The Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre will debut a new “AST Education LAB” in January with four classes: middle school acting, high school acting, Bard Babies and stage combat.
The middle and high school classes will focus on acting and performance; the Bard Babies class will lead students ages 4-6 through imaginative play with games, improvisations and creative expression with a classical twist; and the stage combat class will focus on unarmed combat.
All classes take place on the second floor of the Snow Fine Arts Building on the UCA campus.
The six-week courses will be held on Saturday mornings from Jan. 14 through Feb. 18. The Bard Babies class begins at 9 a.m. followed by classes for middle and high school students at 10 a.m. Class size is limited and AST is offering an early bird special of 10% off for students enrolling before Jan. 1.
Full class descriptions, tuition information and enrollment details are available at arkshakes.com/education. For questions, please contact AST Producing Associate Katie Aschbrenner at klittle7@uca.edu.
The AST Education Lab includes teaching arts with credits from all over the country.
“We are blessed to have such high-quality educators teaching with us this year. Not only are they amazing artists in their own right, but their commitment to student success and enjoyment is also truly impressive,” said AST Managing Director Chad Bradford.
The high school class will be taught by Lauren Carlton whose teaching credits include the American Shakespeare Center, Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theatre and Academy, Ars Nova School for the Arts and Kansas Thespians. Middle school students will be taught by Emily Swenskie whose teaching credits include The Arkansas Repertory Theatre, The Paramount Arts Center and the Girl Scouts for Ohio’s Heartland. Bard Babies will be co-taught with Swenskie and Aschbrenner, who most recently worked with the education department at Trike Theatre in northwest Arkansas. All classes will be assisted by AST artist Essence Robinson.
The Winter LAB will also feature the first installment of the newly dubbed “Combat LAB,” the stage combat class. In partnership with Bear Brawlers and the UCA Theatre Stage Combat club, it is hosted by AST Artistic Associate and UCA Associate Professor Chris Fritzges. The Combat LAB will focus on unarmed combat and will allow students the opportunity to be certified in unarmed stage combat by the Society of American Fight Directors.
“I’m thrilled to continue bringing in world-class artists to our community for an opportunity you can’t get anywhere else in the state!” said Fritzges. “Stage combat training for theatre, film, and television is a great skill to have as an actor because it teaches the student to freely use their voice and body to aid in storytelling.”
The class will be taught by David Sterritt who has trained around the globe in cities like Atlanta and Moscow with Russia’s legendary Moscow Art Theatre. Sterritt’s fight credits include theatres like Georgia Shakespeare, the Alliance Theatre and Shakespeare’s Tavern, to name a few.
Combat LAB classes are open to students at least 18 years old and run from Jan. 2–8 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuition for the class will be free for all UCA students and UCA alumni. Tuition for other students will be $100 and will be collected on the first day of class. Students may enroll by visiting arkshakes.com and filling out an online form. Questions about the Combat LAB can be directed to Fritzges at cfritzges@uca.edu.
