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Following an enormously successful inaugural year, Hathaway Brown Theatre Institute (HBTI), a conservatory-based summer theatre training program for young performers in Northeast Ohio, announces its second year of programs and productions for Summer 2014.
HBTI, part of the Performing Arts Department at Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, offers young people a challenging curriculum of drama, dance, music and/or design, as well as the opportunity to participate in fully staged productions. HBTI boasts instructors who are some of the top professional actors, directors, designers and academics in the area, and who have a long list of successful former students who have gone on to Broadway, film and television. The program utilizes similar training techniques to those employed by the nation's most preeminent drama schools, including Julliard, NYU and the Actor's Studio.
HBTI offers programs on two levels: Grades 1–4, and Grades 5–College. Classes are available in two 3-week sessions and one 2-week session, beginning June 16, July 7, and July 28, respectively.
Executive Artistic Director Fred Sternfeld said, "While the training at HBTI is geared toward the young performer interested in a professional theatre career, our students gain the confidence, discipline and social skills that will help give them the extra edge in this highly-competitive world, no matter what their eventual field of pursuit. The students also find the process immensely fun, exciting and rewarding, which is one of the reasons our first year was such a big hit."
Last summer, HBTI taught more than 170 students in acting, musical theatre and dance. "The response was phenomenal," said Associate Director Bebe Weinberg Katz. "We expect an even larger turnout this summer."
HBTI will also mount three full productions: Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (July 5 – 13), You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (July 18 – 27), and A Chorus Line (Aug. 1 – 10). Sternfeld said that the productions are a direct extension of the training. "Our shows allow the students to apply the tools and techniques they learn during the day in productions mounted by top professional directors and designers." Katz added, "It's a rare chance for young performers to participate at such a high professional level."
For more information about the Hathaway Brown Theatre Institute and to register for summer training sessions, visit www.hb.edu/hbti. There, you also will find testimonials from past participants and details related to the program's pedagogy and artistic approach. To audition for the Summer 2014 productions, please contact Fred Sternfeld at fsternfeld@hb.edu.
