You truly embrace the very nature of community theater and while you along with your cast strive to be the best we can be you never let us forget the true meaning and point behind what we are doing. Your objectives are pure and simple – to bring people together to entertain the community with live theater but more importantly to have a great experience in the process.
Participent TheaterSummer Stage
-
Summer Stage
Summer Stage Menu - Overview
- Photos
- Riverdale Performing Arts Center
Summer stage will be an outdoor camp this summer! Our activities will be held on the back deck and in the front parking lot (which will be closed for our use). Our deck is covered with tents for sun protection during the day. For rainy days or days with excessive heat, our campers will have activities in their assigned cooling center spaces.
Register NowSafety Precautions
- Our groups are limited to 8-10 children who will be participating in all activities together (no shared activities between campers in other groups).
- Staff will be required to wear masks during all camp activities, and campers will be required to wear masks during high energy activities (we will provide “cool down” times throughout the day).
- Social distancing will be observed from arrival to dismissal.
- Campers and parents will be greeted in the parking lot for a daily temperature check and questionnaire to determine the ongoing health of all. Any staff or camper with a temperature higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, will be sent home.
- There will be no swim this summer.
- We are following guidelines from DOH, DOE, the CDC, and New York State Guidelines: https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/news/2020/COVID-2020Jun08-Day-Camp-Summary.pdf
Rising Stars Summer Stage
Ages 6 – 14
Get in on the act with Riverdale’s premier theater arts intensive camp. Young artists, develop creatively in a collaborative, experiential environment. Industry professionals from Broadway, Off-Broadway, TV and film lead interactive workshops. Adults and teens from our renowned Rising Stars program mentor campers throughout the summer. We’ve opened up two new programs for younger children as well as kids interested in technical roles.
Summer Stage: Scene Stealers
Ages 6 – 7, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Scene Stealers students will get an introduction to musical theatre performance including acting, singing, and dancing.
- Intro to theatre arts
- Storytelling, music, movement
- Special singalong classes on Tuesday/Thursday
- Put together their own end of summer performance
Summer Stage: Main Stage
Ages 8 – 14, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
MainStage students work with professionals on a daily basis in acting, dance, and voice.
- Acting, singing, dancing training
- Specialty classes on Tuesday/Thursday (magic, tap dance, hip hop, yoga playwriting, design, songwriting are some of the offerings)
- Pod structure (groups of no more than 8-10)
- Each group will be their own cast of an end of summer musical
Teen Intensive:
Entering Grade 10 – College Graduate, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Teen Intensive includes workshops with Broadway actors, two 45 minute technique training sessions, and a final musical production. This four week program runs Sunday – Thursday.
Yanniv Frank is a New York-based actor, puppeteer, and visual artist. To date, Yanniv has performed in a total of 39 productions, including both plays and musicals. Some favorite roles…
read moreNew to Summer Stage in 2020
Tracked Classes vs. Age Groups
In the past, classes have been grouped by age. All 4th graders would have danced together, 5th graders would have acting together, etc. While this model offered certain positives, we have decided that tracking classes by skill level rather than by age will create an environment where students’ skills will be able to be adequately challenged and nurtured, providing the most rewarding results. To determine the class level, the first two days of our intensive will be dedicated to auditions, both for our mainstage musical as well as for classes. On day three, each student will receive their schedule with the class placements that we believe will most benefit them.
New Classes and Electives
With our new focus on rigorous training, we will be shifting a number of our classes. Students will now participate in jazz and ballet classes as required studio dance classes, seeing as these are the two main styles of dance that influence musical theatre choreography. In these classes, students will learn the technique as well as choreography. Other dance classes (tap, hip-hop, modern, etc.) will be offered as electives.
Request more information
The arts have the power to transform people and communities. There has never been a better time in our country to have an outlet for discovery of your own self-expression. The Riverdale Performing Arts Center is home to vibrant performances and professional training. We nurture passion for theater, music and dance in people of all ages and skill levels.
Building upon the strength of our thriving programs, we have added some incredible theater arts professionals who are not only working Actors, Directors, Dancers and Musicians, but a faculty committed to bringing professional training to those who want to keenly develop their performing skills or to provide an atmosphere of joy and camaraderie to those who simply want to have fun!
New This Year:
- All participants in Jr. Rising Stars and Rising Stars will receive individual evaluations and class recommendations from our faculty, based on our Fall Audition Process.
- All Jr. Rising Stars and Rising Stars will be taking a Theater Dance class as part of their rehearsal process
- The formation of THE TROUPE, our new traveling performance group. The Troupe will be selected from among our Theater, Dance & Music School students. We will create 30-45 minute revues with both original music/dance as well as featured songs from Broadway musicals. The Troupe will be available to entertain at area hospitals, senior centers, street fairs, community gatherings, special political events or wherever they can brighten someone’s day!
- New music classes that include Vocal Ensembles, Beats & Buckets, Group Guitar, Womans’ Choral Group celebrating music of the 1960s & 1970s.
- Focus in the music department in Voice, Drumming & all Orchestra Instruments, in addition to Piano, Violin & Guitar
- Acting Classes in Film/Television, Improv, Commercials, Scene Study, Stage Acting Basics –highlighted by Guest Artists who will offer Master Classes that will culminate in auditions for Casting & Talent Agents.
We remain dedicated to bringing quality performances to the Bronx. We are tremendously excited about the season ahead and what these new enrichment opportunities will bring to our community. This array of Performing Arts classes for children of all ages AND adults promises to raise our award-winning program to another level.
Laurie Walton is the founder of the Riverdale Rising Stars, the Y’s renowned teen theater group, and the Riverdale Repertory Company, The Y’s adult theater program. Under Laurie’s guidance, the…
read more
From kindergarten in Staten Island, to high school in the Bronx, and from elementary school kids at the 92nd street Y to eighteen to twenty year old adults at Rikers…
read more
