Sing more!

Did you know that there is a ton of research linking singing to health benefits? Not only does singing relieve stress and boost your immune system, but choral singing helps form social bonds and reduces the feelings of isolation that are so common in our world. 

“In one 2014 study involving 11,258 schoolchildren, researchers found that children in a singing and musical engagement program developed a strong sense of community and social inclusion.” – Healthline

You might be thinking “Encore doesn’t have a choir, so why does that matter?” and my response is, we have mini choirs all the time! In our mainstage musicals the ensemble sings together throughout the show, like during “The Circle of Life” in our recent production of The Lion King Jr. Look out for our next round of auditions, including for our spring production of The Wizard of Oz! Or in our classes like Magic of Musicals and Broadway Basics where students learn songs together and put on a show after just a few weeks! If you can’t commit to a class, our upcoming Presidents’ Day workshop might be for you. 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.

“Spontaneous, improvised singing causes your body to release [oxytocin], which may help give you a heightened sense of connectedness and inclusion.” – Healthline

We have even more opportunities to sing in 2025 during our summer camp season. There are camps for ages 3-15 to belt it out this summer! Whether you want to sing with Berti and her friends in Kindergarten the Musical or build an ensemble in Broadway Bootcamp, singing is a great way to express your emotions and build lasting friendships. 

“Everyone can sing – however much we might protest – meaning it is one of the most accessible forms of music making.” – Oxford Research

So happy New Year, and may it be a musical one!

Photos by Cindy Kane and others. Blog contribution by Parker Nelson

The post Parker’s Performance Playbook – On Singing appeared first on Encore Stage & Studio.

July 14-18, 2025: Summer Stooges (Ages 9-12)

Do you love to laugh? Join Encore for a hilarious journey as we explore physical comedy, clowning, and more. You’ll be sure to leave any audience in stitches with the comedic antics you’ll learn in this side-splitting session. 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

“[My student] told us all about story development. She loved the opportunity to be creative!.” – Parent Review

July 21-25, 2025: Commedia Dell’Arte and Mask Work (Ages 9-12)

Grab your Il Dottore mask and learn about the tradition of Commedia dell’Arte, the world’s oldest type of professional theatre! Actors will gain an appreciation for the stock comedic characters that have influenced beloved figures through the ages, work on exaggerated physical movements, and develop an understanding of the history of comedic theatre. Camp concludes with a Final Share for family on the last day.

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

August 4-8, 2025: Scene Stealers (Ages 9-12)

Are you ready for hilarity, silliness, and a whole new style of theatre? Yes, and? The fun doesn’t stop during this week-long improvised comedy intensive. Develop characters, set the scene, and write your own story…all on the spot. Whether you’re completely new to improv or a seasoned comedy lover, every camp comes to life in brand new ways!

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

Location: Clarendon Presbyterian Church (1305 N Jackson St, Arlington, VA 22201)

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

“[My student’s favorite part was] all the improv games and coming up with skits. They love the chance to be creative and lean into their tween weirdness with other creative tween weirdos.” – Parent Review

August 18-22 2025: Live From Encore! (Ages 9-12)

Close out your summer with a load of laughs and a round of applause! Team up with your fellow campers to create hilarious sketches using long-form improvisation techniques you’ll learn from our professional teaching artists. Remind me: whose line is it, anyway?

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

Location: Clarendon Presbyterian Church (1305 N Jackson St, Arlington, VA 22201)

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

June 17-June 28, 2025: Stage Door The Great Cellphone Catastrophe (Ages 12-15)

This delightfully absurd play introduces us to some likable, goofy high school students who must live — briefly at least — without their omnipresent cell phones.Nerd Stevie is frustrated that Stella, the girl of his dreams and the leader of the Cool Kids, won’t acknowledge him, so he devises a way to disable all the cell phones in town. With no phones, everyone must — gasp! — talk to one another. Utilizing projections, sound effects, and video, a funny and randomly weird adventure ensues. The Cool Kids try to solve the cell phone mystery, while Stevie and the other Nerds cluelessly try to prevent them from learning the truth. Along the way they encounter wild animals at a suburban park, hostile squirrels, a trio of Fosse dancers, singing Puritans, touchy beat poets, and a chicken on the lam. No Camp July 4.

