Hello Encore Family!  My name is Erin Driscoll Gardiner and I was involved in several shows at Encore. Now, I am a full time professor of Musical Theater at George Mason University and a professional actress in the DC area. I have worked at a ton of the professional theaters in town from Signature Theater to the Kennedy Center to Round House Theater. I have been a member of the Actor’s Equity Association for 20 years now. I just recently played Mrs. Cratchit at Ford’s Theater production of A Christmas Carol.

From starring as Maria in West Side Story to being a professional hire for Pirates of Penzance, you have had so many Encore experiences! Do you have any fun or funny offstage memories from your time here?

I am sure there are so many that I just don’t remember because each show I have done with Encore has been a blast. 

What skill or word of wisdom did you take away from working with Encore?

I learned SO much! I basically learned how to act at Encore. I was a good singer when I joined the cast of West Side Story but I was pushed to connect to the material in a way no one had asked me yet. Then when I played Eliza Dolittle, I really had to let go of being the pretty ingenue and commit to getting messy and real with the character. It is something I continue to strive for in my work today.

Why do you think theatre is important for young people?

For some, it it the first time they are working towards a larger goal that is bigger than the themselves. You all have to come together and the show is the thing. Not ego, not friendship drama, not anything. You learn to work with people, you learn to lean on people, you learn how much goes into something…all the hours of work and commitment. You also get the joy of seeing it all come to fruition. You learn how to treat people and basically be a person in a functioning society.

What is one way your theater experience has helped you offstage?

I am not afraid to try. I am not afraid to fail. I can look at the big picture and see how do I help it happen. Oh, sorry, you asked for just one and that is too hard to pick!

We love highlighting Encore friendships, is there anyone you keep in contact with from your days at Encore?

Yes several! This is one of my favorite things to talk about with Encore. I am still friends with many of the people I worked with on shows. One of them was in my wedding party! Friends for life!

What’s your favorite play or musical as an audience member?

Oh, that is hard too! I love ensemble shows. I love when the ensemble is integrated into the story all along and helps tell it, even it means singing and moving furniture while they do it. Like how the ensemble works in Waitress, is really inspiring for me.

Encore’s season this year is about courage — how can we learn courage through theatre?

To do theater is courageous! To audition and be brave enough to show your talents….to stand on a stage or work behind knowing an whole audience is watching is brave. To commit to a common goal and work hard to see it come together is all about courage. To tell stories because they need to be shared is courage. Theater is courage.

Lastly — we’re having an Encore alumni reunion in July at Footloose, will you be there!?

I will try to be there! I am always trying to support and be apart of Encore any way I can! If I can’t, tell them that they are the best and I continue to shout that from the rooftops!

Thank you for catching up with us, Erin! We look forward to seeing what you do next.

Photos by Larry McClemons, blog contribution by Parker Nelson.

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Feb. 17, 2025: Broadway Show Hits and Choreography Workshop (Presidents Day) for Grades 3-8

When school’s off, Encore’s on…onstage, that is! Students in grades 3-8 will discover the world of theatre through Broadway Show Hits including songs from Hamilton, Wicked, and Newsies! Enjoy a day of theatre games, crafts, creative activities, and storytelling in a safe and supportive environment.

Monday, February 17, 2025 (Presidents Day) | 10:00am-2:00pm | Encore @ Cherrydale

AM & PM Extended hours available for an additional fee

Location: Encore @ Cherrydale United Methodist Church (3701 Lorcom Ln, Arlington, VA 22207)

Fee: $90

March 8, 2025: Pre-Audition Workshop for Student One Acts & The Wizard of Oz

Our optional pre-audition workshops help students learn what to expect at an Encore audition and how to present themselves. Join us to remove the mystery from the audition process and prepare yourself for the next open call. Don’t let the audition process be “confusifying,” come prepare for your Wizard of Oz Era!

March 8, 2025 | 1:30pm-3:30pm | Encore @ Cherrydale

Location: Encore @ Cherrydale United Methodist Church (3701 Lorcom Ln, Arlington, VA 22207)

Fee: $80

Jan. 30, 2025: The Wizard of Oz Mini-Camp & Play in a Day

When school’s off, Encore’s on…onstage, that is! Students in grades K-5 will discover the world of theatre through The Wizard of Oz with characters including Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow and more! Enjoy a day of theatre games, crafts, creative activities, and storytelling in a safe and supportive environment.

