Arts Academy Boarding High School: Theatre Arts

Performances give students a chance to apply techniques learned in the classroom. The theatre program presents a wide range of repertoire in up top six full productions each year.

2012-13

• Middletown - by Will Eno
• [title of show] - book by Hunter Bell, music and lyrics by Jeff Bowden
• Blood Wedding - by Federico Garcia Lorca
• Othello - by William Shakespeare
• Miss Saigon - music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. and Alain Boublil

2011-12

• Cabaret - book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Fred Ebb, music by John Kander
• The 39 Steps - by Patrick Barlow
• The Servant of Two Masters - by Carlo Goldoni
• Julius Caesar - by William Shakespeare
• West Side Story - book by Authur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

2010-11

• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - book by Jeffrey Lane, music and lyrics by David Yazbek
• Parallel Lives - by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy
• Cyrano de Bergerac - by Edmond Rostand
• Beauty and the Beast - music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, book by Linda Woolverton

2009-10

• Antigone - by Sophocles
• A Christmas Carol: The Musical - story by Charles Dickens, music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
• Hotel Paradiso - by Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desavallieres, translated by Peter Glenville
• Love's Labours Lost - by William Shakespeare

2008-09

• Arabian Nights - adapted by Mary Zimmerman
• Little Women - music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein
• Once in a Lifetime - by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
• Seussical - music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens 

2007-08

• The Illusion - Pierre Corneille and adapted by Tony Kushner
• Tonight at 8:30 - Noel Coward
• Measure for Measure - William Shakespeare
• Thoroughly Modern Millie - Jeanine Tesori, Dick Scanlon and Richard Morris

Experience in the Arts Academy theatre program prepares students for successful auditions at leading theatre programs at the college or conservatory level. Recent graduates are now at the following schools:

• California Institute of the Arts
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Fordham University
• Harvard University
• The Juilliard School of Drama
• Pace University
• NYU Tisch School of the Arts
• Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
• University of Minnesota Guthrie Theatre program
• University of Southern California

The Academy theatre program doesn't just prepare students for higher education in acting. Students leave the program prepared to be acting professionals on stage and screen. Many students find professional success and leading roles shortly after leaving Interlochen. Some examples include:

• Jackson Rathbone - (Class of 2003) featured in the film Twilight and in the television series Beautiful People (ABC Family)
• Alexandra Silber (Class of 2001) - London's West End productions of The Woman in White, Fiddler on the Roof, Carousel and Master Class on Broadway
• Michael Arden (Class of 2001) - Broadway productions of Big River and The Times They Are a'Changin'
• Ben Walker (Class of 2000) - featured in Broadway's Inherit the Wind, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and films including Flags of our Fathers,Kinsey and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
• Logan Lipton (Class of 1999) - Wicked on Broadway
• James Ginty (Class of 1999) - appears in the films The Surrogates and K-19:The Widowmaker
• Antoinette Trucks (1999) stared in Barbershop (Showtime)
• Michael McMillian (Class of 1998) - What I Like About You (WB), Saved (TNT), andTrue Blood (HBO)

Other High Performing Alumni

• Felicity Huffman - Academy Award nominee for Transamerica and star of Desperate Housewives (ABC)
• Tom Hulce - Academy Award nominee for Amadeus and producer of Broadway's Spring Awakening
  
• Linda Hunt - Academy Award winner for Year of Living Dangerously
• Jennifer Ehle - Tony Award winner for The Real Thing and star of television's Pride and Prejudice
• Bruno Campos - star of the Disney film, Princess and the Frog, Nip/Tuck (F/X) andJesse (NBC)

In 2011, six Academy theatre students received recognition from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. The awards included three honorable mentions, one merit award and two students were named finalists in the YoungArts competition. Leah Mattfield won the Art Schools Network student talent competition for Musical Theatre in 2011. In 2009, Steven Johnson, Academy theatre graduate, was selected as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Two other theatre students were finalists in the program, which honors just 20 artists from the United States.

Classes are enhanced by visits from guest artists. Students interact with leading performers who share their insights about acting, performance and planning a career. In recent years, numerous artists have worked with students including:

• Hunter Bell – Tony-nominated writer of [title of show]
• Victoria Clark – Tony Award-winner
• Sutton Foster – Tony Award-winner
• James Kichler – Professional dancer
• Maggie Kinloch – Head of Acting at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
• Stephen McKinley Henderson – Broadway, film and TV actor
• Ethan McSweeny – Award-winning Broadway and regional theatre director
• Alan Menken – Academy Award-winning composer of Little Shop of Horrors, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Enchanted
• David Watson – faculty member from the Hartt School of Drama

Other guests have included representatives of Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Disney and Nickelodeon casting.

Alumni Panels— At least once a year, the theatre department invites high-achieving recent alumni to return to Interlochen to take part in panel discussions about starting a career in acting and theatre. Having recently embarked on successful careers of their own, the panelists share valuable insights with current students.

Agent Showcases— At the end of the Academy year, the theatre department invites professional acting agents to campus to offer feedback to the students on their audition material. In college and conservatory acting programs, such showcases are considered an important final step for theatre students and can be an important part of establishing a career. It gives students a chance to experience what it is like to demonstrate their talents in front of industry professionals. Recent agents have included Kevin Emrick, the director of creative development for Stuart Thompson productions; Gerry Koch, theatrical agent for the Gage Group; Chris Nichols, theatrical agent for the Krasny Office; and Joel Carlton, theatrical agent for CGF Talent Agency.

The Harvey Theatre Complex houses the Academy theatre program. It is a modern theatre facility that contains classrooms and rehearsal space. Many student productions are staged in the 175-seat black box Harvey Theatre. 

Corson Auditorium is used for a small number of larger theatre productions. The 1,000-seat auditorium accommodates more elaborate sets and large audiences.

The Mallory Costume Shop supports student productions with a 15,000 piece collection.