AHM & Playhouse Theatre Academy partner to offer fun and exploratory, pre-professional theatre 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!
Winter Theater Programs!
Mondays: 9 weeks — 1/23, 1/30, 2/6, 2/13, 2/27, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20 (3/27 for make up class if needed).
Grades K-2: A is for Acting!
In this class, students will engage in movement and vocal exercises, fun improvisation games and creative drama exploration to better understand what it means to be an actor or actress! They will also learn basic stagecraft terms (What is stage left? A prop? What does a director do?) to better understand the world of theatre. This class is open to new and returning students!
Time: 4:15pm-5:00pm, max of 15 students
Fee: $55.00 per student
Grades 3-6: Create Your Story
Storytelling and imagination are powerful tools in the performance arts and help an actor better understand the world around them. In this class, students will use improvisational games, creative writing exercises, and scene work, to develop their very own original pieces of devised theatre! The class will also learn how to interact in a performance ensemble, and further refine acting and movement skills.
Time: 5:00-6:00 pm, max of 15 students
Fee: $60.00 per student
*Program fees have been reduced due to the support of the Colleen Keenan Memorial Fund.
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
Jill Zarcone
Besides being a teaching artist, Jill is also the Director of Education for Playhouse Theatre Academy! She has over fifteen years of experience in performance, scene studies, auditioning techniques, Shakespeare, comedy, puppetry, playwriting and loves working with students of all ages. She is a BFA Performance graduate of Eastern CT State University and has MFA accreditation from the University of North Carolina with a focus on Theatre for Youth and Directing. She has worked previously with Hartford Children’s, Flock Theatre, Newington Children’s, Little Theatre of Manchester, Windham Theatre Guild and the Greensboro City Arts Drama Center and also had the amazing experience of interning with puppeteers from Jim Henson’s Co for two summers!
Sarah Oschmann
Sarah is excited to be back with Playhouse Theatre Academy and AHM as a Teaching Artist. She is an actor, and educator currently based in Windham, CT. Sarah has been acting for many years and holds both a, BFA in Theatre with a concentration in Acting and Directing from Eastern Connecticut State University, and an MFA in Acting from East 15 Acting School in the UK. Through her career thus far she has performed in many stage productions, along with a few short film projects; and plans to pursue a career in acting full time. Currently she works as a Tutor at an Elementary school, tutoring in reading and math, and has had the opportunity to teach Theatre to K-5th grade students. She hopes to inspire, educate, and encourage children and young adults of all ages to love the craft of theatre!
Meet Our Youth Theater Teachers
Anna Ricciuti
Anna is a director, educator and technician who strives to create meaningful theatrical experiences for students of all ages. As a Connecticut native, she is absolutely thrilled to be a part of the team at Playhouse on Park, and she’s equally excited to be teaching for AHM’s amazing theatre programming. Anna holds a BA in theatre from Muhlenberg College and her theatrical skills are diverse and varied. Some favorite recent credits include: The Repair Man (director, Muhlenberg College, 2018), Alice in Concert (production stage manager, Desultory Theatre Club, 2019), Some Good Tunes (technical director, Simsbury Summer Theatre, 2020), and Pippin (director, Simsbury High School, 2022).
Mei-Li
Mei-Li has been involved in singing, dancing, and acting lessons since a young age and is thrilled to be able to inspire the next generation of youth performers. She is currently a student at Central Connecticut State University pursuing a B.A. in Theater with a minor in Business. Her previous experience with various childhood-focused educational groups includes Newington Children’s Theatre Company, Plainville Choral Society & Plainville Choral Society Youth Theatre, Plainville Family Resource Network, The Children’s Law Center, and Buena Vista Recreation Camp. In addition to her passion for performance, Mei-Li is a professionally licensed Ice-Skating coach with the United States Figure Skating Association and has over 10 years of experience coaching Figure Skating and Ice Hockey to children and adults. She loves being able to teach from her experiences and learn from others. She is so excited to begin a new chapter teaching with Playhouse Theatre Academy.
Dana Rudnansky
Dana is a young theater professional and recent graduate from Wagner College with a BA in Theatre Studies. In her time at Wagner, she was part of various productions including Working, Cabaret, and The Crucible as well as working in the fields of stage and prop management and directing. Her main passion is derived from her love and education of puppetry, which she has been able to incorporate into previous classes. Dana is thrilled to be a part of Playhouse Theatre Academy once again after teaching Creative Kids this past winter.
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.