Thursday, January 30, 2025 (APS) | 10:00am-4:00pm | Encore @ Cherrydale

AM & PM Extended hours available for an additional fee

Location: Encore @ Cherrydale United Methodist Church (3701 Lorcom Ln, Arlington, VA 22207)

Fee: $90

July 7-11 2025: Costume & Make-up Design

You’ve landed the role. You meet with the costume designer, how do they make their choices? How do I apply my makeup? You will now become the designer, create the look and apply your own makeup to create your final show. This program will conclude with a final sharing on the last day of camp.

Time: 10:00 am-4:00 pm | Extended hours available 8:30am – 10:00am, 4:00pm – 5:30pm

Location: Cherrydale United Methodist Church (3701 Lorcom Ln. Arlington, VA 22207)

Price: $425 Early Bird Deal | $450 After January 31st

Price: $425 Early Bird Deal | $450 After January 31st

June 23-27, 2025: Summer Stories

Do you lie in bed each night with ideas swirling through your mind? Do you long to create stories that make it to the big screen or up on stage? This is the camp for you! Under the guidance of our professional teaching artists, bring all your wildest imaginations from your mind to the page and, perhaps, to the stage! Camp concludes with a Final Share for family on the last day of camp.

Time: 10:00 am-4:00 pm | Extended hours available 8:30am – 10:00am, 4:00pm – 5:30pm

Location: Kenmore Middle School (200 S Carlin Springs Rd, Arlington, VA 22204)*

Price: $425 Early Bird Deal | $450 After January 31st

The post Choose Your Wicked Era appeared first on Encore Stage & Studio.

What does it mean to be courageous? Do you have to climb a mountain? Or stand up to a bully? Is it possible that we can find courage in just being ourselves? This season, Encore is exploring the theme of courage through a variety of mainstage shows, from The Lion King Jr to Flip the Script to Footloose and everything in between. All of the characters we will meet this season are courageous in their own way, so you’ll have to come out and see how they show it!

But what about our everyday lives? How can we be courageous at school and at home? In theatre, we use the phrase “yes, and” to express the openness we try to bring to the stage, but that approach takes courage! It means we are available to help those around us, always looking for ways we can support them. Courage is being yourself. When you bring your full self to whatever you are doing (group projects, chores at home, rehearsals), everyone around you benefits. We need each other’s unique perspective in order to be successful in whatever we do.

Here at Encore, we get to find our courage on stage or behind the curtain, and don’t forget about the classroom! We all belong and are needed to be a community of artists inspiring each other to develop creativity, empathy, and confidence. 

This fall, join us on your days off school to courageously take the stage with our community of young performers, enrollment open now!

Photos by Cindy Kane Photography and Encore Staff

The post Our 2024/2025 Season of Courage appeared first on Encore Stage & Studio.

Greetings everyone, I’m Emma, the Marketing and Development Coordinator at Encore Stage & Studio. I’m happy to begin this series called Emma’s Ensemble Feature, where I’ll be talking about all things ensemble related in theatre.  I have several years of ensemble work under my belt, as I have twelve years of choreography experience in musical theatre. Today, we’re going to take a look at the top five things I think make a strong ensemble.

#1 – Energy.  The ensemble of a show is the life force. When an ensemble is having fun and is full of energy, it increases the quality of the show.  Even with tragic moments, when the ensemble channels the right mood for the scene, the audience will feel it too.  

#2 – Health.  All performers need to maintain their health.  When you’re in the ensemble, you are asked to sing, dance, and act.  Make sure you eat before rehearsals and shows, as well was warm up your body and voice properly. If you’re sick, make sure to stay home so you don’t get the rest of the cast sick.  If you’re injured, make sure to come to rehearsal and sit out by take notes about any blocking or choreography you will need to know when you are able to go full out again.

#3 – Diversity.  Ensembles need to be made up of a diverse cast, make for a strong ensemble.  To not only be diverse in skill set (we need good dancers, every voice part, even people who can tumble or ride a unicycle or juggle!), but diverse in race, gender, body type, and age.  The ensemble of a cast tells the story of what people not only exist in the play, but in our community outside of the theater.  It is very important that the ensemble represents that well.

