Author Archives: lsegel

Another in our series of Workshops on Theatre Skills this summer:  Speaking in Dialects, presented by Adam Schuler.  On Tuesday 21 July 2015, starting at 7:30 PM.

Adam Schuler is the director of our upcoming production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.  This show is done in the traditional style of the British Musical Hall, and it stages the last unfinished novel of the great Victorian era writer Charles Dickens.  So various forms of English accents will be used in the show.  If you plan to audition for the show, this will help you with an important skill.  Or if you simply want to sound so cultured to American ears, this workshop will be a great deal of fun!

There is a nominal fee of $5 per person for each workshop, payable at the door with cash or check.

The third in our series of Workshops on Theatre Skills is on How to Prepare for a Musical Theatre Audition.  It is on Tuesday 14 July 2o15, starting at 7:30 PM.

There are two presenters.  Adam Schuler will focus on the Acting portion of the audition.  Kathleen Tringale will focus on the Dancing portion of the audition.  We expect this workshop to be full of tips and strategies useful to all of us, since we all must face auditions, for both plays and musicals.

Adam Schuler is the director of our upcoming production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.  He is also presenting a workshop on Tuesday 21 July on Dialects, which is an important aspect of Drood.

Kathleen Tringale is the choreographer for multiple shows in our upcoming 2015-16 season.  She is also teaching workshops this summer on Tap Dancing.

There is a nominal $5 fee per person for all the workshops, payable with cash or check at the door.

As part of our series of workshops on Theatre Skills, we will present one or more workshops on Dancing, presented by Kathleen Tringale.

The first workshop will be on Thursday 16 July 2015, starting at 7:30 PM.  It is designed for Beginner Tap Dancers.  The subject of the workshop is “Tackle That Temptation With a Time Step”, which is the title of one of the tap dance numbers in Nunsense that we will present later this season.  You do not have to bring tap shoes, but you may do so if you own them.

The second workshop that was tentatively scheduled for Sunday 19 July, starting at 3:00 PM, called “Tap Dancing Continued”, HAS BEEN CANCELLED. 

We are instead cooking up a plan for one or two more workshops on Basic Dance Steps and Terminology for Musical Theatre.  The objective is to give the typical musical theatre actor some basic dance knowledge before going to an audition or to the dance rehearsals for a show.  What is the choreographer talking about when she says “do a jazz square” or a “grapevine”?  Watch this space for further developments about the upcoming dance workshops.

Kathleen Tringale is our choreographer for multiple shows in the 2015-16 season.  Learning the basics of tap will prepare you for Nunsense auditions, or it can just be a fun and useful skill!

For all the Theatre Skills workshops, we are charging a nominal fee of $5, to be paid at the door with cash or check.  Contact us at TCSaugus@gmail.com if you have any questions about the contents of any of the workshops.

Theatre Company of Saugus presents its first summer 2015 workshop on Theatre Skills.  This workshop is a reprise of one of our most popular workshops from last summer, called Where the Points Don’t Matter: The Ins and Outs of Improv Comedy, and it is led by Britt Mitchell.  The workshop will be held on Tuesday 7 July 2015, starting at 7:30 PM.  The location is the East Saugus Methodist Church at 85 Chestnut Street / Saugus, Massachusetts 01906  (see our Directions page).

When it comes to improvisation, people generally think that you have to be funny in order to do it.  In fact, almost anyone can do improv!  Improv is in your blood and you don’t even know it yet… yeah, I’m talking to you!  Improvisational comedy is all made up at the top of your head, as seen in the famous TV show Whose Line is it Anyway.  In this workshop, you will be fully immersed in the basics of improv. You will learn improv warm ups, short-form games, and the basics of successful scene work.  Be prepared to learn a whole new side of yourself and realize that improv isn’t about jokes and plaid shirts.  Improvisation is a big skill to have in theatre, business, and in life in general.  You will leave the workshop laughing and with a whole new perspective on live theatre.

The instructor of the workshop is Britt Mitchell.  Britt has over a decade of improv and comedy experience under her belt.  She has been performing improv since she was in high school.  She is an alumnus of Saugus High School’s troop Needs Improvment and Salem State University’s troop Grandma’s Third Leg. Britt has been a player in ImprovBoston’s (IB) house troop The Family Show for over two years.  She has also been in many IB showcase shows such as The Babysitters Club Super Special Show, An Improvised People’s History, and IB Stein’s Goosebumps. Britt has performed in the annual Del Close Marathon in New York City, Improv on the Bricks/The Griffin Theatre in Salem, and at Stage 773 in Chicago.  Britt was also seen in the 2012 Women in Comedy Festival performing stand up.  Britt teaches after school drama in Everett, and directed with Beyond The 4th Wall Expression Theatre in Cambridge.

