Top 5 Catholic-Artist-Recommended Educational Resources for Performers
Recently arrived in New York and looking for a place to keep your skills sharp and make connections with other artists? Here are the top educational resources for performers recommended by our interviewed artists:
1) The Drama Bookshop - This shop is the gathering place of the theater community in New York City. Many are the actors who have spent afternoons sitting reading scripts for free, getting their first break putting up a show in the basement theatre, or buying their weekly copies of Backstage. Unfortunately, the Bookshop is currently on hiatus, having had to leave its space at 40th Street and 8th Avenue earlier this year due to a steep rent increase. Thankfully, Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and friends have purchased the Bookshop, and will be reopening it at a new venue in Midtown Manhattan this fall. Sign up for their newsletter to be the first to learn about their new location! www.dramabookshop.com
2) The Growing Studio - The Growing Studio is a musical theatre studio founded by actors for actors. They focus on perfecting audition material, and regularly invite agents and casting directors to work with students and attend class showcases. Musical theatre performer Melissa Maricich says that the Growing Studio is “particularly helpful for musical theatre performers and making connections,” and is “how [she] was connected to [her] current agent.” (The studio claims that 70% of students in their Showcase class receive agency responses.) It’s also recommended by performers Stephen Lyons and Sara Kreski as a good place to connect with fellow actors and industry professionals. www.thegrowingstudio.com
3) Actors Connection - Actors Connection bills itself as the “largest educational and networking studio for professional actors” in NYC. They offer one-off seminars with agents, casting directors, and managers; on-going audition technique classes; and self-taping services. It’s recommended by actors Sara Kreski and Stephen Lyons as a good place to work on craft and network with other professionals. www.actorsconnection.com
4) The Barrow Group - The Barrow Group’s mission is to combine “unpredictable, spontaneous acting with well-crafted stories that address social, spiritual, and political issues to create an immediate, authentic connection between actors, audiences, and the writing.” Their Performing Arts Training Center offers classes in acting, directing, filmmaking, screenwriting, and playwriting for beginners through advanced working professionals, as well as a teacher training course. Melissa Maricich recommends co-founder Seth Barrish’s classes, and actor/playwright Joe Hoover writes that the Barrow Group is “slowly becoming a home” for him. www.barrowgroup.org
5) Broadway Dance Center - BDC is one of the top places for dancers and musical theatre performers to engage in on-going training and conditioning, with over 350 drop-in classes each week. Multiple classes are offered in the major disciplines of ballet, contemporary, hip-hop/street styles, jazz, tap, and theater dance, as well as specialty classes in yoga, Afrodance, Irish step dancing, Latin/salsa, cardio, and stretch/conditioning. Performer Emily Ott recommends BDC as a place which “creates a great supportive community,” and Sara Kreski also recommends it as a place to keep sharp and build connections. www.broadwaydancecenter.com
Get to work!
