2023 Fall
Youth Workshops
The Morgan-Wixson Theatre and Youth Education / Entertainment Series (Y.E.S) have been working with youth actors and delighting audiences throughout the Los Angeles area for over 27 years. In addition, this educational program offers workshops in vocals, acting, dance and audition preparation. A highly skilled team has designed a curriculum for all levels of experience from the novice to the advanced.
We hope you can join us!
LIMITED ENROLLMENT
All workshops currently still accepting sign ups.
2024 Summer
Youth Workshops
The Morgan-Wixson Theatre and Youth Education / Entertainment Series (Y.E.S) have been working with youth actors and delighting audiences throughout the Los Angeles area for over 29 years. In addition, this educational program offers workshops in vocals, acting, dance and audition preparation. A highly skilled team has designed a curriculum for all levels of experience from the novice to the advanced.
We hope you can join us!
LIMITED ENROLLMENT
All workshops currently still accepting sign ups.
Summer Classes 2024
~All students must be fully vaccinated for COVID to participate.
Week of July 15 - 19
Showcase Workshop
Monday - Friday 9:00am - 2:30pm
for ages 8 - 13
Tuition: $600
Training in acting technique/scene work and vocal harmonies in the morning with choreography and showcase rehearsal in the afternoon. Culminates in a final day presentation.
Musical Theatre/Jazz Dance Class
Monday - Friday 2:45pm - 4:00pm
for ages 8 - 13 AND ages 14 - 18
*Classes in these age ranges are offered simultaneously
Tuition: $135 as a single class, $75 in combination with showcase workshop (students can remain in our care between programs)
Week of July 22 - 26
Pick & Choose Workshop
Monday - Friday (see times below)
for ages 8 - 18
Tuition: Single Workshop: $150
Two to Four Workshops: $125 each
All Five Workshops: $425
A variety of performance skills workshops are offered throughout the day. *See schedule and specific ages for each workshop below.
9:00am -10:30am: Musical Theatre Dance (for ages 8-18)
10:30am -12:00pm: Musical Theatre Audition Skills (for ages 8-18)
12:30 -2:00pm: Character Development/Improv (for ages 8-11)
12:30 -2:00pm: Monologues (for ages 12-18)
2:00 -3:30pm: Stage Combat (for ages 8-18)
3:30 -4:30pm: Tap Dance* (for ages 8-18)
*Students will be placed in either beginning or intermediate/advanced level based upon previous experience
Week of July 29 - August 2
Half-Day Musical Theatre Skills Workshop
Monday - Friday 9:00am - 12:15pm
for ages 7- 11
Tuition: $350
Training in musical theatre techniques in all areas of the performing arts including scene work/acting, vocal technique/acting the song, audition practices, and musical theatre dance. Actors put those skills to use in a mock audition on the final day where they will present for each other.
Half-Day Musical Theatre Casting Workshop
Monday - Friday 1:00pm - 4:45pm
for ages 12 - 18
Tuition: $375
Actors will train each day in all areas of the performing arts including scene work/cold reading, vocal technique, acting the song and musical theatre dance as they prepare for a specific show title casting call. A mock audition with industry professional feedback will be held the final day.
General Workshop Information
Limited Enrollment – sign up soon to reserve your place and help us better plan.
*you will be notified directly if you sign up after a program is full
Sign up deadlines if space is still available are:
Monday, July 1, 2024 for July 15 week programs
Monday, July 8, 2024 for July 22 week programs
Monday, July 15, 2024 for July 29 week programs
Location:
All Workshops will take place at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica. More details provided upon registration.
Tuition:
Our goal is for total inclusion and we realize that there will be families that cannot afford this opportunity given current circumstances. The tuition is listed below under each workshop description, but if you are unable to pay part or all of the tuition, we are accepting all students on a “pay what you can” basis. There is no need to apply for a scholarship or to provide any family financial information. If your family is able to donate monies above the tuition to help support this program, we will provide you with a donation letter for your tax return (and be eternally grateful).
Workshop Placement:
It is our goal that each participant has the most beneficial experience. Please
email us if you would like guidance to find the workshop that most fits your student’s needs. In addition, our administrators may wish to move a participant into a different class dependent on experience and will consult with the participant and parent(s) as needed.
Vaccinations:
All students must be fully vaccinated for COVID to participate.
Please Note:
These workshops are designed to support and expand a young actor’s skills. Therefore
it is possible to be enrolled in a workshop and still be cast in a Y.E.S. show.
