DCT’s teaching artists go from the classroom to the stage…

 

Alyssa Cavazos (Belle):

“I hope my students appreciate the joy and fun I experience on stage. All of the tips and tricks we work on in class are for nothing, if we aren’t getting up on that stage and having fun! That’s what it is all about!”

 

Karl Schaeffer (Maurice):

“When my younger academy students come to shows I’m in at Dallas Children’s Theater, I will see them afterwards during autographs. I always ask them, “Did I talk loud? Did I face the audience?” When they say I did, I say, “Remember that the next time you are on stage.” My goal is to model for them an actor’s ability to “cheat out”. Cheating out is a performance technique that helps maintain the illusion that characters are totally committed to the onstage action, but simultaneously reorients their performance so that they are playing out towards the audience.”

 

Gena Loe (Babette):

“One technique that I use to create my characters is creating the character physically. From how they walk to their gestures and their nervous ticks, every person and thus every character has different physicalities that, as an actor, can help you get into character.”

 

Ania Lyons (Ensemble):

“I hope students appreciate that my ultimate goal while I’m performing is to have as much fun as possible! Honestly, that’s the main reason why I do theater, it’s a BLAST, it gives me so much fulfillment, and it’s an amazing outlet for my artistic expression!”