The award-winning New Jersey Youth Theatre (NJYT) is proud to announce that its Performing Arts School’s 19th season of classes for students age 5 to 23 will begin the week of October 12, 2010. Registration sessions for classes in Drama, Voice, Musical Theatre and Dance will be held Tuesdays and Wednesdays September 14, 15, 21, and 22 from 4 pm to 8pm at the New Jersey Youth Theatre studio at 172 W. Westfield Avenue in Roselle Park. Semester 1 classes will be offered October 12, 2010 through February 2, 2011; Semester 2 classes will run from February 7, 2011 through May 11, 2011.

National Youth Theatre has honored New Jersey Youth Theatre with 9 Awards for the 2009-2010 season:
Production: Sweeney Todd
Lead Actor in a Musical: Kevin Melendez
Lead Actress in a Musical: Jaclyn Ingoglia
Supporting Actor in a Musical: Adam Bashian
Supporting Actress in a Musical: Eryn LeCroy and Lori Tishfield
Ensemble: Sweeney Todd
Lighting Design: Alexander Fogel
Direction: Cynthia Meryl

NJYT Rocks the NJPAC
by Danielle Ellliott

The New Jersey Youth Theater rocked the NJPAC on Friday evening, bringing the audience to its feet on opening night of "Rent." To the blind eye, there was no indication this was an amateur performance.

The show is a hybrid of the professional and the student versions of the world-famous Broadway musical. While it is slightly toned-down from the original, it is definitely still geared towards a teen-and-older crowd.

By Karyn D. Collins

It's the season of "Rent" this summer at the Jersey Shore. Two different groups are bringing the groundbreaking rock musical to the area. From July 15-18 and 23-25, Phoenix Productions will perform its version of the show at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. Following that, the New Jersey Youth Theatre brings its version of "Rent" to the Algonquin Arts Theatre in Manasquan for performances July 30-Aug. 1 and Aug. 5-8. The NJYT production actually premieres at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, its co-producer, where it runs July 16-18 and 21-25.

The brightest New Jersey Youth Theatre stars will come together at the Algonquin Arts Theatre of Manasquan for a one-night-only "Best of Broadway" benefit concert on August 1 at 7:30 p.m. They will perform songs from New Jersey Youth Theatre musicals previously presented at the Algonquin Arts Theatre, singing show-stoppers from the classic musicals in which they appeared over the past seven years at the Algonquin Arts Theatre and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, including West Side Story, South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, Carousel, Sweeney Todd, Ragtime, and Dames at Sea.

The Garden State's greatest stage performers
by Peter Filichia/For The Star-Ledger
June 13, 2010
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/arts/index.ssf/2010/06/the_garden_states...

While the New York theater scene offers all sorts of awards to the actors and actresses who toil there — Tonys for Broadway, the Obies for off-Broadway, and the Theatre World Awards for first-time performers — the Garden State offers no such prizes.

New Jersey Youth Theatre, in April 2010, received its second consecutive Citation of Excellence from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for excellence in artistic quality, programming and public service in the arts. “We are honored to receive this prestigious citation on behalf of our work teaching New Jersey’s young, talented performers in our school’s classes and our summer productions at New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Algonquin Arts Theatre,” said Theodore Agress, Executive Director, New Jersey Youth Theatre (www.njyouththeatre.org).

The New Jersey Youth Theatre/NJPAC cast of RENT will perform July 16-25 at NJPAC in Newark, July 30-August 8 at Algonquin Arts Theatre in Manasquan.
TICKETS to NJPAC performances -- call 1-888-GO-NJPAC (1-888-466-5722) or go to www.njpac.org/show_events_list.asp
TICKETS to ALGONQUIN ARTS performances call 1-732-528-9211 or go to www.algonquinarts.org/calendar.php#20100730A.

AND the talented actors are...

Mike Zimmerman as MARK
Shayne Kennon as ROGER
Lauren Campbell as MAUREEN
Te La Curtis-Lee as JOANNE
Chelsea Cortes as MIMI
Michael J. Rodriguez as ANGEL

Learn improvisational comedy: 0% FEAR; 100% FUN.
For absolute newcomers to improv comedy who were ever told they were funny, this class teaches the fundamentals of improvisation, incorporating movement-based exercises, games, scenework and group exercises that will build confidence and individual growth in comedic performance.

Workshop Schedule: 7 PM-9 PM Tuesdays & Thursdays
Start Date: June 29, 2010; End Date: July 15, 2010; for a total of 6 sessions over a 3 week period
Registration Deadline: June 15, 2010
Tuition: $100
Class Location: NJYT Studios

Written by Jonathon Larson and loosely based on Puccini's opera "La Bohème," the show brings a powerful, emotional score to a poignant story about the lives, relationships and disappearing Bohemian lifestyle of a group of impoverished young artists in New York's East Village trying to survive, complicated by the personal trauma of HIV/AIDSs.

"RENT" WILL SELL OUT !! RESERVE YOUR SEATS NOW !!

PERFORMANCES DATES:
Jul. 16–Jul. 25 -- New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), One Center Street, Newark, NJ -- For Tickets call 1-888-GO-NJPAC