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Classes and WorkshopsCocoon Theatre offers a wide range of acting, dance, and movement classes for all ages and abilities.
You can register for a class by clicking here. Drama Production ProgramThese classes teach complete actor preparation for a dramatic production: body, voice and character work, and memorization skills. Students must first be accepted through an audition process. Serious commitment. Spring 2008 Production - The Little Prince The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, a glorious adventure with unusual characters! “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” A science-fantasy; an incredible journey! Serious committment. (8 - 18 years) Auditions: Tuesday, January 15, 5:00 p.m. Rehearsals: January, February, March: Tuesdays, 5-8 p.m.
Tuition: $500 Performances:
Tuition payment is due at first rehearsal, based upon class acceptance. You will be notified by phone following auditions. Please bring any schedule conflicts with you to auditions. Casting and class acceptance is heavily based upon strict availability. Improvisation and Scene Study - Spring 2008Improvisation (8 - 13 years) A fun-filled hour, exploring character and plot development, voice, and body work When: Thursday, 4 - 5 p.m. * No class, 3/27
Scene Study (13 - 18 years) A creative acting class, developing performance material. Intense character development through monologues and duets. When: Friday, 4 - 6 p.m. *No class, 3/28
Young Actors Summer WorkshopsYoung Actors Summer Workshop, now in its 16th year, affords creative performing opportunities for children of all ages from all backgrounds of theatrical experience. The workshop has varied through the years - changing to conform to location demands, as well as new needs to service as many students as possible. All shows have incorporated music and dance believing that exposure to these forms broadens a young person’s experience allowing more exploration into what he/she enjoys. All shows have used unknown pieces of music and original works. Most struggle with original scripts to expose young students to an author’s original material. Past summer workshops have included: The Princess Bride, Romeo & Juliet, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Oliver!, The Von Trapp Family Story, A Little Princess, Godspell, Watership Down, Snow White, 101 Dalmatians, Lord of the Flies, The Sleeping Beauty, Black Beauty, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Rikki Tikki Tavi, and Charlotte’s Web . Students are accepted by registration, unlike Fall and Spring Production Program classes where students must first complete audition acceptance. Stagecraft is often a part of the workshop, but differs with each production. For musicals, students often work weekly with musical director/composer Paul Schubert. Students always have some choice involvement in the character(s) they’re interested in playing. Depending on the material, the enrollment size and particular class dynamics, the types of choices allowed will vary. Young Actors Summer Workshop very much draws upon creative input from each student. Its focus is to expose students to many varied aspects of theater, allow them creative expression in a safe environment, and give them an unforgettable summer experience! Young Actors Summer Workshops - 2008Early registration is crucial in securing a spot, since our performance space is small. The Mermaid. An original adaptation of the classic Andersen tale, Marguerite San Millan directs this amazing adventure of love, secrets, blackmail, and transformation! The workshop runs from June 30 to July 27. Classes meet Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to noon.
The Mermaid. Yes, you are reading this right! Same title as the other workshop, but a separate play with a separate cast, dealing with the same intriguing subject. What exactly is a soul and how do I get one? The workshop runs from June 30 to August 10. Classes meet Monday-Friday, noon to 4 p.m.
Teen Workshops
Mentoring and Community ServiceIn 2005, we started a very interesting aspect to Cocoon: mentoring. Both in the Semester Classes and the Summer Workshop we began offering deserving and able teens the opportunity to learn about the teaching process, in a tangible way. Magdalene San Millan assisted as teacher in the modern/ballet semester classes and Stasha Rosen was assistant director in the youth class of the Summer Workshop. In 2004, the initial guinea pig was Jane Riccobono, who has gone on to study theater education in college. Magdalene teaches us as we teach her - about vision, energy & grace. In “The Pied Piper,” an original musical written by Marguerite San Millan, we gave Stasha the responsibility of creating the entire music soundtrack. Stasha composed, performed & recorded the songs herself...at only 17 years old. The youth class of the summer program will offer assistantship to another deserving teen…who that might be remains a mystery. Magdalene will continue as teacher assistant in the modern/ballet class. Such work is also acceptable for public school requirements to complete work study hours at a non-profit organization for community service credit. Hours can also be accumulated working in the office, running lights/sound, sewing, cleaning, running concession/ticket booth…and a million other much-needed services. Interested teens call the office for an appointment. Artist-in-Residence ProgramThese special workshops bring fine artists to Cocoon Theatre students and the general public. On May 18, 2004, Marty Laforse gave a lecture entitled, "Parallel Roads To Disaster," linking the similarities between the Bush administration and the Weimar Republic. Mr. Laforse is a retired 40-year Professor of History at Ithaca College, currently teaching in the Adult program at Bard and Marist Colleges. The lecture was well-attended and warmly received. In 2003, the Adult Modern Dance Class and the Cocoon Theatre Modern Dance Company enjoyed an exciting workshop by Taylor 2 - Paul Taylor’s 2nd Touring Company, as did invited participants.
These are pictures from the Taylor 2 program. Click on the image to see the full-sized version. After you've viewed the larger photo, click on your browser's back button to return to this page. Arts-in-EducationCocoon Theatre appears many times throughout the year in various educational settings. For the past 10 years we have worked with Chancellor-Livingston students (see a list of our past performances) and during that time have also completed projects at Bulkeley Middle School in Rhinebeck, Rhinebeck High School, Red Hook Elementary, Middle & High Schools, as well as Poughkeepsie Day School and Dutchess Community College.
Performances by Cocoon Theatre for the students as audience have included: Puppet Shows, Modern Dance Performances, full theatrical productions, and parades. Tony’s Bread, held in 2003 at Chancellor-Livingston Elementary School in Rhinebeck with two 3rd Grade classes (total 40 students) The students built and painted props, sewed costumes, painted backdrops and set pieces, auditioned and were cast, rehearsed, memorized, sang, danced and took a beautiful well-deserved bow when completing three performances to full houses in one day - all in 10 days! See the Tony's Bread gallery for pictures of this exciting event. Brave Irene, performed in Spring 2004 with 40 third graders from Chancellor-Livingston Elementary School - a modern dance, theater performance piece. This Spring (2005), Cocoon Theatre is again working with Jean Dobson of Chancellor-Livingston Elementary School as they creatively present, The Egyptian Cinderella. If you are interested in having Cocoon Theatre run a workshop at your school affiliation or place of business, don't hesitate to call. We also offer audience-participation story-telling and special performances for private Birthday parties and events. If you want something different, you want Cocoon! Give us a call! Creative ProjectsCocoon Theatre prides itself on the creative design of specific projects: from outdoor street festivals & parades, to performances designed for hospitals and nursing homes to private events (weddings, birthday parties), to larger performing spaces (Bardavon, Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck, Cunneen-Hackett in Poughkeepsie, Kaatsbaan International Dance center in Tivoli, NYC appearances), and more.
Crossing the Line - Spring 2008 An adventure into the unknown territories of the mind: the creative, the intuitive, the unexplored. Open to artists of all disciplines (visual, performing, audio/video) led by Andres San Millan. An ensemble experience in group improvisation and non-structured thinking. Classes meet once a week in preparation for a for a full performance run. (Some supply fees.) Meets: January, February, April, May: Sunday, 6-9 p.m. *No class April 27
Living Threads WorkshopsOn Sept. 11, 2001, a tragedy happened in NYC, the U.S. & the world. Strangely enough, or not so strangely, this day also marked the beginning of a very special project started through Kaatsbaan International Dance Center and DCAC to spearhead a grant where Cocoon Theatre would take a group of Rhinebeck H.S. students, have them interview Senior Citizens and present the material they’d gathered from such personal experiences into a performance. Cocoon was scheduled to begin reaching on September 11, but the school had closed. September 11 changed the minds of the students and the project designers, as it did minds around the world. The event pushed those involved to think much more seriously than when the grant was first envisioned. Strangely, or again not so strangely, the Senior Citizens interviewed had similar stories to share of prejudice, world political weakness and war and personal tragedies. The students wrote scenes, invited other actors to participate and performed these personal stories in a work entitled "Living Threads."
See the Living Threads Gallery for pictures of this amazing event. Visit the Living Threads 2004 Workshop page for more information on that year's event. This year, Cocoon Theatre is presenting Living Threads 3: What are You Waiting For?. It is our Spring 2007 Drama Production Program, where students take a hilarious and poignant look at the food service community. Storytelling, Birthday Parties & Puppet ShowsWe offer a wide variety of workshop options: 1-person, 45 minute Storytelling
1-person, 2 hour Creative Workshop with small presentation
2-person, 5-day/45 min. Residency Workshop involving art, drama & dance, culminating with small performance
2-7 people, 1 hour Full Puppet Show; involves stage, lights and set with costumes, puppets and music with dramatized scenes and dances. (1-hour load-in & set-up, 1-hour performance and 1-hour strike and load-out) The most popular for libraries are 1-2 person storytelling, based on seasonal themes or popular pieces of literature. Prices vary. Examples: Any Grimm’s, Andersen or Kipling Tales, as well as other cultural folk tales and stories: American Indian, Eskimo, Spanish, Indian, etc. See our past performances page for a list of the puppet shows we've performed. Please call for pricing. Also popular is Create a Story. This workshop can be designed for any age group, from kindergarten to teens, and can be as elaborate as time and funds allow, or as simple and small as several hours. Participants create a story in Round Robin fashion. The story is then expressed by expansion into scenes and dances with art/puppets, percussion/music and performed by students before an audience. Prices vary.
Birthday parties: Any of the above-mentioned is available for design for your event. Indoor-outdoor, large commercial space or small living room, any age group, any number of audience, straight performance or audience participation, design for your theme or Cocoon’s idea. Prices vary. |
6384 Mill Street (Rt. 9), Rhinebeck, NY 12572
(845) 876-6470
