DRAMA
Mission
DRAMA STUDIO MISSION
Brooklyn High School of the Arts Studio and Stage Program provides students with a specific interest and talent in theater with rigorous, differentiated and sequential high quality theater training to support their dreams of reaching their full potential in college and careers in theater and other fields. Students will graduate prepared for the rigors of a Liberal Arts or Conservatory college program. Daily theater classes are provided by professional theater artists who hold New York City Department of Education theater licenses as well as experience from the theater field.
The Program is designed to graduate highly trained theater students who have engaged in both artistic and academic rigor during their high school experience. Students will graduate with a theater major from the school. It is Brooklyn Arts' goal that all theater graduates enter into college upon graduation as students of theater or in the careers of their choice using the integral skills in public speaking, presentation, analysis and self assessment that are inherent in the theater art form.
Students in the Brooklyn Arts Studio and Stage Program will have the opportunity to work with our cultural partners such as Brooklyn Academy of Music, Theater Development Fund (tdf), The Civilians, St. Ann's Warehouse, Exploring the Arts, The Shakespeare Society and ArtsConnection. Students have the opportunity to attend professional Broadway and off-Broadway theater as well as participate in professional training in play-writing, acting and stage management.
Brooklyn High School of the Arts Studio and Stage Program provides students with a specific interest and talent in theater with rigorous, differentiated and sequential high quality theater training to support their dreams of reaching their full potential in college and careers in theater and other fields. Students will graduate prepared for the rigors of a Liberal Arts or Conservatory college program. Daily theater classes are provided by professional theater artists who hold New York City Department of Education theater licenses as well as experience from the theater field.
The Program is designed to graduate highly trained theater students who have engaged in both artistic and academic rigor during their high school experience. Students will graduate with a theater major from the school. It is Brooklyn Arts' goal that all theater graduates enter into college upon graduation as students of theater or in the careers of their choice using the integral skills in public speaking, presentation, analysis and self assessment that are inherent in the theater art form.
Students in the Brooklyn Arts Studio and Stage Program will have the opportunity to work with our cultural partners such as Brooklyn Academy of Music, Theater Development Fund (tdf), The Civilians, St. Ann's Warehouse, Exploring the Arts, The Shakespeare Society and ArtsConnection. Students have the opportunity to attend professional Broadway and off-Broadway theater as well as participate in professional training in play-writing, acting and stage management.
Curriculum
Freshmen -
Acting 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Voice and Diction 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Sophomores –
Acting 3 & 4 (2 Credits)
Playwriting 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Juniors -
Advanced Acting 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Theater History 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Seniors -
Senior Portfolio 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Audition Prep 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Theatre Electives
Play Production
Technical Theater 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Technical Theater 2 & 3 (2 Credits)
Musical Theatre 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Musical Theatre 3 & 4 (2 Credits)
Musical Theatre 5 & 6 (2 Credits)
Improvisation 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Acting 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Voice and Diction 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Sophomores –
Acting 3 & 4 (2 Credits)
Playwriting 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Juniors -
Advanced Acting 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Theater History 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Seniors -
Senior Portfolio 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Audition Prep 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Theatre Electives
Play Production
Technical Theater 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Technical Theater 2 & 3 (2 Credits)
Musical Theatre 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
Musical Theatre 3 & 4 (2 Credits)
Musical Theatre 5 & 6 (2 Credits)
Improvisation 1 & 2 (2 Credits)
StaffFrank Proudfoot, AP Ms. Coon, Instructor Ms. Shaffer, Instructor Mr. Gray, Instructor Mr. Yarborough, Instructor Staff Bios: Ms. Coon: Jill Coon has over 25 years of professional experience in the field of arts education. She has taught theater for the Drama Department since 2010 directing shows such as: Love/Sick, She Kills Monsters, Is He Dead?, Once on this Island, Little Shop of Horrors, Grease, The Wiz, Alice in Wonderland, The Comedy Of Errors, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Crucible, The Colored Museum, and two original pieces. One original piece was based on For Colored Girls Who've Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf while the other was a docudrama written under the guidance of The Civilians and Michael Friedman about the 1960s and titled Faces Glued To A Cool Time. Her acting credits include performances at the Russian Arts Center in Moscow in her thesis role of Catherine in A View from the Bridge, Jean Louise Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, Olivia