#4 – Blend.  While ensembles are made up of multiple individuals, it is the same unit.  While the ensemble literally sings in harmony, and to achieve that they need to have a good vocal blend, a strong ensemble also needs to move as a unit.  No one member of the ensemble needs to stand out above the rest.  While some ensemble members may get featured parts here and there, the ensemble is a group before anything else

#5 – Consistency.  The phrase “practice makes perfect” is very popular, but “practice makes consistent” is much better.  No show will ever be perfect, with live theater, people will make mistakes that you can’t edit out as if you were in a movie.  Most mistakes that are made in live theatre go unnoticed anyway.  The audience will never know the show was well as the cast does.   What is realistic to strive for is consistency.  Building both confidence and competence in our parts in the show through repetition will enable us to be able to best do the show as close to the same way each night that we can best hope for.  Striving for consistency in quality will reach better results than “perfection” will ever will.

If being in an ensemble of a play or musical seems like fun to you, there are many options at Encore Stage & Studio for joining! We have upcoming auditions for Flip the Script: Foodways of Arlington, a Cultural Celebration on October 14 from 5:30-8:30 PM a  Arlington Mill or October 15 from 5:30-8:30 PM at Cherrydale and The Twelve Dancing Princesses on October 15 from 5:30-8:30 PM at Cherrydale, well as mini-camps where we put on a play in a day on school holidays! 

Production photos by Cindy Kane Photography

The post Introducing our Newest Series: Emma’s Ensemble Feature appeared first on Encore Stage & Studio.

Take a Theatre Journey
Keep the magic of the holiday season going with Encore’s upcoming production of Narnia. This version of the classic tale is a musical, so you’ll be able to experience the story in a whole new way! The production runs at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre January 10-19, 2020. Tickets are available now, so get them before they melt away!

New Year, New Characters
2020 is the year to overcome your nerves and join us for a fun and easy audition! We’ve got lots of information on what to expect on our Auditions page to help you feel at your most prepared. We look forward to seeing you at auditions for The Three Musketeers on January 14 or 15!

Join the Encore Team
As we continue onward through the chill of winter, it might be hard to think ahead to summer…but not here at Encore! We’re excited to share the paid job opportunities we have available for Summer 2020, as well as season-long apprenticeships for the 2020/2021 season. Interested in working with us this year? Check out the opportunities and send in an application. If you’re under the age of 16, we have unpaid volunteer opportunities available as well!

A Class-y New Year
Registration is currently open for Encore’s Winter session of theatre classes. Space is limited in some instances, so check out the titles and register while there’s still space available!

Lose Yourself in a Summer of Theatre
The Education team here at Encore is pumped to share our 2020 summer camps with all of you. We’ve got brand-new themes and productions in all of our various age groups, so there is certainly a place for you to make your artistic home this summer.

P.S. Interested in meeting some of our summer staff or experiencing a taste of the summer camp experience? Join us tomorrow, Saturday, January 4, 2020 for Encore’s 2020 Summer Camp Open House!

Photos by Larry McClemons, Aileen Pangan Christian, and Cindy Kane Photography.
Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.

The post Seeing Clearly in 2020: Encore Resolutions appeared first on Encore Stage & Studio.

We Flipped the Script
The beginning of November saw the premiere of Encore’s latest program, Flip the Script. Three packed audiences enjoyed “The Day That Nothing Happened,” a student-devised and performed piece focusing on the historic integration of Arlington County public schools. We look forward to featuring scenes from this work in the MLK Day performance produced by Arlington County.

Ready to tackle your own production experience? Audition for The Three Musketeers on January 14 & 15, 2020!

We Played the Day Away
November brought us several wonderful Holiday Mini Camp days. We had a blast collaborating as a group to create a brand-new final sharing each day, as well as playing games, making crafts, and learning dances.

January is full of new mini-camp opportunities, so now is your chance to join us for an epic day of play and theatre fun whenever school is out for the day. Sign up today to secure your spot – limited space available!

We Welcomed New Friends
This fall we welcomed a new Development Officer, Kelley O’Dell! She has already had an incredible impact on Encore’s individual giving stats, as well as being a joyous addition to Encore’s offices.

Make Kelley’s day and give your 2019 tax refund a boost by placing an end-of-year gift to Encore (a 501c3 organization) by the end of today!

We Sang, Danced, and Performed
Our Late Fall classes covered topics ranging from Shakespeare to Broadway, fairytales to stage combat, and beyond. With so many of our classes running, we were thrilled to present a host of awesome end of session sharings.

Space in Winter classes is limited, so sign up today to join in on the creativity, collaboration, and, of course, fun!

