Opening Act http://www.openingactnewyork.org At Opening Act, we believe every student deserves a place to shine. Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:35:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Benefit Play Reading Tickets On Sale! http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2012/04/10/benefit-play-reading-tickets-on-sale/ http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2012/04/10/benefit-play-reading-tickets-on-sale/#comments Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:35:15 +0000 admin http://www.openingactnewyork.org/?p=2885 Tickets are on sale and going fast for Opening Act’s one-night only reading of Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies’ Collected Stories, starring Stockard Channing (Other Desert Cities, The West Wing) and Laura Benanti (Gypsy, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown). The 6th Annual Benefit Play Reading will be directed by Broadway veteran Michael Mastro (Side Man, West Side Story) and will be held at Broadway’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Monday, May 7, 2012.

Get your tickets today at www.telecharge.com or 1 800-432-7250!

Find out more about this amazing event here.

]]> http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2012/04/10/benefit-play-reading-tickets-on-sale/feed/ 0 Opening Act Goes to Broadway! http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2012/04/04/opening-act-goes-to-broadway/ http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2012/04/04/opening-act-goes-to-broadway/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:27:46 +0000 admin http://www.openingactnewyork.org/?p=2856 Opening Act is going to Broadway on May 7th for a reading of Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies’ Collected Stories, starring Stockard Channing (Other Desert Cities, The West Wing) and Laura Benanti (Gypsy, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown).  Don’t miss this one-night only event! Click here for more information.

]]> http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2012/04/04/opening-act-goes-to-broadway/feed/ 0 Kiss Punch Poem teaches Spring Master Class http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2012/03/19/kiss-punch-poem-teaches-spring-master-class/ http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2012/03/19/kiss-punch-poem-teaches-spring-master-class/#comments Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:38:20 +0000 admin http://www.openingactnewyork.org/?p=2673 Saturday, March 17th was a momentous day, as students from all ten of Opening Act’s partnering schools came to Chelsea Studios in Manhattan for our Spring Master Class.

We were incredibly lucky to welcome Magnet Theater‘s longform improvisation and spoken word group Kiss Punch Poem.  KPP (which counts in its membership Opening Act Teaching Artist Paul Barker) regularly performs “improv inspired by poetry and poetry inspired by improv”, and led an amazing workshop with close to 40 of our young actors.

After watching a 30 minute performance by KPP’s improvisers, inspired by audience created ‘Exquisite Corpse’ poems, our students worked with the group to learn techniques of longform improvisation.

The day culminated in five performances by the Opening Actors, professional improvisers, and Opening Act Teaching Artists inspired by the spoken word pieces of KPP’s poets.

We are enormously grateful to Kiss Punch Poem for this amazing day.  We left wishing the afternoon could have lasted longer.

]]> http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2012/03/19/kiss-punch-poem-teaches-spring-master-class/feed/ 0 Rock Your Rythmn is Opening Act’s Most Successful Dance Party Ever! http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2012/02/15/rock-your-rythmn-is-opening-acts-most-successful-dance-party-ever/ http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2012/02/15/rock-your-rythmn-is-opening-acts-most-successful-dance-party-ever/#comments Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:46:13 +0000 admin http://www.openingactnewyork.org/?p=2668 This year’s dance party was the most successful ever! Together, we raised over $15,000 – that’s more than the cost of an entire year of programming at one of our partnering schools!

A huge thank you to our Social Board and Host Committee, our event and raffle sponsors, and our amazing DJ and live band. Read more about this incredible event here.

]]> http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2012/02/15/rock-your-rythmn-is-opening-acts-most-successful-dance-party-ever/feed/ 0 Rock Your Rhythm is coming in February! http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/12/21/rock-your-rhythm-is-coming-in-february/ http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/12/21/rock-your-rhythm-is-coming-in-february/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:05:48 +0000 admin http://www.openingactnewyork.org/?p=2544 Are you ready to Rock Your Rhythm with Opening Act? Mark your calendars – February 9th will see our most amazing dance party benefit ever! Opening Act’s Social Board has re-imagined this already-fabulous event with Guest DJ spots, Live Music, and an Amazing Raffle.

Check out the Dance Party Page for more information – see you on the dance floor!

]]> http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/12/21/rock-your-rhythm-is-coming-in-february/feed/ 0 Week Five – 2011 http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/10/26/week-five-2011/ http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/10/26/week-five-2011/#comments Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:49:52 +0000 admin http://www.openingactnewyork.org/?p=2405 Woah, it’s already week five.  I guess time really does fly when you are having fun, especially when it’s the kind of fun where you get to lead students on the path to creating original characters from improv work.  In just three weeks, students have made an outline of their original character, been on the hot seat answering questions about their life as that character, and written monologues as that character.  Do you want a little sneak peek of the phenomenal character work the students have been doing?  Well, we have: the mobster who holds a grudge against his brother for taking over the mob family; the young dancer who has come to NYC with dreams of being on Broadway; an old woman, and an older man, who are dealing with loneliness in very unique ways; the reformed gang member who is attempting to set his life on the right course for his sake and his baby daughter’s sake … and the list of interesting characters goes on.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be seeing these characters in action, confronting someone in their lives in order to get what they want—it’s going to be improv work at its finest!  Soon, we’ll have some amazing scenes to present at our winter showcases.  Stay tuned!

