North Central Florida's premier academy for first-grade students through college-age, is a 2-week long summer program. The academy which runs June 16-27, 2008 and also July 7-18, 2008, will be held at the 6.5 million-dollar Performing Arts Center at the P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School. Students are trained in several aspects of the performing arts, with emphasis on voice, dance and drama.
Each session will run Monday through Friday for 2 full weeks and will culminate in a full cast production, The Showcase. Sessions are taught by individual professionals with a detailed curriculum focusing on proper vocal technique, various dance styles, acting and on-camera techniques, musical theater repertoire and musical production.
Course Information:
Tuition is $550 per student for each two-week session.
A $275 non-refundable deposit is required at registration to hold the reservation.
Class size is limited to the first 90 students per session.
"While the academy focuses on the performing arts, we also see it as an opportunity to build confidence in today's youth," states Keith Watson, Producer, Rising Star Academy.
Each session will run Monday through Friday for 2 full weeks and will culminate in a full cast production, The Showcase. Sessions are taught by individual professionals with a detailed curriculum focusing on proper vocal technique, various dance styles, acting and on-camera techniques, musical theater repertoire and musical production.
Course Information:
Tuition is $550 per student for each two-week session.
A $275 non-refundable deposit is required at registration to hold the reservation.
Class size is limited to the first 90 students per session.
"While the academy focuses on the performing arts, we also see it as an opportunity to build confidence in today's youth," states Keith Watson, Producer, Rising Star Academy.
Keith Watson, Producer
Worked in New York for over 20 years in the performing arts as an actor, singer and dancer first appearing in the original casts of Meet Me in St. Louis and Jane Eyre. He is the owner of Keith Watson Productions, Inc., an entertainment production and special event design company. His production credits include The Boston Garden, Madison Square Gardens, The Jacob Javits Center, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Sherwin Mackintosh, Artistic Director
Worked for 17 years in New York City as Musical Director and Producer, including Madison Square Gardens and the Apollo Theater. He made his Broadway debut playing Keyboard I in the Scarlet Pimpernel and his Carnegie Hall debut at the Weill Recital Hall. He co-wrote two musicals, Slingshot and Upside Down, and is a member of ASCAP. He has traveled around the world as a guest clinician and performer. Currently, Sherwin is the Director of the new performing arts center at P.K. Yonge. His students consistently receive Superior ratings at competitions and have performed at venues including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.
Cameron Francis
An actor and magician with over 15 years of professional experience. A member of Actor's Equity and The Screen Actor's Guild, he has appeared professionally on stage in New York (Off Broadway), Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and locally at the Hippodrome State Theatre in Gainesville. He has also starred in many commercials for companies such as Ford, Toyota, the Orlando Magic Basketball Team, and Coors Light. He recently appeared in the Award Winning short film "I Hate Musicals" and the feature film "Never Back Down" starring Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou. As a magician, Cameron has created many marketed effects and collaborated with some of the top names in close up magic including David Forrest, Richard Sanders and Aldo Colombini. He has also performed his unique style of magic at dozens of events, private parties and restaurants.
CJ Phillips Hardy
With numerous New York credits, she was a member of the original Broadway cast of Big, the dance captain for the National Tour and Broadway companies of Hairspray and is currently starring in the touring company of Dream Girls.
Carrie Kelsey
Graduate from Columbia University in New York City, she appeared in productions at Madison Square Gardens, the Apollo Theater, and the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. She was a founding member and Dance Captain of the Story Tree Gang which toured in the United States. She taught dance at the Harlem School of the Arts.
Geoffrey Owens
He has worked as an actor, director and teacher in theater, television and film for the last two decades. He has appeared on stage (in roles including Romeo, Richard III, Othello, and Puck) at numerous theaters, including the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Long Wharf Theater, the Hartford Stage Company and the Williamstown Theater Festival. He has worked with directors such as Joseph Papp, A. J. Antoon, James Lapine, Brian Kulick, Mark Lamos, Joe Dowling, Derek Anson Jones, and Estelle Parsons. He has appeared in the films Stonebrook (with Seth Green), The Paper (directed by Ron Howard), and the soon-to-be-released Play the Game (with Andy Griffith). His television credits include 'Elvin' on NBC's The Cosby Show, as well as appearances on Boston Legal, Medium, Journeyman, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Las Vegas, The Wedding Bells, Law and Order, Law and Order S.V.U., The Guiding Light, and That's So Raven. He recently appeared in Oscar Wilde's Salome with Al Pacino, (also to be released as a film directed by Pacino).
