ABOUT OUR WORKSHOPS
Elevate your theatre journey to new heights at the Virginia Thespian Festival! 🌟 Immerse yourself in a realm of boundless possibilities, where workshops reign supreme and the magic of theatre comes alive.
🎭 Ignite your passion with Theatre Performance workshops that unveil the art of captivating storytelling.
🎶 Find your rhythm in the world of Musical Theatre sessions, where every note resonates with your soul.
🎨 Unlock the secrets of Technical Theatre, crafting immersive worlds that transport audiences.
🎓 Embark on an enlightening experience with Theatre Education workshops, nurturing the leaders of tomorrow's stage.
📝 Dive into the craft of Dramaturgy and Playwriting, where imagination takes center stage.
Our festival is a haven of growth and transformation. For your students, it's a canvas of unique opportunities. For you, it's a platform of professional development unlike any other.
Step into a world where dynamic and exhilarating workshops are led by seasoned theatre professionals. From dancing and vocal mastery to auditions, improvisation, makeup, costuming, set design, lighting, and more, we cover it all. Theater games, team building, and immersive experiences await you.
Our 2024 Workshop Schedule will be released in late December!
Elevate your craft, spark your imagination, and be part of the theatre magic. Get ready for the Virginia Thespian Festival – where workshops shape dreams into reality. 🌈🎬✨
🎭 Ignite your passion with Theatre Performance workshops that unveil the art of captivating storytelling.
🎶 Find your rhythm in the world of Musical Theatre sessions, where every note resonates with your soul.
🎨 Unlock the secrets of Technical Theatre, crafting immersive worlds that transport audiences.
🎓 Embark on an enlightening experience with Theatre Education workshops, nurturing the leaders of tomorrow's stage.
📝 Dive into the craft of Dramaturgy and Playwriting, where imagination takes center stage.
Our festival is a haven of growth and transformation. For your students, it's a canvas of unique opportunities. For you, it's a platform of professional development unlike any other.
Step into a world where dynamic and exhilarating workshops are led by seasoned theatre professionals. From dancing and vocal mastery to auditions, improvisation, makeup, costuming, set design, lighting, and more, we cover it all. Theater games, team building, and immersive experiences await you.
Our 2024 Workshop Schedule will be released in late December!
Elevate your craft, spark your imagination, and be part of the theatre magic. Get ready for the Virginia Thespian Festival – where workshops shape dreams into reality. 🌈🎬✨
PREVIOUS GUEST ARTISTS INCLUDE:
John Cariani - Playwright
John Cariani is a Tony Award-nominated actor and an accomplished playwright. He made his Broadway debut in the 2004 revival of Fiddler on the Roof and received an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Tony Award nomination for his portrayal of Motel the Tailor. He originated the role of Nigel Bottom in the Broadway hit, Something Rotten! and received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for his performance. He originated the role of Itzik in The Band’s Visit, winner of the 2018 Tony Award for Best Musical, and recently appeared as Stuart Gellman in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s acclaimed revival of Caroline, or Change.
Most people know John from his role on NBC’s long-running drama, Law & Order, on which he played Forensics Tech Beck for five seasons. He also had recurring roles on CBS’ Numbers and on IFC’s The Onion News Network.
As a playwright, John is best known for his first play, Almost, Maine, which premiered at Portland Stage Company in 2004, opened Off-Broadway in 2006, and has since become one of the most popular plays in the United States and around the world. The play has received over 5000 productions to date and has been translated into over a dozen languages. It’s also the most frequently produced play in North American high schools, outpacing classics like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Crucible, and Our Town.
A darker cousin to Almost, Maine, John’s third play, LOVE/SICK, is a huge hit in Mexico City, where it has been made into the recently released film, Enfermo Amor. The play will soon be touring Spain with Spanish television star Esther Acebo.
John Cariani is a Tony Award-nominated actor and an accomplished playwright. He made his Broadway debut in the 2004 revival of Fiddler on the Roof and received an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Tony Award nomination for his portrayal of Motel the Tailor. He originated the role of Nigel Bottom in the Broadway hit, Something Rotten! and received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for his performance. He originated the role of Itzik in The Band’s Visit, winner of the 2018 Tony Award for Best Musical, and recently appeared as Stuart Gellman in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s acclaimed revival of Caroline, or Change.
Most people know John from his role on NBC’s long-running drama, Law & Order, on which he played Forensics Tech Beck for five seasons. He also had recurring roles on CBS’ Numbers and on IFC’s The Onion News Network.
