AHM & Playhouse Theatre Academy partner to offer fun and exploratory, pre-professional theater programs!
Youth Theater
From workshops in Musical Theatre to themed sessions of Creative Drama, Playhouse Theatre Academy offers something for everyone.
As an emerging artist, or as a student wanting to explore your creativity in a new way, Playhouse Theatre Academy is your home for quality theatre instruction!
Pictures from “The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful and her dog!” Theater Performance.
Fall registration coming soon!
Fall Theater Programs
Welcome to Once Upon a Twist, an imaginative theatre adventure where familiar fairy tales become brand-new stories! Designed especially for performers grades K-2nd, this magical class invites young actors to step into enchanted forests, towering castles, mysterious cottages, and kingdoms filled with dragons, giants, talking animals, mischievous magic, and plenty of unexpected surprises. Each week, Little Thespians will explore beloved stories and modern fractured fairy tales through acting games, creative movement, improvisation, character creation, music, and collaborative storytelling. Along the way, students might rewrite a happily ever after, invent a brand-new fairy tale hero, discover what happens when the villain tells their side of the story, or dream up entirely new magical worlds of their own. As their imaginations grow, students will build confidence, strengthen acting and communication skills, practice teamwork, and discover that the very best stories are often the ones we create together. Families are invited to a special Informance that last day of class, where students will share favorite characters, scenes, and theatrical adventures from their eight-week fairy tale journey. Each student will also receive one complimentary ticket to see Pinocchio, a reimagined production at Playhouse on Park (directed by Director of Education, Kevin Cronin), giving families the opportunity to experience another classic story transformed in exciting and unexpected ways. So polish your crown, pack your imagination, and get ready to discover that in this kingdom, there are no wrong endings—only wonderful new beginnings. Because every once upon a time deserves a twist!
Time: 4:15 – 5:00 pm
Date: Thursdays, 10/1, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29, 11/5, 11/12, & 11/ 19
Fee: $115 per student
Welcome to “Descendants” Musical Theatre Workshop, where today’s favorite stories, songs, and characters inspire unforgettable theatrical adventures! This high-energy, eight-week Descendants workshop invites performers grades 3rd-8th to step into the worlds of heroes, villains, and everything in between. Throughout this eight-week session, students will build their performance skills while exploring the unforgettable music, larger-than-life characters, and exciting storytelling that have made Descendants a fan favorite. Working alongside Playhouse Theatre Academy’s professional teaching artists, students will rehearse songs, learn choreography, develop memorable characters, and bring scenes to life through acting games, ensemble exercises, and creative storytelling. Along the way, they’ll strengthen vocal performance, stage movement, character development, collaboration, and confidence—all while having wickedly good fun! We’ll celebrate favorite moments from across the Descendants franchise while also exploring exciting new music and inspiration from Disney’s brand-new film, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland. The session culminates in a Studio Showcase during the last class, where family and friends are invited to experience a celebration of everything our performers have created throughout the session. Whether they’re channeling Mal’s fearless leadership, Evie’s creativity, Jay’s confidence, Carlos’s heart, or creating a character all their own, every student will discover that the greatest magic comes from believing in themselves and supporting their ensemble. So grab your crown—or your leather jacket—and join us for an unforgettable musical theatre adventure where every performer gets the chance to shine. After all…it’s good to be bad!
Time: 5:15 – 6:30 pm
Date: Thursdays, 10/1, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29, 11/5, 11/12, & 11/19
Fee: $140 per student
For more information or question please contact AHM’s Executive Director, Tressa Giordano, at 860-228-9488 or TressaG@ahmyouth.org.
Meet Our Youth Theater Teachers
Kevin Cronin
Kevin Cronin (née Barlowski) is a multidisciplinary creative artist and change agent passionately dedicated to empowering individuals of all ages and abilities through education and the arts. He made his mark in Playhouse on Park’s second season as the beloved Boy from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and for the past 14 years, he has long focused on crafting and performing in productions that resonate with younger audiences, adhering to the belief that if they can see it, they can be it. As a director at the Playhouse, Kevin has helmed productions such as the upcoming The Ugly Xmas Sweater Musical, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Freckleface Strawberry, and A Year with Frog and Toad. As a music director, Kevin has lent his expertise to shows like The Prom, The Pin Up Girls, Dandelion, and A Charles Dickens Christmas. Additionally, he has showcased his talents as a performer in notable roles such as Woof in Hair, Leaf Coneybear/Carl Dad in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Bobby/Emcee understudy in Cabaret, and Peter in Company.
Now, as the Director of Education and Outreach, Kevin feels uniquely prepared for this cumulative role of inspiring thinkers, dreamers, and doers from ages 3 to 103 with the essential, transferable, 21st-century skills needed to shape, lead, and flourish in our constantly changing world. Leveraging over 15 years of teaching and administrative experience at the K-12 and collegiate levels, including his prior position as the Director of Performing Arts at Bay Path University, he developed comprehensive co-curricular and academic programming that increased enrollment, funding, box office grosses, and engagement across divisions. Through this process, he honed his ability to highlight the significance of the arts through assessment while building and fostering enduring communities. Kevin has collaborated with esteemed organizations, including the Hartt School of Music, Hartford Performs, The Miracle League, Goodspeed Opera House, the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, Unified Theatre, and West Hartford Public Schools (where he completed his K-12 education).
A passionate advocate for cultivating brave, inclusive spaces, decolonizing curriculum, and promoting lifelong learning, Kevin brings a diverse educational background to his new role. He holds an M.S. in Education Administration from Bay Path University, an M.A. in Shakespeare and Education from the University of Birmingham, UK, a certificate in Musical Theatre Performance from Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City, and a B.A. in Theatre Education and Directing from Emerson College.
Brighton Valor-Horan
Brighton is a winter 2022 graduate of Marymount Manhattan College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Arts with concentrations in Directing and in Theatre & New Media. They are an award-winning choreographer, alternately producing, stage managing, writing, and performing (and more) in and around the NYC/New England areas.
Brighton is also a Resident Artist and founding member of Showpeople Theatre Collective— which has had multiple original musical theatre works take stages around CT and NYC, including 54 Below, The Green Room 42, and the New York Theater Festival.
In the times they aren’t making theatre, they love to create visual art and various forms of crafts, and lounge with their cat, Prince. You can learn more about them on their website, www.brightonvalorhoran.com or follow them on Instagram @brightonvalorhoran.
Thank You to Our 2019 Summer Youth Theater Sponsors!
Colleen Keenan Memorial Fund (CKMF)
Established by family and friends to honor this kind, loving and wonderful daughter, mother, sister and friend; this fund helps support the AHM Summer Youth Theater and in the future additional performing arts activities for young people.