For Theatre Company of Saugus, Britt organized TCS’ own improv troupe Back to Square One, and she has been the director and acting coach of our Youth Workshop for the past three years, including the upcoming production of Once On This Island Jr.

The fee to attend the workshop is only $5, payable with cash or check at the door.  If you attend more than five workshops, you pay a maximum of $25.

We bring back one of last summer’s most popular workshops on Theatre Skills:  Healthy Singing for Musical Theatre, presented by Lori L’Italien.  Thursday 23 July 2015, starting at 7:30 PM.

This workshop will also cover the subject of How to Prepare for a Singing Audition.

How many times have we heard the dreaded words, “belting is unhealthy for your voice” or “if you belt, you will lose your voice”?  But, here’s a secret not all classical teachers want you to know… Belting CAN be done healthfully.  After studying with teachers in Boston, New York and across New England, in Classical/Operatic and Musical Theatre/Pop, Lori has a unique understanding of both classical and musical theatre technique and how two can not only assist but strengthen each other. This workshop will be an overview of posture, breathing and vocal technique that can be used in musical theatre or classical singing. Students will learn warm-ups and exercises they can do on their own to grow their technique.

Lori L’Italien holds a Bachelors of Music Education and Master of Music in Opera Performance.  She is on staff at Lasell College where she teaches voice, music fundamentals, and musical theatre classes, in addition to serving as Director of Choirs, and both stage and music director of Lasell’s musicals.  Lori owns and operates a busy private voice studio in both Newton and Somerville. She also serves as Boston Program Administrator for The Metropolitan Opera Guild’s Urban Voices Program, a program that brings vocal and choral instruction to students in disadvantaged neighborhoods in and around Boston.

L’Italien is, in her own right, a versatile, sought-after performer of musical theater, opera, and oratorio throughout Boston and northern New England. Most recently, she appeared as Adelaide in Reagle Music Theatre’s Guys and Dolls and in their fall production of A Grand Night for Singing, Betty White in White Christmas with Weston Friendly Society, Fantine in Les Miserables with Woodland Theatre Company, and created the role of Catherine Eddowes in the World Premeire of Jack the Ripper: the Whitechapel Musical.  Other favorite roles include the Homeless Lady in A New Brain with Moonbox Productions, Sally Bowles in Cabaret with Theatre Company of Saugus,  and Lucille Frank in Fudge Theatre Company’s production of Parade, for which she earned a nomination as Best Actress in a Musical from the IRNE (Independent Reviewers of New England.)  My Entertainment World raved that she was,”The true star in this performance; she is breathtaking in every moment…she has everything of a star performer.  L’Italien’s singing is simply stunning, and, late in the first act, I started counting my goose-bumps… Take note: L’Italien is more than worth the price of admission.”  See:  LoriLItalien.com for more studio and performance news.

There is a $5 fee for the workshop, payable at the door with cash or check.

Our second Workshop on Theatre Skills for the summer of 2015 is on Sunday 12 July, starting at 7:30 PM.  The subject is Public Speaking, and the presenter is Sherri Raftery, M.Ed.  The title of the presentation is “Helping You Take Center Stage!” Would you like to learn simple tips and tricks that will help you feel comfortable while speaking in front of an audience, a large or small group. or even one on one in the board room or at the dinner table?  This is the workshop for you. Sherri hosts and produces “Helping YOU Take Center Stage” – Public Speaking and Leadership Tips at Revere TV, and is the Drama Club Coordinater at Northeast Regional Metro Technical High School. Sherri Raftery earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Theatre & Communications from Emerson College, and a Master’s in Education in Arts & Learning from Endicott College.  Some of her clients include corporations, international organizations, high schools, colleges, universities, nonprofits organizations and community groups. Sherri is the Theatre Company of Saugus Recording Secretary.  She has been a member of Toastmasters International since 2005, and was the District 31 Governor serving Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island where she earned several leadership and public speaking awards. Sherri was honored by the Home for Little Wanderers in 2008 and speaks out as a live testimonial raising funds and awareness and is currently writing a children’s book called Almost Adopted. All the Theatre Skills workshops meet at the TCS home at the East Saugus United Methodist Church / 85 Chestnut Street / Saugus, Massachusetts 01906.  See our Directions page. The workshop is open to everyone.  There is a fee of $5 per person.