Queensborough Community College in Bayside will welcome the Theatre Arts Center Summer Performing Arts Workshop to the campus this summer. The professional workshop, for students ages 7-19, is making a repeat performance after a sold-out program last summ
Running July 6 to Aug. 1. the workshop is a full-time program that immerses students in the world of Broadway musicals, theatre and dance. New this year will be a teen drama workshop for those young actors who want to concentrate on dramatic arts.
Theatre Arts Center was founded in Bucks County, Penn., in 1985. Kristine Lewis and Robert Laconi, co-directors, expanded that program to Queens in 2000. Originally located in Jackson Heights at the Garden School, they quickly outgrew that facility and were invited to relocate to the 800-seat Professional Performing Arts Center at Queensborough.
The program is staffed by professional actors, choreographers, and directors and attracts students from around the U.S. and even Europe. Bayside resident Angelo Fraboni, from the original Broadway cast of “The Full Monty” and many other Broadway shows, Gary John LaRosa from Broadway’s “Fiddler on the Roof” and currently choreographing “I Love My Wife” at Queens Theatre in the Park, and Arte Philips a U.S. Ballroom Champion, five-time “Star Search” finalist, and winner of the Gypsy of the Year (Best of Broadway) are among several guest artists slated this summer.
Several students from the 2003 program were recently featured in an HBO Family presentation and were cast in a new development project with Disney and Music Theatre International. Laconi and Lewis were also associate producers on last season’s Broadway production of “Enchanted April,” nominated for a Tony Award for Best New Play and Best Actress for Jayne Atkinson.
“This is an excellent match,” said Sophie Foglia, executive director of Queensborough’s Professional Performing Arts Series. “Our theater, already the home of the Queens Symphony Orchestra and host to several major performing groups, offers a perfect arena for growing talent,” said Foglia.
Auditions for the summer workshop will be held Saturday, April 17. Details can be found on the Web site at TheatreArtsCenter.com or by calling 718-595-2905.