As a playwright, John is best known for his first play, Almost, Maine, which premiered at Portland Stage Company in 2004, opened Off-Broadway in 2006, and has since become one of the most popular plays in the United States and around the world. The play has received over 5000 productions to date and has been translated into over a dozen languages. It’s also the most frequently produced play in North American high schools, outpacing classics like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Crucible, and Our Town.
A darker cousin to Almost, Maine, John’s third play, LOVE/SICK, is a huge hit in Mexico City, where it has been made into the recently released film, Enfermo Amor. The play will soon be touring Spain with Spanish television star Esther Acebo.
Ayesis Clay
Ayesis Clay is a distinguished educator, multidisciplinary theatre artist, and keynote speaker. Her critically acclaimed solo show, Sculpting Clay or How I Became Mother of Unicorns was featured as the opening keynote for EdTA’s 2022 National Theatre Education conference in Los Angeles. With over 19 years in education, she has written and developed curricula for public and charter schools, the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, and many local and regional theatre companies. Ayesis held several school and district leadership positions in Prince George’s County Public school (20th largest school district in the nation) including Theatre department chairperson, and Chairperson for the PGCPS Theatre Advisory Board, as well as Co-Founder and Co-Director of the PGCPS Honor's Theatre Ensemble.
Ayesis Clay is a distinguished educator, multidisciplinary theatre artist, and keynote speaker. Her critically acclaimed solo show, Sculpting Clay or How I Became Mother of Unicorns was featured as the opening keynote for EdTA’s 2022 National Theatre Education conference in Los Angeles. With over 19 years in education, she has written and developed curricula for public and charter schools, the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, and many local and regional theatre companies. Ayesis held several school and district leadership positions in Prince George’s County Public school (20th largest school district in the nation) including Theatre department chairperson, and Chairperson for the PGCPS Theatre Advisory Board, as well as Co-Founder and Co-Director of the PGCPS Honor's Theatre Ensemble.
Brooklin Green
Brooklin is a Keynote Speaker, Comedian, Consultant and Professor. She teaches workshops across the U.S. Her students are constant success stories from their comedy competitions to their developed professions. Brooklin has a BA in Theatre & MA in Communication & Leadership through Gonzaga University. She currently teaches communications at the University of NC Wilmington, UMO, & Coastal Carolina Community College.
She also consults comedy writing as punch up for various comedians and writers across the US and has written several local commercials for radio and TV. She is a graduate from the world-famous Chicago’s Second City Conservatory. Brooklin has appeared on A&E television’s Documentary “The Laugh Track” and Nick at Nite’s, “Funniest Mom in America 3” She has performed in “Tony & Tina’s Wedding” Chicago’s longest running off Broadway comedy show in history. She has worked with Comedy professionals like the talent coordinator for the David Letterman Show, Improvisational legends like David Shepard (co-founder of The Second City and Canadian Improv games) and Linda Hagen (Founding member of Spolin players ‘The g-ma of improv’). She has appeared in festivals all over the U.S like, the Improv Olympics, Chicago’s Improv Festival, and Funny Women Festival. Brooklin also produced an all women stand-up comedy show. To contact, go to : www.brooklingreen.com.
Brooklin is a Keynote Speaker, Comedian, Consultant and Professor. She teaches workshops across the U.S. Her students are constant success stories from their comedy competitions to their developed professions. Brooklin has a BA in Theatre & MA in Communication & Leadership through Gonzaga University. She currently teaches communications at the University of NC Wilmington, UMO, & Coastal Carolina Community College.
She also consults comedy writing as punch up for various comedians and writers across the US and has written several local commercials for radio and TV. She is a graduate from the world-famous Chicago’s Second City Conservatory. Brooklin has appeared on A&E television’s Documentary “The Laugh Track” and Nick at Nite’s, “Funniest Mom in America 3” She has performed in “Tony & Tina’s Wedding” Chicago’s longest running off Broadway comedy show in history. She has worked with Comedy professionals like the talent coordinator for the David Letterman Show, Improvisational legends like David Shepard (co-founder of The Second City and Canadian Improv games) and Linda Hagen (Founding member of Spolin players ‘The g-ma of improv’). She has appeared in festivals all over the U.S like, the Improv Olympics, Chicago’s Improv Festival, and Funny Women Festival. Brooklin also produced an all women stand-up comedy show. To contact, go to : www.brooklingreen.com.