As a director, Mr. Owens has staged productions of King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, Richard III, As You Like It, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Tartuffe, as well as one-act plays by Chekhov, Overruled by Shaw, Mamet's American Buffalo, Fugard's Statements Made After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act, and Mastrosimone's Tamer of Horses. As a teacher, he has worked at the Herbert Berghof (HB) Studio, as well as at Yale University, the Gene Frankel Studio, and the FSU / Asolo Conservatory. He currently leads a Shakespeare workshop in Los Angeles.
Mr. Owens is the founder and artistic director of The Brooklyn Shakespeare Company and is the recipient of the BACA Brooklyn Bridge Award and the Danny Kaye Award. He studied acting with Nikos Psacharapoulos, Austin Pendleton, Gregory Itzin, and the late Uta Hagen.
Josette Owens
Happy to be a part of the Rising Star Camp this summer. She is a protégée of Chet Walker, creator of the Tony award winning musical "Fosse." She assisted him and choreographer Ann Reinking for the Goodman Theatre's production of "Pal Joey" starring Kevin Anderson. Josette has taught for FSU/Sarasota Dance and various performing arts camps. Also a Director/Choreographer, her work has been seen in "The All Night Strut," and "Mo' Better Blues." She has worked with Tony award winners Director Frank Galati, Donna McKechnie and Director/Choreographer Kathleen Marshall. A classically trained dancer, she received her training from the R.A.D. (Royal Academy of Dance) based in London, England. As a teenager, she received a coveted scholarship from the Professional Dancer's Society with the late jazz choreographer Claude Thompson. Josette is married to Shakesperean actor Geoffrey Owens ("Elvin" from the "Cosby Show) and is mother to nine year old, Jordyn Amaeus Owens. Since relocating to Los Angeles, she has performed in Ed Begley Jr.'s new musical "Cesar and Ruben" about activist Cesar Chavez and journalist Ruben Salazar and at the El Portal Theater in "An Evening of Dance."
*faculty subject to change.
Worked in New York for over 20 years in the performing arts as an actor, singer and dancer first appearing in the original casts of Meet Me in St. Louis and Jane Eyre. He is the owner of Keith Watson Productions, Inc., an entertainment production and special event design company. His production credits include The Boston Garden, Madison Square Gardens, The Jacob Javits Center, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Sherwin Mackintosh, Artistic Director
Worked for 17 years in New York City as Musical Director and Producer, including Madison Square Gardens and the Apollo Theater. He made his Broadway debut playing Keyboard I in the Scarlet Pimpernel and his Carnegie Hall debut at the Weill Recital Hall. He co-wrote two musicals, Slingshot and Upside Down, and is a member of ASCAP. He has traveled around the world as a guest clinician and performer. Currently, Sherwin is the Director of the new performing arts center at P.K. Yonge. His students consistently receive Superior ratings at competitions and have performed at venues including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.
Cameron Francis
An actor and magician with over 15 years of professional experience. A member of Actor's Equity and The Screen Actor's Guild, he has appeared professionally on stage in New York (Off Broadway), Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and locally at the Hippodrome State Theatre in Gainesville. He has also starred in many commercials for companies such as Ford, Toyota, the Orlando Magic Basketball Team, and Coors Light. He recently appeared in the Award Winning short film "I Hate Musicals" and the feature film "Never Back Down" starring Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou. As a magician, Cameron has created many marketed effects and collaborated with some of the top names in close up magic including David Forrest, Richard Sanders and Aldo Colombini. He has also performed his unique style of magic at dozens of events, private parties and restaurants.
CJ Phillips Hardy
With numerous New York credits, she was a member of the original Broadway cast of Big, the dance captain for the National Tour and Broadway companies of Hairspray and is currently starring in the touring company of Dream Girls.
Carrie Kelsey
Graduate from Columbia University in New York City, she appeared in productions at Madison Square Gardens, the Apollo Theater, and the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. She was a founding member and Dance Captain of the Story Tree Gang which toured in the United States. She taught dance at the Harlem School of the Arts.
