Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy logo

Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy

Visual & Performing Arts education as a foundation for Multicurricular Extended Learning Opportunities

VAPA Academy Offerings 2023-2024

  • Completed: Spring Intersession 2023 (April 3-7 from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
  • Completed: Summer Program 2023 (May 30 – June 30, 2023, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
  • Currently: August 2023-May 2024 – Afterschool Extended Learning Opportunities Program

NEXT OPPORTUNITY:  SPRING BREAK 2024 – March 25 thru March 29

Hours of operation – 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. – FMI download:

     

Featuring

  • 21st Century Skills acquisition
    • creativity, critical thinking, collaborative problem solving, cultural competency, ethical decision making, effective written and oral communications, leadership
  • All four areas of student development – social, emotional, physical & mental
    • Social-Emotional learning, Imagination, Critical thinking, Problem Finding, Problem Solving, Decision Making & Strategic Planning, Communication, Organization (and time management), Peer Leadership, Creative Thinking, Collaboration & Teamwork, Functional Group Leadership, Self-Advocacy, Perspective taking (including Roleplay) & Mindfulness, Focus & Self-control

       

Schedule

  • Regular days (Tues-Fri): 2:30 to 6 p.m. (attendance required 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.)
  • Regular Mondays: 1:30 to 6 p.m. (attendance required 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.)
  • Minimum days: 11:45 to 6 p.m. (attendance not required)
  • Closed during school holidays

Summary

As of 2023, Placer Rep is excited to offer the Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy pilot program, developed in partnership with Colfax Elementary School District for grades K-8. Huge thanks belong to Superintendent Andrew Giannini and the Colfax Elementary School District for their scholastic creativity and vision.

The VAPA Academy program uses the visual & performing arts as a foundation from which applied arts, language arts, social sciences and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) may be integrated and explored through non-traditional thematic and experiential curriculum & activities outside the regular academic school day to address all four areas of student development: social, emotional, physical, and mental.

Through expert facilitation, students learn to creatively & imaginatively conceive, plan, author, collaborate, lead functional groups, direct, design/craft, produce and perform age-appropriate new works relevant to the students, reflective of their individual voices and collaborative group voice.  Participating artists/educators are featured below.

   

 

The VAPA Academy program has three formats:

  1. SPRING INTERSESSION: All-day programming for one week during school break.
    • Completed! April 3 through 7, 2023 from 8 a.m. to 5:30 PM – Theater Fundamentals, Visual & Applied Arts
  2. SUMMER PROGRAM: All-Day, morning session or afternoon session programming for four to six weeks outside the regular academic school year.
    • Completed!  May 30 through June 30, 2023.
  3. EXTENDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES After School Program: Daily afternoon programming throughout the academic school year.
    • August 2023 through May 2024 from 2:30 to 6 PM

 

     

We are very grateful to be operating this program in partnership with the Colfax Elementary School District

FMI: Contact the Colfax Elementary School District – https://www.colfax.k12.ca.us/

(Superintendent Dr. Andrew Giannini)

For more background information on the VAPA Academy program, scroll down.

 

Placer Repertory Theater Participating Artists/Educators:

Below are some of the Placer Rep Company Members and Affiliates who have selected to participate in the VAPA Academy administration and student education facilitation. From early career to seasoned professionals, they each have areas of expertise and prior teaching experience upon which they draw to bring to life the curriculum and lesson plans. Additional Company Members, Affiliates and professional artists/creatives/technicians from the public will be vetted and utilized to expand the learning opportunities for the VAPA Academy students.

VAPA Academy page - TS Forsyth headshotTERESA STIRLING FORSYTH – Producing Artistic Director, VAPA Academy program oversight, administration, facilitation. With an MFA in Dramatic Arts and an MS in Business Management & Leadership, this former Silicon Valley high-tech VP and critically acclaimed professional director/playwright also plays the role of Producing Artistic Director for Placer Repertory Theater, which includes all program oversight, including Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy.

Previously, the artistic director for two San Francisco theater companies and founder/board president of an economic & workforce development nonprofit organization for Santa Cruz County, her performing arts background includes international tours as an actor/singer/dancer, and director/playwright for national and international touring productions with renowned professional performing artists, such as Brenda Wong Aoki (AEA/SAG/AFTRA), and companies like Dell’Arte Players (AEA).

Projects on which Forsyth worked performed at venues such as the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, Magic Theatre, Cowell Theater, Mark Taper Forum, Dallas Theatre Center, San Diego Repertory Theater and many other renowned venues, and received Dramalogue Awards, Critics Circle Awards, Indy Award: Best Spoken Word Album, Broadway World Awards, the Gloria Burt Fellowship, as well as numerous grants from the NEA, NEH, CAC, ACPC and corporations.

She is a member of the professional organizations: The Dramatists Guild of America (DGA), Stage Directors & Choreographers Society (SDC), The Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and NNPN/New Play Exchange.

