Natalie J. Spurrell, B.Mus, B.Mus Ed, RMT
Scenework
This masterclass is open to students aged 8-12 and is dedicated to improving your child’s spacial awareness, body position, acting skills and overall theatre knowledge. During the rehearsals, students will study and act out a scene from a published play or novel. They will present this scene to the Speech Arts adjudicator (along with parents and other audience members) at The Rotary Burlington Festival in November. Another session will be offered in the second term in time for the Peel Music Festival however, the first term is not a prerequisite for the second term’s scenework masterclass. Clinician: Natalie Spurrell Date and time of performances: TBA
Broadway Workshop
This masterclass is open to all ages and is dedicated to broadening the student’s understanding of musical theatre. Each participant will prepare a broadway solo in their private lessons to present to our guest clinician, who will then work with the students to improve their performance. Parents and friends are invited to be the audience for our performers.
Guest Clinician: Barbara Young
Ms. Young has been involved in Canadian Music Theatre for over thirty years as a director, performer and teacher. An Honours Music graduate of the University of Western Ontario with postgraduate work in England, Ms. Young has worked in most Canadian professional theatres, from the Arts Club in Vancouver to the Confederation Theatre in Charlottetown. She has spent four years directing and teaching at the Banff School of Fine Arts eight years as Musical Director of Huron County Playhouse, and has won the Thea Award for Musical Direction. Ms. Young founded the music and music theatre programs at the Etobicoke School of the Arts (Toronto), Canada's first publicly funded arts school. Barbara spent 20 years as the co-ordinator of music & music theatre at ESA.
Yoga & Singing
This masterclass is open to students aged 11 and up.
Yoga is beneficial for singers because it teaches the proper way to breathe - with strong abdominal support for the breath, and therefore the voice. Yoga also aids singers in other ways:
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-it reduces tension in the jaw, throat, and face so that the voice opens up and flows more easily
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-it improves posture
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-it gives singers ways to handle stage fright through smooth, controlled breathing and relaxation techniques
A series of three yoga workshops will be held over consecutive Sundays. Each one will have a different focus but they will work best as a three-part series: 1. breathing techniques and core awareness, 2.proper posture and reducing tension in the jaw and face and 3. warming up and dealing with the stress of performance.
Guest Clinician: Dr. Cheryl Smith
Cheryl began studying yoga with Helen Duquette in 1999 and completed her 500 hour/2 year teacher’s course in 2003. The course work included human physiology, yoga philosophy, practical aspects of teaching, and apprenticeship with talented teachers. For the past four years, Cheryl has taught Hatha yoga classes in Oakville to adults and children. She has also developed a deep personal practice that brings her great pleasure.