Geoffrey Owens
He has worked as an actor, director and teacher in theater, television and film for the last two decades. He has appeared on stage (in roles including Romeo, Richard III, Othello, and Puck) at numerous theaters, including the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Long Wharf Theater, the Hartford Stage Company and the Williamstown Theater Festival. He has worked with directors such as Joseph Papp, A. J. Antoon, James Lapine, Brian Kulick, Mark Lamos, Joe Dowling, Derek Anson Jones, and Estelle Parsons. He has appeared in the films Stonebrook (with Seth Green), The Paper (directed by Ron Howard), and the soon-to-be-released Play the Game (with Andy Griffith). His television credits include 'Elvin' on NBC's The Cosby Show, as well as appearances on Boston Legal, Medium, Journeyman, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Las Vegas, The Wedding Bells, Law and Order, Law and Order S.V.U., The Guiding Light, and That's So Raven. He recently appeared in Oscar Wilde's Salome with Al Pacino, (also to be released as a film directed by Pacino).
As a director, Mr. Owens has staged productions of King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, Richard III, As You Like It, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Tartuffe, as well as one-act plays by Chekhov, Overruled by Shaw, Mamet's American Buffalo, Fugard's Statements Made After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act, and Mastrosimone's Tamer of Horses. As a teacher, he has worked at the Herbert Berghof (HB) Studio, as well as at Yale University, the Gene Frankel Studio, and the FSU / Asolo Conservatory. He currently leads a Shakespeare workshop in Los Angeles.
Mr. Owens is the founder and artistic director of The Brooklyn Shakespeare Company and is the recipient of the BACA Brooklyn Bridge Award and the Danny Kaye Award. He studied acting with Nikos Psacharapoulos, Austin Pendleton, Gregory Itzin, and the late Uta Hagen.
Josette Owens
Happy to be a part of the Rising Star Camp this summer. She is a protégée of Chet Walker, creator of the Tony award winning musical "Fosse." She assisted him and choreographer Ann Reinking for the Goodman Theatre's production of "Pal Joey" starring Kevin Anderson. Josette has taught for FSU/Sarasota Dance and various performing arts camps. Also a Director/Choreographer, her work has been seen in "The All Night Strut," and "Mo' Better Blues." She has worked with Tony award winners Director Frank Galati, Donna McKechnie and Director/Choreographer Kathleen Marshall. A classically trained dancer, she received her training from the R.A.D. (Royal Academy of Dance) based in London, England. As a teenager, she received a coveted scholarship from the Professional Dancer's Society with the late jazz choreographer Claude Thompson. Josette is married to Shakesperean actor Geoffrey Owens ("Elvin" from the "Cosby Show) and is mother to nine year old, Jordyn Amaeus Owens. Since relocating to Los Angeles, she has performed in Ed Begley Jr.'s new musical "Cesar and Ruben" about activist Cesar Chavez and journalist Ruben Salazar and at the El Portal Theater in "An Evening of Dance."
*faculty subject to change.
To become a rising star, please print the following document, fill out and submit your reservation form and deposit to Keith Watson Productions, Inc.
Mail to:
Keith Watson Productions, Inc.
2425 NW 71st Place
Gainesville, FL 32653.
Mail to:
Keith Watson Productions, Inc.
2425 NW 71st Place
Gainesville, FL 32653.
Performing Arts Academy June 16-27, 2008 | July 7-18, 2008
Print registration form
Print registration form
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The Performing Arts Academy will be held at the 6.5 million-dollar Performing Arts Center at the P.K.Yonge Developmental Research School, featuring state-of-the-art technology including a sprung floor and top of the line lighting and sound
- Students will go through a three-prong rotation, featuring instruction in Voice, Dance, and Drama.
- Classes will be divided into 3 age groups; elementary, middle school, and high school/college.
- The Curriculum will focus on: Proper Vocal Technique, Various Dance Styles, Acting & On-Camera Techniques, Musical Theater Repertoire, Producing a Musical
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Magic in Performance Master Class
This class is designed to give beginner to intermediate magicians the tools necessary to elevate their displays of magic from mere "tricks" to astonishing performance pieces. While tricks will be taught, the emphasis of the class will be placed on applying techniques from other areas of the performing arts (acting, dance, music) to the art of magic. The emphasis of this master class will be on close up and stand up magic. Props will be supplied to each student.
This class is designed to give beginner to intermediate magicians the tools necessary to elevate their displays of magic from mere "tricks" to astonishing performance pieces. While tricks will be taught, the emphasis of the class will be placed on applying techniques from other areas of the performing arts (acting, dance, music) to the art of magic. The emphasis of this master class will be on close up and stand up magic. Props will be supplied to each student.