January 22 and 23 at The Hannah Community Center:

We’ve all read the storybooks and most fairy tales end with “they lived happily ever after”. But what actually happens in Ever After?  And what if you get tired of all the “happy happy” and want some delicious drama? The East Lansing Dance and Theatre Company, the performing division of The Studio Performing Arts Center, will premiere “AFTER EVER AFTER, or Four Beautiful Princesses, a bunch of sidekicks and one Evil Villain, a ballet in one act” at the Hannah Community Center Albert White Theatre, 819 Abbot Rd., East Lansing Friday, January 22 at 7pm and Saturday, January 23 at 2pm. 

This fun new show, conceived, directed and choreographed by East Lansing Dance and Theatre Company Artistic Director P.K. Van Voorhees, imagines what happens when a bored villain (Cruella De Vil, played by MSU student Marissa Beatty) gets tired of being in “Ever After” with nothing to do. Enter Belle from Beauty and The Beast (East Lansing High School student Kaleel Van Voorhees), Cinderella (homeschooled student Emily McWethy), Snow White (homeschooled student Mikaela McWethy) and Mulan (East Lansing High School student Kathryn Knox) with their bevy of sidekicks.  Cruella employs her Henchmen and the adventures begin!  

Other members of the cast (aged 6-20) include:
DeWitt student Elsa Rusthoven ; East Lansing students Annie McIlhagga and Mosey Rojewski; Grand Ledge students Alaina Humphrey and Reyna Estrada; Holt student Mimi Parkerson; Okemos students Alice Ribeiro, Alyssa Forsyth, Fiona Magyar, Lottie-Brooke Mims, Miki Perdikakis and Sarah Flink; Resurrection student Gabriella Torgeson; and St. Martha’s student Christen Chappelle.

The show is approximately one hour, encompasses ballet and physical theatre and is appropriate for all ages. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased ahead of time by calling 517-336-4088 or purchased at the theatre door 30 minutes prior to show time.

The Studio Performing Arts Center has a summer acting session for any adults (and older teens) interested in furthering their skills.  We are looking for more adults to join the class.  The class will focus on a variety of techniques with approaches to scene study, as well as touch on Audition Techniques.  Class meets this MONDAY, JUNE 22 at 7pm at The Studio, 5015 Park Lake Rd., East Lansing, MI  48823 and costs $72 for the session.  For more information, call P.K. At 517-336-4088 or 517-203-8324.

TEEN/ADULT ACTING CLASS Monday nights 7-8pm:  Ever wonder how to stay in the moment when you are onstage?  Want to really learn what makes an excellent actor, and be free in a role onstage?  Join The Studio Performing Arts Center’s ongoing Acting class on Monday nights.  For both High School Teens as well as Adults, work on technique that professional actors use, beginning with the Meisner technique, including Listen and Answer, The Repetition Exercise, Repetition with Activity, The Knock At The Door, Improvisational Exercises with emphasis on Physical Theatre, and later Dialogue.  This class is ongoing with multiple performances including Family/Friends Scene Nights, One-act plays and monologue performances.  Both Comedy and Drama genres are examined, and later in the year, (time permitting) audition technique.  Current and past students have received awards for Acting, scholarships to collegiate programs, appeared as hosts in local TV shows, nominated and won local and state-wide thespian awards for great acting, as well as won roles for both regional, professional, community and school productions. 

MUSICAL THEATRE CLASS for ages 10-15 (or with instructor approval) Thursdays 4:30-5:30pm:  Musical Theatre is a combination of three art forms: Dancing, Singing and Acting.  In the Studio’s class, we cover Acting and Singing, with students urged to take an additional dance class to round out their training.  Half of the class is spent learning acting technique, and half spent singing in group sing with solo capabilities.  The ability to take private voice lessons in The Studio, as an additional training tool, is encouraged for those over age 12 who are serious about learning Musical Theatre.

Both classes are taught by P.K. Van Voorhees, Founder/Artistic Director of The Studio, a conservatory for dance, voice, acting and musical theatre in East Lansing.  P.K. Received her B.F.A. “with Distinction” in Music Theatre/Dance from University of Michigan, and has worked and studied in both NYC and Los Angeles, under Freddy Kareman, a protégé of Sandy Meisner, and Wynn Handman, among many others.  She has appeared as an actress/dancer/singer on and off-Broadway, in original shows at the Shubert Theatre, Perry Street Theatre, Nat Horne Theatre, and Carnegie Studio Theatre, in Touring Shows, Regional Theatres, Dinner Theatres and Summer Stocks.  A former adjunct professor of Acting at Lansing Community College, she also appeared on MTV with Carly Simon (directed by Jeremy Irons).   She has directed and choreographed in Los Angeles and and in regional theatres throughout the country as well as locally at several high schools and the former BoarsHead Musical Theatre Summer Conservatory.  She performed with Rudolf Nureyev and the National Ballet of Canada, as well as Agnes DeMille’s Heritage Dance Theatre.  Her students have won Barney and Pulsar Awards, been nominated for the Michigan Wilde Awards, won the National Junior Dance Award, The Michigan Junior Dance Award (1st and 2nd places), received scholarships to the Joffrey Ballet, The Kirov, Hubbard Street Dance Company, American Ballet Theatre, Interlochen Arts Academy, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, as well as collegiate placements in Boston Conservatory, NYU, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Oklahoma City University, Baldwin-Wallace, Lawrence University, Oakland University, Western Michigan, Allegheny College, Albion College, Ohio Wesleyan, College of Wooster, among others.  
The Studio Performing Arts Center 5015 Park Lake Road, East Lansing, MI 48823 517-336-4088
For more information, please see The Studio’s website at www.dancesingact.com