As an educator, she has instructed and directed at UC Davis, University of San Francisco, Shawnee State University, University of Minnesota at Morris and other educational institutions.  Tess also has a variety of curricula development and instruction experiences with elementary and secondary education. A few examples include curricula design, administration, train-the-trainer and/or instructor for CenterStage Youth Summer Theater Camp in Vacaville, CA, Contra Costa Youth Shakespeare program under Elaine Walenta, masterclasses for the touring company The King’s Court Play’rs (at that time, the second largest touring family theater company in CA), and U C Berkeley summer theater program for middle and high school students. Currently, she is the primary Guest Educator and artist-in-residence from Placer Repertory Theater’s Education Outreach program for Placer County middle and high schools.

Tess’ goal as an educator is to help students develop themselves, their unique voices and ability to self-advocate, even as they develop the skills of deep listening and collaboration, while she instills a passion for life-long learning.

 

VAPA Academy page - headshot of Kyla QuinnKYLA QUINN – Senior Education Facilitation. Kyla Quinn’s background spans professional, academic and community performing arts. Kyla received their degree in Technical Theatre in 2020 from California State University Long Beach and worked in the art department for both Lifetime and Asylum Studios in southern California. In addition to professional work on set, Kyla worked on several academic productions as both a designer and crew member. Most notably they worked as a makeup designer for a collaboration piece between California State Long Beach and the Long Beach Opera entitled The Penal Colony.

As a performer, Kyla starred in two independent films and particularly enjoys playing the roles of antagonists like Mr. Small in Placer Rep’s production of Sherlock Holmes Sign of the Four, and Miss Henrietta Musgrove in Placer Rep’s Persuasion: a holiday romantic comedy in 2021. Kyla was named a Placer Rep company member in January 2023, and is engaged in Placer Rep’s professional growth program Studium-Practicum learning new theatrical theories, methods and tools, and the philosophies behind them.

Kyla is a Student Support Paraprofessional in the Union Hill School District and works primarily with Middle School students. They also have experience working with ages ranging from Pre-K through 8th grade. Kyla really values working with students in small groups, so that each student has the opportunity to ask questions and be more involved in the learning process. They find it incredibly rewarding when students not only grasp new concepts, but successfully demonstrate them as well. Kyla strives to create an inclusive, safe environment for their students that encourages creativity and open-minded thinking.

 

VAPA Academy page - headshot of Matthew D. HeyerMATTHEW HEYER – Education Facilitation. Graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he received his BFA in Theatre, Matthew won the Irene Ryan award for his ensemble work in 2018 and for his performance as Elliot in Completeness in 2019. Behind the scenes, Matthew is also a Costume Designer and Fabricator, a Set Designer and Constructor, and a Lighting Designer and Lighting Technician, and dabbles in Stage Management. His design credits include The House that Will Not Stand, Completeness, and The Bard on Broadway. Matt studied IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet) and performs duties as a Dialect Coach for Placer Repertory Theater productions.

Currently, studying under PRT’s Studium Practicum professional growth program, Matt has found new professional areas of concentration such as movement for the actor, vocal techniques, style acting and textual analysis. As an actor, for Placer Rep in 2021, Matthew played George and Milo in two one-acts in the production known as From the Mind of Scott Charles, and the title role in An Evening with Sherlock Holmes.  In 2022, Matt performed with Placer Rep in the ensemble show, Haunting History, and was nominated for two Broadway World Awards, including his performances for PRT’s 2022 monthly show, Rifts in Time.

Regarding his background as an educator, Matt has been a peer mentor, instructor and trainer throughout his academic and professional career and believes in learner-oriented instruction. “I love teaching; you can truly see the lightbulb go on. Their eyes, their smile, their energy itself changes. This is one of the greatest joys of educating others. You not only impart meaningful and necessary knowledge or skills, but you are also actually inspiring joy, and know that you played a small role in helping this person to develop new pathways to who they may be.”

 

VAPA Academy page - headshot of Judy MerrickJUDY MERRICK – Education Facilitation.  Judy worked for 13 years in New York as a performer and director. Her favorite credits include Portia in Merchant of Venice (Santa Monica Playhouse) and Lysander in Midsummer Night’s Dream (RADA). She co-founded the NYC theatre Company, The Amoralist, and some of her credits include The Cheaters Club, Adam Rapp’s Ghost in the Cottonwoods and Bring Us the Head of Your Daughter. Judy also worked at Playwrights Horizons, and the Manhattan Theatre Club, and toured with Knuckleball, which won best show, and she, best actress, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. With an MFA from USC, she trained at RADA and AADA in NY. More recently, Judy performed in Persephone’s Tale with her new Nevada City theater company House of Fates, and in Placer Rep’s award-winning production Persuasion: a holiday romantic comedy.

Teaching and performing have gone hand-in-hand throughout Judy’s career in New York and California. She currently teaches and performs improv with the House of Yes in Nevada City and teaches elementary and middle school students through The Lyric Rose theater company. Judy’s educational philosophy is learner oriented as she strives to make the curriculum relevant for each student, and she firmly believes in experiential education techniques to move beyond curricular engagement to embodiment, which promotes deep learning and often instills a lifelong love of learning.

 

 

Not Pictured – Gina Hill – Education Facilitation. Information coming soon.

Not Pictured – Kaila Roach – Education Facilitation. Information coming soon.

