Masconomet students worked on their acting chops last week, with the help of two professionals from North Shore Music Theatre. Toby Schine, assistant director of education and Myvonwynn Hopton, director of dance, visited the school for a workshop on acting, improvisation and feeling on comfortable on stage with Masconomet middle and high school students.
Students in choir, drama or performing arts classes met with Schine and Hopton in two sessions on April 29, playing theater games, performing skits and monologues and giving each other constructive criticism. The workshop was part of NSMT's educational outreach and was provided free to Masconomet students.
"I thought it was awesome. I learned that improv is really fun," said Robert Daigle, a seventh-grader from Topsfield. "This was kind of a treat."
In one exercise, students were broken in to groups and given a card with a location, a strange object and an occupation. From there, they had to create and perform a skit for their peers using the three items on their card.
As the groups performed their skits, their classmates in the audience had to guess what their three items were.
One skit combined "Swiss cheese," "Hong Kong" and "acrobat," with humorous results.
Eighth-grader Anastas Varinos played a hard-of-hearing shop owner in Hong Kong, and another student came in asking to buy Swiss cheese. Instead, Varinos sold the customer "Miss Gees," the acrobat. Geneva D'Agostino, Miss Gees the acrobat, came out from behind the counter to do a front walkover, and the audience exploded in cheers.
Schine said NSMT's educational workshops are not only a way expose local kids to professional actors and theater techniques, but also a way to give back to local communities that support the Beverly-based theater.
"We draw so heavily from communities in the areas for our shows, it's important for us to give back when and where we can," Schine said. "It's important to recognize the importance of the arts and drama too, because they're always the first to be cut (from the school budget)."
Five or six Masconomet students usually perform in NSMT's Youth Performance Academy shows, said Schine. Also, Nicole Soriano, a junior from Middleton is going to be in NSMT's professional production of "Bye Bye Birdie" this summer.
"The training they've gotten here is excellent," Schine said of Masconomet students. "They're always prepared, and consistently work hard."
What to expect in an audition
Interested in trying out for a performance? Tips from Toby Schine, assistant director of education at North Shore Music Theatre:
Make an impression. An auditioner/interviewer has four or five minutes with you, and they're looking for your personality — if you'd be easy to work with, but also to see if you're trainable.
Have confidence. "Be yourself, but be there (in the moment). Chose to be there," he said. "Tell yourself 'I'm good enough for this job. I deserve to get it, and I'll work my butt off'."
Own the stage. Before you start your monologue or prepared scene for the interview, take a moment to set yourself before you start. Decide who you are, where you are and who you're talking to. And don't deliver the speech directly to the audition panel, he said.
Schine said these tips work well for a job interview, too.