Amanda Haddock
Amanda is the Artistic Director of Actors Repertory Theatre at The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts and a Director and Creative Consultant for Fever Originals. She has recently worked on Genie's Secret Bazar, The Little Mermaid, Sleepy Hollow, and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition. She has appeared in Giant Spoon's Back to the 90's in Las Vegas, The Banyan Family House at the Electric Forest Music Festival in Michigan, and directed and produced a featured performance with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. Prior to that she reprised her role as Madame Martine for the final installment in The Cabaret Trilogy with TBD Immersive in Washington, DC.
Her solo performance in the 2019 Capital Fringe show, Nothing Broken, was met with popular acclaim and her work in Ambien Date Night garnered a Best Performance Honor at the 2015 Capital Fringe. Other local stage credits include, Imagination Stage's, S.P.I.E.S as Pat, Theater Alliance's Night Falls on the Blue Planet as Claudia and DC Dead and ATL Dead as Brookland. Amanda is also an award-winning filmmaker, taking home festival awards for Best Film, Best Direction, Best Writing, Best Production Design, and Best Actress, among others. Amanda studied Theatre & Drama at Indiana University and continued her training at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. Amanda is especially adept at large-scale immersive activations, close contact immersive improv, devised theater, and self-producing.
Amanda is the Artistic Director of Actors Repertory Theatre at The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts and a Director and Creative Consultant for Fever Originals. She has recently worked on Genie's Secret Bazar, The Little Mermaid, Sleepy Hollow, and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition. She has appeared in Giant Spoon's Back to the 90's in Las Vegas, The Banyan Family House at the Electric Forest Music Festival in Michigan, and directed and produced a featured performance with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. Prior to that she reprised her role as Madame Martine for the final installment in The Cabaret Trilogy with TBD Immersive in Washington, DC.
Her solo performance in the 2019 Capital Fringe show, Nothing Broken, was met with popular acclaim and her work in Ambien Date Night garnered a Best Performance Honor at the 2015 Capital Fringe. Other local stage credits include, Imagination Stage's, S.P.I.E.S as Pat, Theater Alliance's Night Falls on the Blue Planet as Claudia and DC Dead and ATL Dead as Brookland. Amanda is also an award-winning filmmaker, taking home festival awards for Best Film, Best Direction, Best Writing, Best Production Design, and Best Actress, among others. Amanda studied Theatre & Drama at Indiana University and continued her training at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. Amanda is especially adept at large-scale immersive activations, close contact immersive improv, devised theater, and self-producing.
Aretta Baumgartner
Aretta Baumgartner is a puppeteer, actor and vocalist. A professional puppeteer since 1992, she’s proud to be the Education Director of the world-renowned Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, the largest non-profit dedicated to the art of puppetry in the United States. She’s a member of the Teaching Artist Alliance and has served as a Guest Artist for twenty state Thespian festivals (c/o Educational Theatre Association) and at International Thespian Festival. Aretta is an Attending Professional on the Dragon Con Puppetry Track, served as President of the Board of Directors of the Puppeteers of America (2019-2022) and creates original puppetry-infused work with her puppetry partner through their company ONE DOUBLE-O FOUR EIGHT, work that can be seen at festivals from coast to coast. Aretta has worked all over the U.S. and in Australia, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Canada and Honduras. She is proud to serve on the Advisory Committee for the Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards and the Educational Theatre Foundation and as a Board member for ART Station. She performs regularly in puppetry, theatre productions and as a backing vocalist. Aretta is dedicated to using puppetry as a tool to unlock potential, passion and story in every human she meets. www.puppet.org
Aretta Baumgartner is a puppeteer, actor and vocalist. A professional puppeteer since 1992, she’s proud to be the Education Director of the world-renowned Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, the largest non-profit dedicated to the art of puppetry in the United States. She’s a member of the Teaching Artist Alliance and has served as a Guest Artist for twenty state Thespian festivals (c/o Educational Theatre Association) and at International Thespian Festival. Aretta is an Attending Professional on the Dragon Con Puppetry Track, served as President of the Board of Directors of the Puppeteers of America (2019-2022) and creates original puppetry-infused work with her puppetry partner through their company ONE DOUBLE-O FOUR EIGHT, work that can be seen at festivals from coast to coast. Aretta has worked all over the U.S. and in Australia, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Canada and Honduras. She is proud to serve on the Advisory Committee for the Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards and the Educational Theatre Foundation and as a Board member for ART Station. She performs regularly in puppetry, theatre productions and as a backing vocalist. Aretta is dedicated to using puppetry as a tool to unlock potential, passion and story in every human she meets. www.puppet.org
