2007 Youth Acting Workshops: Summer and Fall Sessions
Fifty-Five students ranging from 6 to 17 years old from seven different New England communities participated in the 2007 Youth Acting Workshops taught by GSC’s own Heidi Dallin. The Youth Acting Workshops, previously offered only during the summer, have expanded to include a Fall Session in 2007 and a Winter Session scheduled for late February 2008. Each session is six weeks long.

Students in the Summer session memorized and performed Emily Dickinson poems which coincided with Gloucester Stage’s production of The Belle of Amherst starring Lindsay Crouse. Guest artists, including Ms. Crouse and James Ijames, the star of GSC’s Ponies, visited and worked with the students on delivering monologues and improvisation techniques. Mime professional and Tufts University graduate Brendan Shea introduced the students to mime. Youth Acting Workshops Intern and Columbia College Theater major Katie Rose Sheehan assisted with the Summer Session.

Student Caroline Zola, age 12 of Newton, MA who participated in her first Gloucester Stage Youth Acting Workshop this summer, describes her experience, "This past summer, I learned so much from Heidi. From learning to recite a short poem, to being able to walk like a mime. Everything we did was a blast, and I will continue to act with the Gloucester Stage Company for many years to come."

The Fall Session of the Youth Acting Workshops, held on Saturday mornings, began on September 15. During the Fall Session students worked on beloved American poetry and scenes from classic American drama as well as audition techniques.