Olney Theatre Center launches its new, much-anticipated summer theater training program, Olney Theatre Summer Institute (OTSI) for middle and high school students. OTSI is currently accepting applications through April 1st for the five week training program to be held July 9th through August 12th.
Olney Theatre Summer Institute is now accepting applications through April 1st. The tuition-based program will run July 9th through August 12th, with public performances on the Historic Stage.
"We are pleased to provide the region with a premiere and intensive young actor training program during the summer months,"Â says Olney Theatre Artistic Director Jim Petosa. "Our future participants will be uniquely positioned to reap future opportunities in their professional theater endeavors with institutions including Olney Theatre Center, National Players, and Boston University's School of Theatre."Â
OTSI will lead 40 students (rising 8th grade to incoming college freshmen) through a unique theatrical journey of the conceptualization, creation, rehearsal, and performance of an original musical theater piece, facilitated by a staff of professional teaching artists. OTSI will be a unique theater experience for students as it will focus on the individual growth of each student's artistic spirit and creativity while also teaching group interaction and problem-solving. This five-week summer theater collaboration will culminate with three public performances on Olney Theatre Center's Historic Stage.
Spearheading this new endeavor will be Eve Muson, the new Director of Olney Theatre Institute (Olney's educational outreach department). Muson currently serves as an Assistant Professor at Boston University, where she is an acclaimed director, playwright, and education administrator, and the former Director of Boston University's Summer Theatre Institute (a pre-college summer program for high school students). Petosa (also Director of the School of Theatre at Boston University) elaborates, "Eve has quite a long experience with theater education during her many years at Boston University and is just the right person to helm this new program."Â
Assisting Muson with the institute and comprising the team of theater professionals will be five other highly regarded instructors, currently working in their respective fields of expertise. Chris Oulette (Acting) previously worked at the Boston University Summer Theatre Institute in 2003, where he created
an original piece, incorporating slam poetry and musical theater. Oulette is an actor and writer, graduating from Boston University with a BFA in Acting and Playwriting. Michael Wells (Voice and Composition) is currently the composer-in-residence for the Mansfield Chamber Singers in Los Angeles and the resident sound designer and composer for Need Theater Company, a new Los Angeles-based Theater Company.
Wells has written over a dozen scores for plays in New York, Boston, DC, and Los Angeles and is also a freelance music consultant. Max Rosenak (Movement) graduated from Boston University, where he studied both Stanislavski-based acting, as well as a Grotowksi-based physical approach to acting. He was seen in Olney's 2005 Mainstage debut production of The Miracle Worker. Also rounding out the theatrical team are Carly Cioffi (Acting, Playwriting & Directing) and Russell Dunn (Playwriting & Directing, Sound Design). "Through the depth of our affiliations,"Â explains Petosa, "Olney is capable of delivering a first class program that is designed for talented and motivated young actors with an interest in musical theater, guided by a talented team of theater educators."Â
Because of the intensive nature of training each student will receive, OTSI is administering a highly selective admissions process. Although the program invites applicants of all skill and experience levels in theatrical arts, OTSI requires full participation and commitment of students looking to further their skills in the theater disciplines. Applications can be found at olneytheatre.org or by contacting Diana Fooksman at 301.924.4485 x 143. Letters of acceptance will be sent on a rolling basis and tuition will be requested at that time. -- www.olneytheatre.org
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