Teen Repertory Company (Ages 14-20)

What is the Teen Repertory Company?

The Teen Repertory Company is Oddfellows' senior performance ensemble, open to all young people ages 14 - 20. The Teen Rep generally stages two main stage productions every year (one in the fall, one in the spring) and focuses on classes, special projects and a New Plays Festival during the winter. It provides adventurous teens with performance opportunities not always available in the public schools - original work, ensemble-created projects, classics from various cultures, and theater for social justice. All teens are invited to audition, and everyone who commits to the rehearsal and production schedule is cast. Financial aid is available for all families who need it.

Spring 2024 Teen Rep Company production of Shakespeare's As You Like It | Photos by Bill De Kine

Winter Classes (ages 14-20)

Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater in Middletown will be offering professionally-led classes in Playwriting and Acting to young people ages 14 - 20 this winter.

Playwriting Class

“Playwriting”, taught by Darcy Parker Bruce, provides young writers a chance to develop a one-act play which will be performed at a New Plays Festival on February 15, 2025. The class will meet Sundays, 5 - 7 pm, on December 8, 15; January 5, 12, 19, 26; and February 2 and 9. All playwrights will have the opportunity to see their play performed at the New Plays Festival.

Darcy Parker Bruce has an MFA in Playwriting from Smith College and has numerous plays published and produced around the country. Bruce invites teen writers to “explore the enchanting world of magical thinking, where reality blends with the fantastical. Through creative exercises and collaborative experiences, you'll craft original narratives that challenge conventional storytelling. Unlock your imagination and transform the ordinary into the extraordinary!”

The Actor's Laboratory

“The Actor’s Laboratory”, taught by ARTFARM Artistic Director Marcella Trowbridge, is a six week in-depth exploration of acting and performance that will meet Thursdays, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, January 9 through February 13. The Actor’s Lab provides a safe place for exploration and discovery without the pressure of performance, including Intermodal Expressive Arts, Stage Combat, Voice, Movement, High Stakes Acting and Psycho-Emotional Literacy.

Marcella Trowbridge is co-founder and Artistic Director of ARTFARM and a long-time teaching artist at Oddfellows. She holds an MFA in Theater from Rose Bruford College and is a director, playwright, performer and teacher who has worked throughout the US as well as in Germany, Sri Lanka and Iceland.

Participants in The Actor’s Lab will be encouraged to perform as actors in the New Plays Festival on February 15. The Festival, which will feature staged readings of all the New Plays, is a daylong event in which young actors work with professional directors to bring the new works to life through script-in-hand performances.

Click to register for either or both of these classes, call (860) 347-6143, or email [email protected].

Tuition for the Playwriting class is $200, which includes all eight classes plus participation in the New Plays Festival. Tuition for the six-week Actor’s Laboratory is $120. Financial Aid or Work-Study is available for either class: no one is ever turned away for lack of funds.

2021-2024 Show Archive

November 2024: Peter and the Starcatcher
May 2024: As You Like It
Fall 2023: Being, an Immersive Exhibit
May, 2023: Much Ado About Nothing
Winter 2023: The Actor's Laboratory Studio
November 2022: Journey to the West
May 2022: The Greeks
February 2022: New Plays Festival
November 2021: A Midsummer Night's Dream.
July 2021: Bard Around the Block (Shakespeare Alive! Summer Academy)
May, 2021: Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992.

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