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: $770 Early Bird Deal | $815 After January 31st

“[My student loved] learning all about tech/working backstage with the team.” – Parent Review

July 21-August 1, 2025: Stage Door The Dumbest Play Ever (Ages 12-15)

Wow! This has to be the worst title ever for a play, right? Unless… maybe not? In a series of silly scenes that will have us laughing at the “dumbness” in everything, the real question in the end is about what matters most. And while we all can do dumb, goofy things at times (maybe a lot of the time!), we all offer something of value as well. Despite its name, this play smartly poses pertinent questions like: Is Artificial Intelligence smart or dumb? Is a tri-fork an amazing brainstorm or just another silly idea? And why are really good answers on a quiz show somehow wrong? Perhaps Mabel’s Meditative Yoga Class is what we need to just let it all go and not worry whether any of this is smart or dumb or silly or weird, because it’s definitely all of the above! Demonstrating that we can all see a bit of ourselves in this play, the opening scene has the playwright himself as a character making fun of his own dumb ideas — this very play possibly being one of them! Players and the audience join in the fun with these ditzy characters through eight more scenes with cast sizes ranging from 2 to 8. No one will walk away from this show without feeling both a little bit ‘dummer’ and a lot more smarter!

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: $850 Early Bird Deal | $900 After January 31st

August 11-22, 2025: Usher: A Totally Teen Comedy (Ages 12-15)

The works of Edgar Allan Poe are bone-chilling, dark, depressing — nevermore, quoth the raven! This skillful adaptation takes a grand mix of Poe’s writing and characters and weaves them together into a teen-savvy comedy loosely based on “The Fall of the House of Usher” but with more laughs and a much brighter ending. After the bus breaks down on a dark and stormy night, a bunch of high school students on a field trip are forced to spend the night in the spooky house of Usher. But they’re not alone! The spirits of Usher ancestors haunt the halls, cursed to stay trapped in the house forever, unless someone helps the last surviving Usher find the will to truly live life. Along with a healthy dose of entertaining teen drama, Usher touches on some weighty issues that haunt the nightmares of most teens — isolation, loneliness, suicide, and peer pressure. But lighten up, it’s a comedy after all! With characters drawn from classics such as “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Tell Tale Heart,” “Annabel Lee,” and some lesser-known works, there are countless winks, nudges, and nods to the Master of Horror. The House of Usher doesn’t fall at the end in this show, but Usher will bring down yours!

Time: 10:00 am-4:00 pm | Extended hours available 9:00am – 10:00am, 4:00pm – 5:30pm

Location: Encore @ St. Andrews (4000 Lorcom Ln Arlington, VA 22207)

Price: $850 Early Bird Deal | $900 After January 31st

We look forward to having a load of laughs this summer! Don’t miss out!

The post Choose Your Improv 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.

So, what is dramaturgy? Dramaturgy is an exploration of the world of the play. It is the study of the context of a show, learning what the world looks like outside of what is directly mentioned in the script, helping the directors and actors understand what is going on around the characters in the play. 

If a play is set in the 1920’s, the dramaturgy would include research about the jazz music being created in that time period and the kind of clothes people wore, even what kind of food the characters might have eaten! What could the dramaturgy include for a show set in 2024? Is the main character in the play more likely to have seen Inside Out 2 or Despicable Me 4? Are there trends they might be following, like stylish clothes or TikTok dances? 

Sometimes a play is all about a historical event. In that case, the dramaturgy is very important because it helps the cast create as accurate a picture as possible of a real moment in history. Our Flip the Script play, The Day Nothing Happened, is about a real event when Stratford Junior High School desegregated, right here in Arlington. It was important that the people who wrote and performed the play knew the slang and fashion from 1959 so that the characters they portrayed really seemed like they belonged in that moment in history.

Other times, a play is set in a fictional place, but it is the dramaturg’s job to find out what the customs and norms of this fictional land might be. If snowmen talk, does that mean reindeer do, too? Is magic accepted or do people fear it?

In the upcoming weeks, you can look forward to more of Parker’s Performance Playbook as I dive into some interesting details around our upcoming mainstage show, The Lion King! Tickets for the show and pre show experiences are available now. 

Performance photos by Cindy Kane Photography.

About the Author: Parker Nelson

The post Parker’s Performance Playbook – What is Dramaturgy? 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.