The instructors of the workshops and directors of the shows will work together to
schedule around workshops days. In addition, during tech week, where rehearsal for a
Y.E.S. show is required, the workshops will take that day off in case any workshop
members are in a cast.
*Please note that enrolling in workshops is not a guarantee of being cast in a show.
If you have any questions,
please contact us at
YouthWorkshops@morgan-wixson.org.
“Since I am really wanting to continue with the MWT, these workshops were extremely helpful to me because I could get familiar with some of the theater’s/director’s expectations and styles.”
“What a wonderful program you created for our kids to learn and practice their craft. (Our daughter) would light up every Wednesday knowing she got to spend time with her MWT peeps. In times like this, it means even more to give our children positive experiences that bring them joy.”
“I really grew so much as a performer! It was really helpful.”
Praise for our Workshops!
Our Instructors
Jamie Black spent over 25 years as an actor in Chicago before relocating to LA to further his career and pursue stand up comedy. His previous teaching experience includes coaching the Mt. Carmel High School speech team as well as teaching on-camera acting and scene study at Actors Training Center. He is an award-winning writer and actor. He’s worked with numerous theatre companies in Chicago including City Lit Theatre, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble and Habakkuk Theatre. His television credits include Work In Progress, Carl Weber’s The Family Business, and Justice On Trial. He can also be seen in the award-winning webseries Assigned Female At Birth (AFAB) as well as
on Dat Phan and Friends doing stand up.
Jessica Cashin is a choreographer and dance instructor originally hailing from the South Shore of Massachusetts, where she began dancing at the age of two and started teaching a class of her own at 16. After dancing her way through college, she began teaching and choreographing for dance companies and theater productions around the South Shore until she made the move to Los Angeles in 2022. When not teaching or choreographing dance, Jess works as an actor, voiceover artist, improviser and professional development facilitator.
Ellen Doyle (Instructor) is a Los Angeles based teaching artist and actor and voiceover artist originally from Chicago. She has directed/taught kids in musical theatre, commercial workshops, acting and improv in the West Hollywood area for the last 8 years. Ellen can be seen in over 15 national commercials (some of which are currently airing), heard in voiceover campaigns like JBL and McDonalds and was recently seen in "Good Girls". She has performed regional theatre throughout the Chicago land area and has trained at Groundlings in LA and Second City in Chicago.
Katie Herling (Instructor) is an actor and teaching artist, with a BFA in Performing Arts from the Oregon Center for the Arts in Ashland, OR, where she studied with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s resident fight choreographer, U Jonathan Toppo. She was last seen as Fight Captain/Neferrus in BoomStick Theater’s Space Captain: Captain of Space, and has instructed with theaters and conservatories up and down the West Coast, including CalShakes Student Conservatory, Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, the Quinan Street Project, Turning Point Independent School, and more. Katie is excited to join the team at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre!
Eve Keller (Co-Administrator and Instructor) has been teaching musical theatre and audition techniques to youth (throughout the LA area) for over 20 years. She is also a director for the Y.E.S program at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre where she has received nominations for her directing from National Youth Arts. Eve has her Masters in Child Psychology and combines her passion for children’s development with her knowledge of the performing arts to create an inspiring theatrical space to allow young performers to comfortably tap into their artistic gifts.
Michelle McGregor (Instructor) is thrilled to bring her teaching to the YES Program at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre. Michelle has studied various techniques in acting all over the country; from Meisner and Stanislovksy, to Commedia Dell'arte and Improvisation technique. She is committed to sharing a wide range of techniques and tools with her students. Michelle has her BFA in theatre from the College of Santa Fe, and her MFA in Acting from the Yale School of Drama. She has taught script analysis, acting fundamentals, and creation of character since 2009 and looks forward to this collaboration with Morgan-Wixson.
Maggie Randolph (Instructor) received a BFA at Syracuse University after attending Interlochen Performing Arts School during her high school years. Soon after graduation, Maggie toured in many productions around the world and won many awards for her performances, including winning LA's Next Great Stage Star in 2016. These past five years she has had a career in teaching and private vocal coaching and is passionate about sharing her knowledge to young performers of all ages while continuing to perform in Los Angeles.
Meghan Ripchik is a choreographer & director based in Los Angeles. She studied theatre & dance at UC San Diego, directing & choreographing the MainStage musical and multiple showcases. She has choreographed and taught dance for nine youth musicals in the Los Angeles area including The Addams Family, Oliver!, and Beauty & the Beast. She has been training for 10+ years in various styles including musical theatre, jazz, ballet, tap, and hip hop, with a focus on storytelling dance and movement that nourishes the mind and soul.
Martha Thatcher - Bio to Come Soon