” Hi-didle-de-de, An Actor’s Life For Me”

Chicago is a fabulous theater town. In fact, many of our residents feel that when it comes to theater, New York doesn’t hold a candle to the talent that is grown here, or makes it was here. Yes, many of our actors/performers have to make the trip to “the Big Apple” in order to see their name in lights on Broadway, but dollar for dollar, we have more talent right here. How does one find the talent? Of course in every parent’s eye, it is their little Joe or Suzy that will be the next “Oliver” or “Annie”, but natural talent, as great a gift as it is must still be nurtured and many do not know just where to find a resource for developing the talent of their child. Well, there is a new kid on the block ( so to speak), located in Highwood Illinois. The name of this learning institute is The Performer’s School ( seems like a good name, right?) and its founders are two of the highlights of our theatrical community. Stacey Flaster, noted, award winning choreographer/director who has worked with many of our local companies ( as a performer herself as well) and Elizabeth Fauntleroy,who has been teaching voice for over 15 years. Many of her students are the performers you have seen and heard at Drury Lane, Marriott Theatre, Steppenwolf,Light Opera Works and Northlight as well as The Lyric Opera of Chicago. Pretty strong credentials!

To become an actor/performer, it takes more than just talent ( although that certainly is a good starting off point), but young people need to have self confidence, self awareness  to go with the skills. Fauntelroy knew she wanted this when she was as young as six and Flaster , growing up in a home where her mother , Nancy was onstage and directing, she realized that this was her future and hungered to learn as much as she could. Who better than these two ladies to start a school that would deliver to young performers all the added features to their skills and hone these skills to make them even stronger.

An actor needs to know how to prepare for an audition and how to handle being criticized ( something Mom and Dad or Grand parents never do). The courses they teach cover all of the parts of the proverbial pie. The classes are held at The Highwood Recreational Center located at 432 Green Bay Road in Highwood.

Classes are geared towards teaching the students how to handle  – a “cold reading” (where you have never seen the script )     

-Monologues

– Dance, voice, audition etiquette

as well as how to sell a song, selecting materials that fit the performer for the audition, resume and phot0 preparation ( what to put on a head shot page)

The first sessions are in process now but there will be a special summer session on the audition process, June 10th thru the 15th. This is an all day, six day session, one that will prepare your “star” for facing the dream world and the experience of their lives.

Classes will be small so that each performer gets the attention of the instructor. To learn more about The Performer’s School Studio, visit www.theperformersschool.com or call  847-528-9318 or send an e-mail to co-founder Stacey Flaster at staceydans@aol.com.

Who know, one day, I may be reviewing your performance on one of our local stages, or even bigger, on Broadway!