Each year during the summer, we ask students what they most enjoyed about summer camp and which themes they would be most interested in. Once this information is collected, the process begins with the Education team: looking at themes from the previous year and discussing which ones were successful and fun. Then, we look at current themes, popular new movies, and ideas that resonate with younger actors; it’s like putting a fun puzzle together.

For example, a popular theme that stood out this past summer was the Disney movie The Descendants. Collectively we thought a week that explores fun villains, exaggerated characters, and famous cartoons might be exciting and theatrical, so we created a new Scenes for Tweens theme: Villains and Their Descendants. There is always something very fun and thrilling playing the villainous character. “Mwahaha!”

We next asked the question, “Are there any gaps or places for new programming?” We thought the genre of musical theatre and Broadway for our younger actors might be a place to add new programs. So we have added two new weeks at It’s Elementary called Broadway Kids (we have a week for Disney and one for classics)! The focus will be on singing, dancing, and acting.

Our seasoned actors (ages 11-15) have a new two-week program called Spotlight Showcase. We wanted to offer a musical theatre experience for those in this age group who wanted a shorter timeframe than our Stage Door/Tech Camp production offers. These weeks will be filled with Broadway belts and jazz hands that will remind our parents and friends that there is “no business-like show business.”

Finally, our goal is to ensure that each student is having fun while learning new skills. We offer a good mix of gameplay, music, movement, and crafts within the various camps. The Education Department sends a heartfelt “Thank you!” to all of our families for choosing Encore as your summer camp destination.

From musical theatre to Shakespeare, stage combat to comedy, and everything in between, Encore Stage & Studio has a summer camp experience for every student. Early Bird pricing ends February 1st, so act now to lock in your best price and snag a spot in your favorite camps today!

Photos by Aileen Pangan Christian, Connie Polnow, and Cindy Kane Photography.
Blog contribution by Encore’s Education Department.
Edited by Shannon McCarthy.

The post Filling the Gaps: BTS with the Education Department 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.

Welcoming Friends
ICYMI: Encore has welcomed three new friends to our office staff this past month (+ the lovely Gloria this August!). You’ll be seeing a lot of them, so please head over and get to know them:

Patrick McGee, Education Programs Manager

Kyla McLaughlin, 2019/2020 Production Apprentice

Jordan Wells, 2019/2020 Education Apprentice

Speaking of lovely faces…did you see Madaline Langston, Encore’s Education Programs Director, in her own Arlington Magazine interview?

Selling Tickets
When we saw the positive response to our upcoming Frozen Princess Ball, we got chills…of joy! We cannot wait to celebrate this wonderful production with so many of our dear Encore friends. Get your tickets today – we promise not to finish your sandwiches.

Speaking of tickets – did you realize that single tickets for CSI: Christmas Scene Investigators have been released? This holiday production will be running at Gunston Arts Center’s Theatre Two, which is a delightful black box space. Black boxes mean more intimate performances and, therefore, fewer seats, so be sure to get your tickets before they’re gone!

Getting Prepared
Our fall education season officially began on September 23rd with two Monday evening classes specially designed for our older acting students, Supernatural Shakespeare and Broadway Musicals. Our Monday evening series of Education offerings are ideal options for actors that are constantly seeking to improve their craft and, in doing so, their hopes of being cast in fully staged productions.

Are you feeling prepared? Come out to auditions for Encore’s next two productions, Narnia and CSI: Christmas Scene Investigators, October 22 and 23, between 5-7 PM. Visit our Auditions page for more detailed information by clicking here.

Building Community
Last month, our three new apprentices had the opportunity to join Executive Director Sara Duke at a community event for the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). This event gathered local non-profits to share more about their organizations with federal employees, who are encouraged to give back and support non-profits by the CFC’s matching program: “The mission of the CFC is to promote and support philanthropy through a program that is employee-focused, cost-efficient, and effective in providing all federal employees the opportunity to improve the quality of life for all.”

Are you interested in learning more about Encore’s history, programming, and mission? Please visit the link below to learn more about how your donations help to support “Theatre by kids, for kids” in the DC Metro area.

Opening House
We were delighted to welcome a number of new students and families to our first-ever Fall Open House event. It was a wonderful opportunity to share who we are as an organization and what it’s like to experience an Encore class. Saturday Fall classes begin this week, on Saturday, October 5, so now is the time to get registered, if you haven’t already!

Photos by Aileen Pangan Christian and Cindy Kane Photography. Additional photos provided by staff.
Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.

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