Kids On Stage Curriculum Rehearsal and Performance classes (Ages 8-14)
(Fall, Winter, and Spring sessions)
We offer two levels of Rehearsal and Performance (R&P) classes—R&P Lab and R&P By Audition. Both are fully-produced shows directed by first-rate professionals. R&P Lab is for recent graduates of the Core Classes who are ready to apply their acting skills to a short fully-produced play for family and friends. R&P Lab does not require an audition, and all students are guaranteed a role. R&P By Audition is for advanced actors who are ready to audition for a part in a fully-produced large-scale show open to the public like last year's The Hobbit . They will put their acting experience to use in performances that are open to the public. Students in both types of R&P classes should be ready to commit to attending all classes and learning their lines outside of class. Students in R&P By Audition should be aware that it can be a major time commitment. In 2005-2006, we produced The Dream Thief by Pulitzer-Prize winning author Robert Schenkkan, The Hobbit , adapted from Tolkien's classic adventure story, and Tales of Trickery: A Trio of Comic Indonesian Folk Tales , a play from the other side of the world.
Current Offerings Core Classes (Ages 5-9)
(Fall and Spring sessions)
Core Acting Classes : These classes introduce young actors and actresses to the fundamentals of theater: imagination, character development, and story, as well as the creation of basic sets, props and costumes. They focus on bringing characters to life through creative movement, improvisation, and text. Using stories from many cultures, they will explore dramatic structure as they create their own piece for performance for family and friends. In 2005-2006, the students created and performed short plays based on stories about Hansel and Gretel, Beauty and the Beast, Mouse Deer, Anansi, “fractured fairy tales,” Mexican folk tales and ghost stories.
Core Creative Movement and Dance : A performer's ody is one of the most important tools she or he has! Creative Movement offers an introduction to a wide range of movement styles used on stage, including dance, mime, commedia dell'arte, and stage combat. Open to students of all skill levels. No experience necessary!
Current Offerings Performing arts camp
(Winter and Summer sessions)
Our summer performing arts camp is immensely popular. Under the direction of professional actors, dancers, and educators, students will be introduced to many aspects of theater production, including acting, playwriting, movement and stagecraft. Students let loose in dance classes as they explore styles from ballet to modern to hip-hop. To highlight all of their skills, students present a final showcase performance on a Main Street Theater stage. With three locations in 2006 (one in the Rice Village, one in the Museum District, and one in Meyerland), Main Street offered more summer options than ever before!
Our weekly Winter Performing Arts Camp is a “mini-camp” where kids get introduced to acting, dancing, maskmaking, puppetry, storytelling and stagecraft. Each week has a different theme!
Current Offerings Kids On Stage Musical
(Spring session)
Cast by audition, the KOS Musical is a fully-produced staging of a “school edition” musical. Les Misérables School Edition ® was the first Kids On Stage Musical, featuring 30 students in Spring 2006. High School Workshops
(Summer and Winter sessions)
Kids On Stage is finally catching up with its alumni! Actors never stop learning, and this is a chance for older students to sink their teeth into techniques of characterization, script analysis, and scene study. These classes will select and develop scenes and monologues for a final presentation. Satellite Classes
(Fall and Spring sessions) at Houston-area schools Audition coaching
These one-on-one sessions with theater professionals and teachers help students improve audition techniques, find appropriate material, and prepare for auditions for HSPVA, magnet schools, our own Rehearsal and Performance classes, and special programs.
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Mission
Designed to spark a lifelong appreciation of theater by encouraging young people to participate in all aspects of play production, KOS enables youth to develop their voices, bodies and imaginations; develop the skills needed to enjoy performing and develop self-confidence to explore their creative possibilities.
The value of performing arts in education lies in the skills needed for both: listening, communicating, discipline and imagination. The pleasure for the young participants lies in the response from an audience. By providing a strong curriculum, KOS reinforces the value of these skills in young people and strengthens their self-confidence by giving them a moment to shine in their community.
Values
- Welcome kids of all ages and all skill and experience levels
- Encourage the development of imagination and creativity in a non-competitive, constructive environment
- Nurture a love for theater and the performing arts so that students grow up not only to be artists but also lifelong theatergoers and arts patrons
- Introduce students to many aspects of theater production, including stagecraft, playwriting, movement, design, etc.
- Expand students' knowledge of theatrical traditions and stories from cultures around the world
- Reach out to underserved communities through satellite programs at Houston-area schools
- Provide affordable arts education with opportunities for need-based scholarships
- Provide work for teachers who are professional actors, dancers, and educators
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