FESTIVAL YOUNG COMPANY
In this four month program, students will attend workshops with experienced theatre professionals, learning different skills specific to Shakespearean performance.
FYC members not only expand their skills in workshops, they also perform in full period costume for our audiences on the grounds of historic Agecroft Hall & Gardens during the Richmond Shakespeare Festival in June and July.
This opportunity is available to any high-school aged public, private, or home-schooled student. Students can choose from 32 performance opportunities every Thursday through Sunday evenings throughout the summer months.
You'll receive training in:
- Character Development
- Scene Study
- Monologue Work
- Improvisation
- Stage Combat
- Music
- Shakespeare's Language
- Elizabethan History
WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT FYC?
- FYC is ideal for the young performer who is looking to challenge themselves with a style of theatre that is about language - its structure, its sound, and its power.
- We also concentrate on the importance of collaboration and ‘play’ in our sessions. Putting together a show is no small task. It requires discipline and attentiveness to detail. But we also firmly believe that this work should be fun!
- Not only do we give students an opportunity to perform on the Richmond Shakespeare Festival's main stage before each performance, we also offer an Acting Apprenticeship for those interested in performing in the mainstage productions in supporting roles.
- The best part is getting to perform Shakespeare at an authentic 16th century manor, Agecroft Hall & Gardens!
We're Starting on April 13th!
Apply to: Melissa@RichmondShakespeare.org
Tuition: $350
Scholarships available!
MEET OUR TEACHING ARTISTS!
SHANEA N. TAYLOR
Shanea N. Taylor has an MFA in Theatre Pedagogy/Directing from Virginia Commonwealth University. Currently she teaches Theatre Arts at Appomattox Regional Governor’s School. She was the director of education at Sycamore Rouge in Petersburg, was on the theatre faculty at Henrico Center for the Arts, and teaches public speaking and freshman level theatre courses at John Tyler Community college. She has directed numerous productions for: ARGS; SPARC- The Heritage Ensemble Theatre Company; THETC/ Firehouse Theatre; Sycamore Rouge/Richmond Triangle Players; TheatreLab and The Illuminated Stage Theatre Company. Taylor is the current resident director for Quill Theatre’s Festival Young Company.
Irene Kuykendall is the Education Manager at Virginia Repertory Theatre and an arts partner with Richmond Performing Arts Alliance, Richmond Public Schools and the Kennedy Center. In addition to building curriculum, structuring instructive programming and coordinating the educational experiences at Virginia Rep, she works as a teaching artist, public speaker and workshop facilitator. Irene earned her Master’s in Text & Performance from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London and graduated from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy's studio program (AMDA) in NYC. Her performance resume spans acting in film and theatre, singing and songwriting, as well as directing. As a certified mindfulness & meditation teacher and having received equity and inclusion training, she thoughtfully infuses her arts integration curricula with a sensitivity that celebrates individual expression and cultural diversity.
IRENE KUYKENDAL
