A staff of professional drama teachers helps kids learn about not just acting, singing, dancing, and stagecraft, but about working as a team. Stage One, for instance, caters to young children, ages 6-8, who have little to no stage experience, and serves as an introduction to theater. Students for Stage Three, by contrast, are admitted only following a successful audition, and the work that goes on there is decidedly pre-professional. Stage Three acts, to some degree, as a farm team for the NSMT professional productions that call for young actors, but that is by no means its primary purpose, Johnson says. We re very process-based, and because we re all teachers and pushing kids to learn and to have a good time, we end up with a strong product.
Every child shines in their own way.
But that does not mean every child is accepted into the Stage Three program. This year 52 students auditioned for 30 slots. Talent is important, but we ve had wonderful actors who ve brought nothing of themselves to the audition. Kids who are only focused on scoring the lead role, who have a negative attitude, or who lack enthusiasm are almost immediately screened out. Those who are great kids but who the teachers feel won t be able to focus acutely enough on the intensive process also don t make the cut.