Depot Spring Workshops 2024
Depot Winter/Spring Workshops 2024
Pantomime
Date: Saturday 3/16/24 10:00 a.m to noon
Location: The Philipstown Depot Theatre
Age: 1-3 Grade
Instructor: Fay Gerbes Pacht
Cost: $35
Class size: 6-15
Do you love to play and tell stories? Join Fay for a fun time playing improv games and learning to communicate with your bodies. Through tableau work, movement, and pantomime, students will work together to create original short stories to share with their audience at 11:45.
Physical Comedy
Date: Saturday 3/16/24 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location: The Philipstown Depot Theatre
Age: 4-7 Grade
Instructor: Fay Gerbes Pacht
Cost: $35
Class size: 6-15
Do you love telling jokes and being silly? Then this is the course for you! In this session, young actors will build skills in improvisation, physical theatre, and character development. They will experience the power of group creation in a fun, supportive environment. With a modern twist on stock characters and lazzi from Commedia dell’Arte, students will create comedic skits for a short performance at 2:45.
Fay Gerbes Pacht Bio:
Fay has performed, directed, musically directed, and designed for theatres and companies in Boston, New York City, and regionally. She has directed several Depot Youth productions in the past, like Charlotte’s Web, The Birds, The Baker Street Irregulars, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Fay has her Master's Degree in Educational Theatre from NYU and works as a Theatre Teacher in NYC and locally.
Playing with Improv
Date: Saturday 4/6/24 10:00 a.m. to noon
Location: The Philipstown Depot Theatre
Age: 1-3 Grade
Instructor: Kalista Parrish
Cost: $35
Class size: 6-15
In this workshop setting, we will utilize contemporary theatre games and classic themes to build characters, motifs and storylines. This is the time to bust out your silly walks, funny voices and general goofiness as we will work collaboratively to create a short piece through games and improvisational techniques. Please bring a light snack and a water bottle.
Improvisational Theatre
Date: Saturday 4/6/24 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location: The Philipstown Depot Theatre
Age: 4-7 Grade
Instructor: Kalista Parrish
Cost: $35
Class size: 6-15
This workshop will focus on the basics of Improvisational Theatre. The class will learn and participate in multiple exercises and games that will help grow and strengthen their improvisational skills. We will employ story structure, thinking in the moment and, of course, always saying “Yes and!” to develop exciting scenes and experiences. Please bring a light snack and a water bottle.
Kalista Parrish Bio:
Kalista Sale Parrish started working professionally as an actor at a very early age and spent a lifetime in and around theater, books, television and film. After an apprenticeship at Irondale Ensemble Project she studied theater at NYU’s Experimental Theatre Wing and screenwriting at The New School. She currently teaches, writes, directs and performs theater throughout the Hudson Valley. For the past three years she has also been an Artist-in-Residence Theater teacher, Pre-K to 8th grade, at The Garrison School.
Summer 2024 Programs
Mary Poppins Jr.
Location: The Philipstown Depot Theatre
Age: Rising 4th-7th graders
Instructors: Helen Hutchison, Robert Friemark, Ash O’Malley, Elsa Minkin, Lucius Bell, and Grayson Bokhour. Supervised by Thai Dodge, Amy Dul, and Rachel Moody.
Dates: Weekdays starting 7/1-7/26, 9am-2pm (no rehearsal 7/4)
Performances: 6 shows, 7/25-7/28
Cost: $695
Class size: 15-25
Join the Depot Theatre for a summer production of Mary Poppins Jr! This stage adaptation of the superb movie musical and classic books features music and lyrics by the Sherman Brothers, additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, and a script by Julian Fellowes. A very special nanny visits a family in London and employs her unique brand of magic and joy to improve life for all she cares for. This show features a robust, active ensemble and a variety of roles, so there’s sure to be something for everyone!
This unique theatrical opportunity offers a chance for budding thespians to work with, and learn from, seasoned Depot teens through the Depot’s Mentor Project;* additional adults will be there to supervise and offer assistance as well. We hope you’ll join us for a summer of theatrical exploration, learning, and performance!
*Philipstown Depot Theatre Mentor Project: Formalized in 2015, our Mentor Project offers teens who are interested in the theater arts (directing, stage managing, choreography, and more) an opportunity to learn these skills from professionals and then implement them by directing, designing, and managing the Depot Youth summer production.