in Twelfth Night and appearances and voice over work on As the World Turns. Prior to her career as a NYCDOE teacher, Jill worked as an arts administrator, grant writer and teaching artist with multiple organizations: ENACT, Children’s Dance Foundation, Town and Gown Theater Academy. Jill also served as Interim Associate Vice President of Operations at the United Way of New York City. Born and raised in Hunstville, Alabama, Jill studied with New York Acting Teacher, Wynn Handman and graduated with a BA degree in English and in Theatre from Birmingham-Southern College. She also holds a Masters in Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Florida. She is dual NYCDOE licensed to teach English grades 7-12 and Theater k-12. Jill is a member of the United Federation of Teachers, Actor’s Equity and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artist. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and son. Ms. Shaffer: Lisanne Shaffer is originally from North Carolina where she received a BFA in Musical Theater from East Carolina University in 2003. She subsequently completed the 2- year training in the Sanford Meisner technique under instructor Donald Biehn. Lisanne spent much of her early career touring with regional theater companies, directing her friends’ showcases in New York City and serving as the theater director for Camp Wicosuta in New Hampshire. She received her MS in Educational Theater from the City College of New York in 2015. Lisanne began her work at Brooklyn High School of the Arts in 2015 where she has loved bringing her acting technique work into the classroom as well as sharing her directing talents. She teaches all of the 9th grade acting classes along with running the musical theater program. Lisanne’s productions have received numerous accolades including being selected for the prestigious Shubert High School Theater Festival three times with “ A Raisin in the Sun”, “Almost Maine” and most recently “Fame!” She also serves as the lead high school theater teacher at the Summer Arts Institute held at Frank Sinatra high school every summer, as a professional development leader with the Office of Arts and Special Projects and as an adjunct instructor in The City College of New York’s program in Educational Theater. Mr. Gray: Justin has been a member of the Brooklyn Arts Drama Department since 2017. He specializes in teaching theatrical Directing and Technical Design, including sound, lighting, and projections. Originally from Boston, Justin discovered his own love of theatre late in his high school career when he helped run video projections for a production of The Who's "Tommy." He went on to earn his Bachelor of the Arts in Theatre Directing from Keene State College in 2011. He helped to create The New Classics Company, an amateur theatre company, with several of his former college classmates in 2012. After several years working for major Boston theatre institutions, including Boston Children's Theatre and Boston Playwrights Theatre, Justin relocated to New York City in 2014. He naturally transitioned into teaching artistry, working with major cultural institutions like Theatre Development Fund and Carnegie Hall, where he taught drama workshops everywhere from public school classrooms to juvenile detention centers. In 2017 he earned his Masters degree and teaching certification from the City College of New York. When he's not behind the light and sound boards at BHSA, Justin can be found around the city playing with his band, running with his dog, or generally appreciating his immensely patient wife. Mr. Yarborough: Chad Yarborough currently teaches Senior Drama and Technical Theatre at Brooklyn Arts and has had the privilege to design and build the sets for the theatre department at BHSA since the beginning of the 2018 season. Mr. Yarborough is also the resident set designer for the critically acclaimed Axis Theatre Company in the West Village and is in his 10th season in that role. He holds a degree in English, Theatre and Philosophy from USC, earned his MFA from the professional directors training program at Ohio University and is currently finishing up a master’s degree in Theatre Education at The City College of New York. Prior to his recent appointment at Brooklyn Arts he taught at Wagner College and Oglethorpe University collectively for 17 years. Mr. Yarborough worked for 7 Stages as Assistant Technical Director and Assistant Director to Joseph Chaikin. He also served as Assistant Director for Theatrical Outfit and Master Electrician for Stuffed Puppet Theatre from Amsterdam. He has performed at the New York Fringe Festival as well as directed and co-written several world premieres. For several years he led the house band at Dad’s Garage Theatre Company. Some of his Directorial credits include: Stake Out at Godot’s, Darky Trapped Like Dark Rats, Stella Goes to Hell, The Shape of Things, The Physicist’s, The Odyssey of Mosdesty Forth, Counting the Ways, The Falling Sickness, The Crawlers, Voice of the Prairie, Be Creative, or Increasing the Gerbils, True West, Cabaret, Waiting for Godot, and Suburbia From 2007-2008 he was on the production team for the Metropolitan Opera and NY Philharmonic’s Parks Tours. Mr. Yarborough has directed over 40 titles and designed over 60 productions both professional and academic. He has been on stage since the age of ten and his favorite role to date has been that of Lead Guitarist for Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Once a touring musician, his albums may be now found on iTunes. |
Audition RequirementsIt is preferred that every student applying to the theater program has experience studying theater in either a school setting or a private institution. Students are expected to memorize two monologues, one minute for each. Suggested monologues (click here) |