We Investigated
It doesn’t take a detective to realize that Encore’s annual holiday show was a smash-hit. CSI: Christmas Scene Investigators closed out with a second weekend full of sold-out performances! The Clue Club hunted down the missing Santa Claus and the holiday season was saved for all!

Keep the winter magic alive with Encore’s upcoming production of the musical Narnia, playing January 10-19, 2020 at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre.

We Dreamed of Summer
This month we were pumped to announce all of our camp themes for Summer 2020. Lucky for you, registration opened just yesterday. Head over to our summer landing page, check out the dates and themes, then sign up today to lock in your best early bird price and guarantee your spot for your summer theatre adventure!

Photos by Aileen Pangan Christian and Cindy Kane Photography. Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.

The post 2019 Wrap-Up: November and December Highlights appeared first on Encore Stage & Studio.

Hi, my name is Bridget Schaller and I go to St. Thomas More Cathedral School. This will be my third production with Encore. I am playing the role of Myrna in Encore’s production of CSI: Christmas Scene Investigators. I love participating in Encore productions, and I have learned a few things to keep handy in my rehearsal bag.

● Script-This is your key to all productions. You use it for all sorts of things besides your lines.
● Jazz Shoes-Although you don’t have to have them right away, they’re good to have in rehearsal to break in and get used to wearing them.
● Pencils-You’ll need these to take notes whether they’re in your script or notebook.
● Notebook-This isn’t a must, but it’s good to have on hand if your script is holding a lot of blocking.
● Folder or Binder-This is to hold your script so it doesn’t get wet, wrinkled, or ripped up.
● Water Bottle-The water fountains aren’t always working and this may be colder and more refreshing. This will also keep you hydrated throughout rehearsal.
● Food-Whether this is dinner or a protein bar, you’re going to need it; rehearsal can work up quite the appetite! Coming with food will keep your energy going throughout rehearsal.
● Homework and/or a Book- There won’t always be a time to do this, but if there is some downtime when you’re not on stage, you can finish your homework for the day or read a book.
● Hair Ties-While this may not apply to everybody, keep hair ties on hand because the rehearsal room can get hot and stuffy during movement or dance rehearsals.

I will also be answering some questions that are commonly asked about Encore productions:

Encore: What led you to first auditioning for Encore? How did you feel during that audition?

Bridget: I had always seen Encore productions from when I was just four years old. So when I turned nine, I knew I wanted to audition. My first audition was for The Lion King Jr. in 2017. I felt nervous but so excited and didn’t know what to expect. But I actually really enjoyed the audition. Though I didn’t make callbacks, I was still super proud of myself for auditioning! I then auditioned for Pinocchio and made callbacks but, still not the show. That same year, I auditioned for Jingle ARRGH the Way! and made the show! I played the role of Swill the Pirate.

Encore: What’s your favorite Encore memory?

Bridget: My favorite Encore memory was during the first weekend of Robin Hood. It was a Saturday and the cast was eating lunch in between the two shows. I was talking with Xander Tilock and we were discussing our characters. He played the role of Robin Hood and I was playing King Richard. Xander told me he played a King in one of his prior Encore shows, The Night at the Wax Museum. Then he just started calling me Richie and the name stuck. He’s been calling me Richie ever since! And it always makes me laugh.

Encore: What’s been the best part of rehearsal during CSI so far?

Bridget: The best part about rehearsals during CSI is discovering our characters. My amazing director A.K. Nell has helped us really develop who we play. Since our production will be in the Black Box at Gunston we also get to work on levels that go along with our character. For example, the Clue Club is on the ground a lot looking for clues or evidence.

Encore: Why should people come to see CSI: Christmas Scene Investigators?

Bridget: People should come see CSI because it really expresses people in reality. All our characters are average day high schoolers that each has their own special personality. It ties in the Christmas spirit so well with school and after school activities. It’s fun for little kids, big kids, and adults! I mean, who doesn’t love seeing Good Ol’ Saint Nick?

Thanks for sharing, Bridget! Be sure to purchase your tickets to catch Bridget and the of the hilarious cast of CSI: Christmas Scene Investigators – this festive show will be performing in Gunston Arts Center’s black box, Theatre Two, so seating is limited!

Photos by Larry McClemons, Aileen Pangan Christian, and Cindy Kane Photography.
Graphic design by Aimee Pangan and Aileen Pangan Christian.
Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.

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