KIDS COMPANY ACADEMY

CLASS OPTIONS | LOCATION & SCHEDULE | REGISTRATION | FACULTY

Is your musical theatre performer eager to learn more? The Kids Company Academy is the perfect way for students ages 7 to 18 to hone their musical theatre performance skills all in one place. With weekly classes in acting, vocal performance, dance, and musical theatre performance, your young performer will gain all the skills they need in order to succeed in auditions, rehearsals, and performances. Each semester will culminate in an informal studio showcase for family, friends, and the Goodspeed community.

CLASS OPTIONS

VOCAL PERFORMNACE
With a specific focus on musical theatre repertoire, Vocal Performance students will learn healthy and effective singing techniques, solo and ensemble performance skills, and build a body of work they can confidently perform in any setting.

• Mondays at 6:30pm: ages 7-12 
• Mondays at 7:30pm: ages 13-18

MUSICAL THEATRE DANCE 
The Musical Theatre Dance class will give students foundational dance technique that can be applied to any performance. Exploring jazz, ballet, tap, and contemporary styles, dance students will gain a well-rounded understanding of dance and movement for musical theatre.

• Wednesdays at 6:30pm: ages 7-12 
• Wednesdays at 7:30pm: ages 13-18

ACTING
Characters are the heart of any musical theatre performance. Acting students will learn how to analyze a script and make conscientious character choices, embody a character physically, and communicate clearly with scene partners and to the audience.

• Tuesdays at 6:30pm: ages 7-12 
• Tuesdays at 7:30pm: ages 13-18

MUSICAL THEATRE WORKSHOP*
As a multidisciplinary art form, musical theatre performers must be able to connect each piece of the puzzle into one dazzling performance. In this 2-hour class, students will learn techniques to sing, dance, and act simultaneously, honing skills learned in other classes and building a production number from the ground up.

• Thursdays, 6:30pm-8:30pm: ages 7-18 

*Students must take at least one of the following in order to enroll in the Musical Theatre Workshop: Vocal Performance, Musical Theatre Dance, and/or Acting

LOCATION & SCHEDULE

All Kids Company Academy classes will take place at the Alice Hammerstein Mathias Rehearsal Studio (20b Norwich Road) on the Goodspeed Campus in East Haddam, Connecticut. 

Semester Calendar

• Spring 2020 Semester:
  • February 3 – May 15, 2020
  • No Classes: April 13 – April 17 (Spring Break)
  • Studio Showcase: Friday, May 15 

REGISTRATION

To register, call or email Education Assistant Elizabeth Guilbert at 860.615.0352 or eguilbert@goodspeed.org

Limited spaces. Financial assistance may be available.

Vocal Performance | Musical Theatre Dance | Acting

• $250/Student per Semester
• $500/Student Full Year

Musical Theatre Workshop*

• $350/Student per Semester
• $700/Student Full Year

*Students must take at least one of the following in order to enroll in the Musical Theatre Workshop: Vocal Performance, Musical Theatre Dance, and/or Acting

FACULTY 

ERIN COFFEY is the Education Director at Goodspeed Musicals. For the past 8 years, Erin has worked as an educator in the fields of dance, musical theatre, and creative drama as well as a choreographer in regional, community, and educational theatre. She began her teaching career in San Jose, California and has since had the pleasure of working with students in Marin County, California (Marin Theatre Company); Syracuse, New York (Redhouse Arts Center); Middletown, Connecticut (Goodspeed Musicals & Oddfellows Playhouse); Quincy, Illinois (Quincy Community Theatre); Chinandega, Nicaragua (Teatro Catalina), and Monteverde, Costa Rica (Far Corners Community Musical Theatre). From 2014 to 2016, Erin was the Resident Choreographer at Redhouse Arts Center; some of her favorite Redhouse credits include: The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, A Man of No Importance*, Seussical, 13, Big Fish, Dreamgirls*, and Ragtime. Other favorite choreography credits include: Oliver!, Little Shop of Horrors, The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (FCCMT – Central American/Bilingual Premieres), and Gypsy: A Musical Fable. Favorite performance credits include: Crimes of the Heart* (Meg), Elegies for Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens (Joanne), Cabaret (Rosie), and Carousel (Featured Soloist). (*Indicates SALT Award Nomination) www.erinlafferty.net

MATT GUERRERA (Musical Theatre Dance) is a recent graduate of Muhlenberg College where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Dance and Theatre with concentrations in education, choreography, performance studies, and stage management. Matt has studied dance for over seventeen years in various locations throughout Connecticut and Pennsylvania as well as at the Broadway Dance Centre in New York City. He has received the award for Best Student Choreography at the 2015 KO Wyvern A Cappella Festival and was also most recently nominated for a Broadwayworld.com award for Best Choreography (Non-Equity) for High School Musical. Matt teaches various classes at Studio A Dance & Performing Arts in Avon, Conn. as well as at the Goodman Performing Arts Center in Orange, Conn. Throughout Connecticut, Matt has performed with various theatre companies as well as choreographed a multitude of shows for ages 6-25 with the Performing Arts Programs, East Hartford Summer Youth Festival, Wethersfield Teen Theatre, Tootin’ Hills Elementary School, and Connecticut Family Theatre. Matt has taught in various locations throughout Allentown, Penn. as well and has also performed professionally with the Muhlenberg Summer Theatre in My Fair Lady (Dance Ensemble) and Anything Goes (Dance Captain). During the spring of 2018 Matt studied dance in Arezzo, Italy at the Accademia Dell’Arte. Matt is overjoyed to be joining the Goodspeed team as the resident Dance Instructor!

JODI KELLY (Acting) studied acting at the American Academy for Dramatic Arts, Atlantic Theater Company and with William Esper.  She has performed in Off-Broadway productions (Women of Manhattan, Extremeties); the Fringe Festival (Mammon, Bundy’s Follies), community theater (The Lion in Winter – CT Best Supporting Actress nomination, Hot L Baltimore, Proposals) as well as in film (Helene, Penny Dreadful, The Imposters, At First Sight) and hosting the Pay Per View Top Ten Weekly Countdown.  Jodi has been directing theater for the past seven years for productions at the Katherine Hepburn Cultural Center (The Dining Room, Twelve Angry Men), Old Saybrook Middle School (High School Musical, Annie, Mulan, Shrek) and the Old Saybrook Summer Stock Theater (The Lion King, Alice in Wonderland, Frozen). Jodi is thrilled to be joining the Goodspeed family as the acting instructor for the Kids Company Academy. 

SPENCER REESE (Vocal Performance) is thrilled to be joining Goodspeed Musicals as the vocal performance instructor with the Kids Company Academy!  Spencer recently completed his Doctoral of Musical Arts degree in voice at the University of Connecticut, where he studied with Connie Rock. Born and raised in Enfield, he also holds a bachelor’s degree in voice from UConn and a master’s degree in stage directing from the Eastman School of Music, where he was a student of Steven Daigle. He developed his passion for teaching at Eastman, and in his return to UConn oversaw the opera studio as well as all outreach productions and programs. Equally at home in the styles of musical theatre, operetta, and opera, he will also serve as the Artistic Director for the Connecticut Gilbert and Sullivan Society for their 2019 season. He has spent the last six summers in Wooster, Ohio where he is a resident artist with the Ohio Light Opera for their seven-show repertory season. Also an active performer, recent highlights include Don Lockwood in Singin’ in the Rain, Georg Nowack in She Loves Me, Danny Churchill in Gershwin’s Girl Crazy, Frederic in Pirates of Penzance, and Billy Crocker in Anything Goes. When not teaching or singing, Spencer enjoys competing as a ballroom dancer.