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In/Visible Theatre to Host Local Educational Workshops with Professional Performing Artists

“Art is the most effective mode of communications that exists.” – John Dewey

In/Visible Theatre, Boone’s leading independent theatre and its newest nonprofit arts organization, will offer a series of three local educational workshops with professional artists: Feb. 25, March 3-4.

Program instructors will include In/Visible Theatre Artistic Producer Karen Sabo, Barter Theatre’s Wendy Piper and Juilliard graduate Adrian Rieder. Each three-hour class will take place at Appalachian Rhythm Dance Studio in Boone.

“The arts are crucial to education for students and for the rest of us, too,” said Sabo. “By bringing in professionals who’ve worked and studied across the country, we offer our great community the opportunity to embrace what acting skills have to offer, like greater self-awareness, better understanding of diverse viewpoints and more effective communication skills.

“These abilities help us not only understand theatre better, but help us in so many aspects of our lives, like job interviews, communicating with customers or co-workers and with increased awareness of the choices we make in our lives.”

Participants age 16 and up can register for one, two or all three classes online at invisibletheatrenc.org/education. Entry fee is $40 per class.

The workshops have been designed to help both experienced and aspiring performing artists (high school, college and advanced students) explore communication and acting skills in the areas of improvisation, character exploration and the audition process.

“As a High Country student for past 16 years, I understand the struggle for those who wish to pursue their artistic passions,” said Preston Perrin, In/Visible Theatre educational outreach associate. “These workshops offer the opportunity to learn from professionals who’ve experienced theatre through a multitude of lenses. Chances such as these are limited in our area, and I believe any performing arts student would greatly benefit from this opportunity.”

In/Visible Theatre makes meaningful, beautiful, and socially relevant art. It operates under the philosophy that great art is made in service to others. By constantly striving for both inclusion and excellence, it pursues theatre as a home for collective secular revelation.

For more information, visit invisibletheatrenc.org.

Upcoming Educational Workshops:

All workshops to be held at Appalachian Rhythm Dance Studio, 249 Wilson Drive in Boone. Register online at invisibletheatrenc.org/education.

Saturday, Feb. 25: Improve Your Improv!

Instructor: Wendy Piper

Schedule: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Cost: $40

Piper, WendyDo you want to learn to say ‘yes,’ to embrace play and to be more engaging? This class introduces and reinforces the basic principles of improvisation to help you live in the present, connect to others and infuse creativity into your life. This class is appropriate for beginners or experienced improvisers.

About Wendy Piper: Originally from Corsicana, Texas, Piper is currently a resident of Abingdon, Virginia, where she has been performing and teaching with Barter Theatre for 13 years. Wendy graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Theatre Arts, then moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. After a couple of years and a nine month show tour, Wendy relocated to Los Angeles. It was there that she began improve training and performing at the Groundlings Theatre, home to alumni such as Will Ferrell, Melissa McCarthy and Phil Hartman. Wendy has been coaching and developing improve and sketch comedy shows in theatres, high schools and universities since 2004. When not coaching or performing, Wendy is directing her husband and two young daughters at home.

 

Saturday, March 4: Exploring Character

Instructor: Adrian Rieder

Schedule: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Cost: $40

Rieder, AdrianIn this workshop, students will experience the journey of inhabiting a character through active engagement. Exercises will focus on textual investigation, creative choice-making, cultivating an imaginary life and physical embodiment. Students will be given materials in advance in order to facilitate full creative immersion. All levels of experience are welcome.

About Adrian Rieder: Adrian Rieder has more than 30 years of experience as a professional actor. He is a member of the Screen Actors’ Guild, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Actor’s Equity Association. HE has worked opposite such notable actors as Brian Dennehy, Cynthia Nixon, Marlo Thomas, Dixie Carter and F. Murray Abraham. He is a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, a recipient of the Level One Award for Theatre from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and is a graduate of the Juilliard School Drama Division.

 

Sunday, March 5: The Audition

Instructor: Karen Sabo

Schedule: 2-5 p.m.

Cost: $40

Sabo, KarenWant to stand out from the crowd? Come learn techniques to improve your auditions and land that part. Bring a monologue or work with ours and practice cold readings, as well. Find out how to make your audition “pop” and learn the dos and don’ts to get the roles you want.

About Karen Sabo: Karen Sabo is the co-founder and artistic producer of In/Visible Theatre, and is also a director, teacher and union actor. She has been a member of three different resident acting companies, including the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, where she also became a resident director, dialect coach and director of education. Karen studied acting with the American Conservatory Theatre, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, the Saratoga International Theatre Institute and Shakespeare and Company. She holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Hampshire College in Massachusetts and a master’s degree in liberal arts from East Tennessee State University. She lives in her adopted hometown of Boone, North Carolina with her husband, Dr. Derek Davidson, and her daughter, Rachel Sabo Hedges, a senior at Watauga High School.

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