- Christian Shaboo, Teaching Artist, Norman Thomas Campus

]]> http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/10/26/week-five-2011/feed/ 0 Welcome to a New Year! http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/10/26/welcome-to-a-new-year/ http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/10/26/welcome-to-a-new-year/#comments Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:47:41 +0000 admin http://www.openingactnewyork.org/?p=2403 What a great start to this Opening Act year.   Although, I have to admit, I might have been just as anxious for the start of this year as I was for the first day of first grade oh so long ago.   I had no idea what to expect:  would the students from different high schools get along with each other?  Would they connect with our teaching artist team?  Would they love acting, improv, and creating as much as I do?  After a few weeks, I can answer with a resounding “Yes” to all three questions.

Within the first few weeks of the 2011 fall semester of Opening Act programming, our students have learned the basic skills of improv, the most important of which is always saying “Yes, and…” and establishing Activity, Location, and Relationship (ALR as we affectionately call it) within their improv scenes.  Already, their scene work is phenomenal … seriously!  Even more phenomenal is the commitment each student brings to class.  Since classes are after school, the students often come into the space tired, frustrated, and hungry from eight hours of school.  Yet, within ten minutes of relaxation, physical and vocal warm up, the students are energized and committed to getting the most out of their Opening Act time.  Imagine if we could hold class every day of the week!

- Christian Shaboo, Teaching Artist, Norman Thomas Campus

]]> http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/10/26/welcome-to-a-new-year/feed/ 0 http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/09/23/2381/ http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/09/23/2381/#comments Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:59:46 +0000 admin http://www.openingactnewyork.org/?p=2381 We did it!!! Opening Act’s 10 for 10 Campaign was a HUGE success!  We raised a whopping $26,000 thanks to everyone around the world who wanted to help keep after-school theater programming alive in NYC’s most under-served high schools.  We are truly grateful for your support!

Check out our 10 for 10 Campaign event page for more amazing details and stellar results.

]]> http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/09/23/2381/feed/ 0 Phenomenal Breaking News for the 10 for 10 Campaign! http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/09/16/phenomenal-breaking-news-for-the-10-for-10-campaign/ http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/09/16/phenomenal-breaking-news-for-the-10-for-10-campaign/#comments Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:11:38 +0000 admin http://www.openingactnewyork.org/?p=2357 THIS JUST IN! As of Day 5 of our 10 day Campaign, we’ve raised almost $15,000!!! We are overwhelmed by your generosity and want to extend a big, huge THANK YOU to all who have donated to help us reach our goal!

AND if we raise $5,000 more, a donor will match it!! Your incredible support has inspired one of our donors to offer us a matching grant to keep the Campaign going!  That’s right!  If we can increase our total from $15,000 to $20,000 by the end of the Campaign (September 21), we will receive an additional $5,000, making our Campaign total … drumroll please … $25,000!! … and allowing us to provide after-school theater programming to ten NYC schools for our 2011-2012 school year, while we continue to expand to serve an ever greater number of schools that need a stage for their students.

Just think - any donation made between now and September 21 will DOUBLE its impact through our matching grant!!!

HOW CAN YOU HELP? IT’S EASY!

]]> http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/09/16/phenomenal-breaking-news-for-the-10-for-10-campaign/feed/ 0 10 for 10 Events! http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/09/13/10-for-10-events/ http://www.openingactnewyork.org/2011/09/13/10-for-10-events/#comments Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:04:15 +0000 admin http://www.openingactnewyork.org/?p=2342 Amazing Opening Act supporter and yoga teacher Karoline Barwinski is hosting a 10 for 10 Om Hop Yoga Class Wednesday, September 14th at 6:45pm!

Location:

We will practice at the end of the pier right by the water.  To find it, search Organicoa (Pier 45 Hudson River Park) West Street, New York, NY 10014.  We’ll be  across the street from this cafe.

Date/Time: Wednesday, September 14th @6:45pm
Donation: $10 (Donate to Opening Act here.)

Bring a mat, bring a towel, drink lots of water throughout the day, wear comfy clothing, and eat 2 hours before class.  Bring friends!

RSVP to OmHopYoga@gmail.com.
Thank you Karoline, for this fabulous 10 for 10 Event!
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