Not Pictured – Nicole Berry – Education Facilitation. Information coming soon.

VAPA Academy page - headshot of Arie KnyazevARIE KNYAZEV – Substitute Education Facilitation. Arie is an early career actor whose formal education at UC Davis led to the receipt of a BS in Computer Science, BS in Mathematics, and a minor in Psychology. Currently, outside of his acting career, Arie works as a Software Engineer touching signal processing and machine learning in the defense sector. Arie’s actor training includes musical theater training with a private instructor, several years of acting study at Studio 24 and current participation in Placer Rep’s Studium-Practicum, the professional growth program, as well as experiential education through on-the-job performance. Some of Arie’s favorite roles include William Gillette in The Game’s Afoot, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, and of course his first role: Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast.

Arie’s first work for Placer Repertory Theater began in 2022 as a member of the ensemble cast that performed at the Haunting History events in Lincoln and Rocklin and performed stage readings of early drafts of the new play Ghosts of Placer County in Foresthill, Sacramento and Roseville.

Arie’s teaching background includes tutoring high school students and peer teaching in academic and work environments. His teaching philosophy is student-centric, as he focuses on what is relatable to and actionable for the student. Arie strives to connect the curriculum with students such that it has meaning in their lives, as learning is not just limited to the classroom, but is a lifelong pursuit. He seeks to include and honor the students’ own goals and passions, which fosters long-term growth.

 

Shaquarrius Calloway – Substitute Education Facilitation.

Shaquarrius Calloway is a paralegal in Rocklin, and the owner of Shaquarrius Calloway Events, performing wedding and party planning. While she performed during her scholastic career, Shaquarrius found her real home as she began performing with Celebration Arts in Sacramento.

She auditioned and became a Placer Repertory Theater Affiliate in January 2023, and has been participating in the professional growth program Studium-Practicum to continue her professional performing arts education and experiential learning opportunities. For example, Shaquarrius performed with Placer Rep at the Rocklin 130th Anniversary Celebration. Visit Celebration Arts to see Shaquarrius Calloway live.

 

 

 

Substitute Education Facilitation. House Manager, Box Office Manager and crew for Placer Repertory Theater, Hunter Davidson Forsyth has been wrangling and teaching students since his peer teaching days in elementary, middle and high school, particularly with IEP students, through his reign as the senior troop leader for his boy scout troop, during which he was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout and honored with the Order of the Arrow.

Additionally, Hunter has a background in performing arts from scholastic classes and productions to early career professional performances such as the monthly show: Rifts in Time: Interactive Adventure Theater in 2022 with Placer Rep.

For Hunter’s Eagle Scout project, he was the project manager, leading adults and scouting students in the building of a 12×12 shade structure for Compassion Planet in Rocklin, CA, behind their Deer Creek Farms retail store.

Currently, he is completing his undergraduate degrees in preparation for a masters and doctorate in History, with the intentions of becoming a history professor, as well as a fiction and nonfiction author.

 

 

VAPA PROGRAM BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy is an Education Outreach program which resides under the Placer Rep Community & Economic Outreach program area.

Placer Repertory Theater employs a deep-learning approach through the application of a rich visual and performing arts curriculum that applies interdisciplinary thematic and experiential education to provide expanded learning opportunities. Experienced artists/creatives facilitate hands-on education and self-directed learning opportunities for the students. Under expert guidance and supervision, students learn to conceive, plan, collaborate and lead, design/craft, author, produce and perform age-appropriate new works relevant to the students, reflective of their individual voices and collaborative group voice.  Students shall learn through reflection on the curriculum and activities, and with facilitation, to deduce and draw connections between academic and artistic disciplines.

Grounded in a visual and performing arts environment, students shall experience an interdisciplinary approach, in which they are exposed to the interrelationship of other topicals areas of study to the arts, including Language Arts (LA), Social Sciences, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

The Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy curriculum and activities provided shall address all four areas of student development: social, emotional, physical, and mental.  The features and benefits of Placer Rep’s program shall include

  • Experiential learning opportunities
  • Exposure to and engagement in curriculum and activities not offered during the school day
  • Skill introduction and development opportunities
  • Development of each student’s unique voice and capacity to lead and collaborate with peers and functional groups
  • Student engagement in healthy choices and behaviors
  • Exposure to and engagement with the concepts and operational edicts related to diversity, inclusion, access and equity
  • Daily exposure to and opportunity to learn from professional practitioners with expertise and skillsets not represented during the regular school day
  • Enjoyment of arts programming benefits as summarized by the 1998 study depicted below.

All learning styles will be taken into consideration for VAPA Academy curriculum and activity development: Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic styles.

As NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said in 2008, “Expanding access to afterschool and other extended learning programs, which engage and enrich students, will provide many more of our students with firm foundations for success.”

Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy page - arts & the educational benefit slide 1999 study

(“Living the Arts through Language + Learning: A Report on Community-based Youth Organizations,” Shirley Brice Heath, Stanford University and Carnegie Foundation For the Advancement of Teaching, Americans for the Arts Monograph, November 1998.)

Return to top of Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy page

Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy – Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy