola University, Columbia College Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Camp Hollywood in Portland, Oregon, Southside School, Champaign, IL, Chicago Acting in Film, The Chicago Artists Coalition, Deerfield High School, The Performer’s School, Gray Talent Group, and The Illinois High School Theatre Festival. She has taught her Advanced On-Camera Acting Bootcamp, which is a four-week intensive and includes creating original characters. Some career highlights include originating the role of April Tuna on the WB’s cult hit Popular (for which she was nominated as “Gutsiest Woman on Television” by Jane Magazine) as well as recurring roles on Nip/Tuck, NCIS, Seventh Heaven and Felicity. Other guest starring roles include My Name is Earl, Campus Ladies and Help Me Help You. She also stars in her own webseries, Dorkumentary, that she produces with her award-winning production company Tarleton/Dawn Productions and can be seen in many independent films. Adria is a faculty member at Columbia College Chicago.
  • Joe Dempsey is a Chicago actor who has performed at Goodman, Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Victory Gardens and many others. He is a former member of The Second City National Touring Company where he worked with Steve Carrell, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey and many others. He is also a member of the Neo-Futurists where he has written and performed for their long-running hit, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind.
  • Zachary L. Gray is thrilled to be a part of The Performer's School! Zach recently served as Associate Director/Choreographer for Chicago Shakespeare Theatre'sShrek the Musical. As a member of Actors' Equity, his Chicago credits includeMy One and Only, A Chorus Line (Mark), and The Music Man at Marriott Lincolnshire, The Snow Queen directed by Frank Galati at Victory Gardens, andThe Music Man (Tommy Djilas) at Light Opera Works. He has also performed in numerous TYA productions throughout the region, including How I Became a Pirate (Max), Schoolhouse Rock Live! (George), The Wizard of Oz (Tinman) andHigh School Musical (Zeke). Regional favorites: Joseph... (Benjamin) at Fireside Theatre, West Side Story (Baby John), The Producers (Carmen Ghia) at Timber Lake Playhouse, Meet Me in St. Louis (Lon) at Broadway Palm West, Seven Brides... (Frankincense) at The Little Theatre on the Square. NYC: Shine On!directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge. As a director/choreographer, he most recently helmed Route 66 at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. Previously in Chicago: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Director/Choreographer) at Big Noise Theatre. His choreography credits include: Legally Blonde at Northbrook Theatre, How to Succeed... at Big Noise Theatre, and West Side Story at Timber Lake Playhouse. Regionally, his work has been seen numerous times in Sullivan, IL at The Little Theatre on the Square and as far west as Broadway Palm West in Mesa, AZ.
  • George Keating is a busy member of Actors' Equity known for roles at Northlight, Marriott, Drury Lane, Fox Valley Rep, Court and Chicago Shakespeare. He received his B.F.A. in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. Upon graduating, he taught theatre to pre-school and school age children at Parkside Children's Services in Skokie. He is Core Faculty at the cherubs theatre program at Northwestern where has taught acting and voice and movement for the past 11 years. He has often been a guest artist, director and acting teacher at New Trier High School and Northlight Academy and DePaul University. Directing credits include productions adapted from Tolstoy, Strindberg, Giradoux, Marquez and Atwood. He originated the role of George inSchoolhouse Rock Live! and stopped counting at 2,000 performances in Chicago, cities from coast-to-coast and off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre. He can currently seen on stage in Godspell at Theatre at the Center in which he also served as Associate Director. Committed to Theatre for Young Audiences he has played, among others: The Cat in the Hat, The Scarecrow and Snoopy numerous times, and he will reprise his role as the Mouse King at the Marriott Theatre through this coming holiday season.
  • Rob Lindley is a Jeff Award-winning actor and After Dark Award-winning cabaret singer who has taught song interpretation and singing-as-acting workshops all over the country including Columbia College and at Northwestern University's National High School Institute Theatre Arts Division (Cherubs).
  • Jeremiah O'Connor, a Chicago native, began his dance training at age 8 at the Ruth Page Foundation School of Dance. As a child, he performed in local productions including the Ruth Page Nutcracker. His training continued at Interlochen Arts Academy, Centre de Danse Internationale de Rosella Hightower (Cannes, France) and The School of American Ballet (NYC). He subsequently danced for several ballet companies, mainly in the U.S., before retiring from the Joffrey Ballet in 2000. A student of artistic gymnastics as a boy, Jeremiah feels that gymnastics and acrobatics (more generally) are a great asset to any dancer or performing artist, building strength, agility and athleticism as well as developing strong determination and fearless movement. His acrobatic coaching crfedits include Billy Elliot The Musical, How to Train Your Dragon touring show and artists of the Midnight Circus. He has assited or directed programs for Lakeshore Academy of Artistic Gymnastics, MSA Circus Arts, The Actor's Gymn, Ruth Page School of Dance, IK Gymnastics and Degerberg Academy of Martial Arts. Jeremiah has a BFA in Dance from New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
  • Doug Peck is one of Chicago's most notable music directors, having won five Jeff Awards (Porgy and Bess, Caroline, or Change, Carousel, Fiorello!, Man of La Mancha) and worked at all of Chicago's best houses (Goodman, Court, Writers', Shakespeare, Marriott, Paramount, Oakbrook, Timeline, Northlight, Porchlight, Ravinia). He and husband Rob Lindley create yearly concerts for the Chicago Humanities Festival. Peck trained at Northwestern University, where he is on the faculty of the National High School Institute's popular summer program, Cherubs.
  • Matt Raftery has directed and/or choreographed at numerous theatres including, Marriott Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, Goodman Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Porchlight, Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre, Colony Theatre (Los Angeles), Illinois Theatre Center and Northwestern University. His work has been nominated for three Joseph Jefferson Awards. Matt has also performed on Broadway, in National Tours and in numerous regional productions.
  • Laura Savage, who is originally from Las Vegas, has been teaching various styles of dance to children for over 10 years. Along with teaching, she is a professional actress based out of Chicago, next to be seen in 9 to 5 (Marriott Theatre); Ermengarde/Dance Captain/Assistant Choreographer in Hello, Dolly! (Drury Lane); and Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street (Paramount Theatre). Laura has worked on such creative teams as Associate Choreographer to Rachel Rockwell for The Music Man and Oliver. Laura is a graduate of Viterbo University with a major in Musical Theatre and a minor in Dance. She is also a certified Yoga instructor.
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