My child has never done theater, is Shakespeare too difficult? My child is anxious to read in front others, will they be put on the spot?
Every student will be challenged to stretch their talents and comfort in front of others, but at their own pace. Shakespeare is considerably easier than expected, once discussed and practiced. A fair amount of our class is discussing overall meaning, specific word meanings, setting history, character motivation, emotion, and different ways to play a scene- all making Shakespeare so much more enjoyable than what we as adults may have experienced! We avoid students having to cold read in class unless they have done this before or have volunteered to do so.
Do students have to audition?
We do auditions, but in a kinder way than how the industry standard does it. Students receive the audition materials ahead of time and are given several opportunities to perform the material. Very careful consideration goes into every casting decision. Parent feedback, student feedback, ability to memorize, and sometimes prior experience goes into every decision.
Do parents have to stay for the class?
Parents don’t have to stay for the whole class, unless it is the day they sign up to stay. Every parent rotates once to stay to help supervise off-stage student actors. This might be listening to a group go over lines in an off-stage space. The sign up sheet will be at the first class.
Parents are encouraged to stay for the first class, to observe the general style of the class, get an idea for expectations, and most importantly share feedback with their student. Parents may stay for every class, randomly visit, or drop off. This question will be addressed at the first class, too.
Parents are encouraged to stay for the first class, to observe the general style of the class, get an idea for expectations, and most importantly share feedback with their student. Parents may stay for every class, randomly visit, or drop off. This question will be addressed at the first class, too.
Who is present during each class?
There will always be at least the Director and the Assistant Director on-site, in addition to the rotating parent. In an abundance of caution and complying with legalities, no student will be alone with an adult.
Students are photographed and performances recorded, can I opt out of having pictures and video of my student shared on social media?
The live-stream performances do not have names attached and there is no way to opt out of these, other than not performing. Yes, you can opt out for your student appearing on the Pages Alive Theater webpage and social media links. There is a place to indicate this on the registration forms. No names are attached to the images we upload. Performances are recorded and a private YouTube link is shared with parents and not listed or made public. These are edited and usually a better audio/visual quality than the live-stream. Comments are disabled. The cast list is usually at the end of this video. This is for students and families to watch, and not to be shared on social media. Some short promotion video clips may be shared on social media. Parents take pictures and post online, but we will do our best to communicate the privacy preferences noted.
Pages Alive Theater 