It’s Showtime! Drama Teacher Offers Acting Classes for Area Children
Alexandria, VA – Alexandria drama teacher Roberta Cullen is drawing on years of experience to start a new children’s movement and acting program. The Alexandria Children’s Theatre (ACT) is for area children ages four to 12. Classes begin September 15 and run for eight weekends at Burgundy Farm Country Day School. Drop-ins are welcome, and students can attend as many sessions as they choose.
Cullen has worked at the Little Theatre of Alexandria, in Alexandria City Public Schools after-school programs, and at Burgundy Farm. The partially-wooded, 26-acre campus is a former dairy farm.
ACT classes are play-based and start with a foundation in movement and physical awareness. The aim is to strengthen communication skills for the stage, classroom and beyond. Theater games and activities are used to build teamwork and teach collaboration.
More than 1,200 children have had their first stage performance in one of Cullen’s classes, and now some are old enough to work with her.
“Having former students who are now in high school say their love of theater started back in kindergarten during their first class with me really warms my heart!” Cullen said. “It’s happened several times this summer in random places like the grocery store, and always makes me smile!”
At ACT, even the youngest children have an opportunity to be onstage: outdoors around the Burgundy Farm campus, indoors at the new Logan Loft fine arts building, or in the Burgundy Amphitheater.
“It’s such a unique place,” Cullen says of Burgundy. “Children can learn about performing in several settings […] I’m really looking forward to students exploring things like the witches scene from ‘Macbeth’ at the Amphitheater in the Burgundy woods.”
Flexible registration means students can bring along a friend who is interested. Partial scholarships toward the $145-$165 per class cost are offered upon request. Complete details about classes and online registration can be found HERE.
For inquiries, contact Roberta Cullen at [email protected]. Burgundy Farm is located at 3700 Burgundy Road.