Once Upon a Mattress
Location: The Philipstown Depot Theatre
Age: Rising 8th-12th graders
Director: Natalie Arneson; Musical Director: Todd Hulet
Dates: Weekdays starting 7/1-8/2 (no rehearsal 7/4)
Time: 2:30pm-5:30pm full cast (5:30pm-6:30pm select performers, as needed)
Performances: 6 shows, 8/1-8/4
Cost: $495
Class size: 13-25
Join the Depot Theatre for our summer teen production of Once Upon a Mattress! Most recently seen at NY City Center starring Sutton Foster, this rollicking spin on the classic tale The Princess and the Pea is full of fun shenanigans and memorable songs. It features music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller & Marshall Barer.
Set long ago and far away, Princess Winifred, an unapologetic free spirit, is set loose in a repressed kingdom to “win” her prince, all the while defying expectations of what really makes a princess. With so many fun roles and an involved, active ensemble, this show has something for everyone. We hope you’ll join us for a summer of theatrical exploration, learning, and performance!
Natalie Arneson:
Natalie Arneson is a director, actor, singer, and anime voiceover artist. She won the 2016 Manhattan Association of Clubs and Cabarets Award for Best Female Debut for her original show “Mama Drama.” In New York she has appeared onstage with Playhouse Creatures, MCC, and The New York Musical Festival, and headlined at The Metropolitan Room, The Duplex, and Don’t Tell Mama. She graduated from the Guildford School of Acting in England with a BA in Musical Theatre. She appears regularly at 54 Below in “Sondheim Unplugged” and is featured on the Sondheim Unplugged album that recently debuted at number one on Amazon Music. In addition to her work on the stage, Natalie has spent over 20 years cultivating the next generation of artists. Most recently, she has worked with young people at Sleepy Hollow High School, Croton Academy of Arts, The Philipstown Depot Theater, James I. O’Neill High School, Haldane Elementary, and New Era Creative Space. Her students have been accepted to performing arts high schools and colleges, appeared in national television commercials, and performed both off and on Broadway.
Todd Hulet:
Todd Hulet is a theatre creator with professional credits ranging from Music Director and Scenic Designer to Director and Producer. He has written twelve musicals, taught at higher education institutions across the county, and is a member of the Board of Directors for TYA/USA. He is the former Head of Entertainment at LEGOLAND New York Resort, and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Orange County NY Arts Council supporting arts and creative practice in the Hudson Valley.
Sing-Away Camp
Location: The Philipstown Depot Theatre
Age: Rising 1st-3rd graders
Instructors: Anna Malinoski Stephens and Annie Claffey
Dates: 8/12-8/16, 9am-12pm
Cost: $245
Class size: 8-15
The Depot’s “Sing-Away Camp,” for our youngest thespians, will center around creating a musical ensemble. Kids will work on musical numbers from a few Broadway shows and will rehearse together to present some of those songs at the end of the week. A great way to dip your toes into what it might be like being in a full show! Join us for a fun-filled week of theatre games, singing, dancing, crafting, creative play, and more!
Annie Claffey:
Annie is so excited to be back with Anna at The Depot Theatre for another fun summer! Annie has worked for Rock and Roll Playhouse, Disney Cruise Line, Theatreworks USA, and toured the world with multiple children’s theatre productions. But nowadays she’s happy to be hanging at home with Metta and Van, who put on performances for her!
Anna Malinoski Stephens:
Anna is so excited to be back with Annie for another fun summer at The Depot! Anna has worked in the theatre as an actor, educator & facilitator for the past 25 years at organizations including Primary Stages, Prospect Theater Company, Pittsburgh CLO and TheatreworksUSA. She lives in Cold Spring with her three kids who do NOT want to hear her sing, and her husband who SOMETIMES does. ;)
Registration for all youth programs is through our friends the Philipstown Recreation Department.
About our youth programs:
Our youngest students, kids in first through third grades, are introduced to theater through a series of fun, interactive classes: Stories for the Stage; Making a Play; and Twisted Tales. Older participants, in fourth through seventh grades, perform scripted plays in the spring and fall. In our Teen Mentor program, teens meet with theatre professionals over the course of a year, study the many facets of staging a play, including directing, set design, costumes, choreography, stage-managing, marketing and development, and put what they learn into practice.
Each summer we stage a pair of ambitious musicals: one stars middle schoolers and is produced entirely by the members of our teen mentor program; the other stars teens under the guidance of experienced directors, choreographers and set designers.
The kids and teens who participate in the Depot’s youth programs get hands-on experience in a working theater. They feel the incandescent thrill of putting on a show. And they learn a lot, too. In addition to the singing and dancing, kids develop their speaking and listening skills. They learn the value of preparation and how to handle the unexpected. They learn how to stand in the spotlight and work together as part of a team toward a common goal. And they have plenty of fun.
To learn more, write depottheatremembership@gmail.com or call (845)424-3900.
To register for our 2022 winter and spring youth programs, click here.
