The Eileen Boevers Performing Arts Workshop offers year-round classes in theatre performance, taught by instructors who work in the business, and is committed to building confidence, creativity, self-esteem, skills, imagination and love of the arts.

Not all classes listed below are offered for each session. Please check the schedule for currently offered classes.

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Current Class Offerings

Offered for children (ages 4 and above) and adults:
Please note: a final performance showcase is
part of the Spring Session. Not all classes listed below are offered every session. Please check out the schedule of classes to see what classes are being offered for the current session.

Musical Theatre Classes

Showbiz for age 4 and Kindergarten: This class explores creative movement, singing and acting.  Students will learn a variety of theatre games and act out a range of characters from familiar stories.  A great way to gain self-confidence and become comfortable supporting and performing with one another.

Showstoppers for grades 1-2: For kids who love to sing, act and dance. Students will learn show tunes, basic musical theatre movement and how to be comfortable in front of an audience. A great confidence builder!

Musical Theatre Workshop for grades 2-3: This workshop style class focuses on musical theatre song and dance from some of today's most popular musicals. Students will focus on learning and memorizing song and dance numbers as a group. Singing, dancing, and acting techniques will be taught in an effort to build upon the students' coordination, stage presence, and performance abilities.

Musical Comedy for grades 2-3: For kids who love to sing and act! This class combines Broadway show tunes and song interpretation with comedic techniques such as improvisation, theatre games, basic scenes, and monologues. Students begin to learn performance techniques and the comedic literature of the theatre.

Triple Threat for grades 4-7: In show business, a person who can sing, dance and act is called a "triple threat." This course is a chance to further explore these three elements of musical theatre. Taught by two instructors, this class encourages confidence and a positive self-image, and helps students to be brave in front of an audience.

Musical Theatre: Voice for grades 5-8: Belt with the best of them while you learn the styles of musical theatre! This class will concentrate on musical theatre repertoire while learning song interpretation through character development both in a group and solo. What a fantastic way to gain confidence for that next audition.

Traveling Troupe, Jr. for grades 3-4: A new program that will mirror Traveling Troupe (grades 5-8). This program will help students grades 3 and 4 who love to sing, dance and act gain the commitment and confidence needed to audition and succeed in Traveling Troupe. Students will perform several shows throughout the school year.

Acting Classes

Creative Imagination for ages 4 and Kindergarten: This class works to build the imagination through music, color, dreams, memory, and more. Students will use theatre and music games/exercises to “play” and “create” on their own and as a group. Students will express their imagination through mediums of dance, pictures, and storytelling.

Storytelling for age 4 and Kindergarten: Finally, a class in improvisation for the world's best natural improvisers! In this class, you will learn the most fundamental improv techniques, learning how to make up your own fairy tales and grand epics as you go along.

Adventures in Drama for grades 1-3: This is an acting class for younger students, who will all work together to become complex characters and experience the journey of creating scenes together. This class builds imagination, creativity and ensemble technique.

Puppet Creation and Storytelling for grades 1-3: Students will make puppets, create characters, and tell stories with their puppets. The focus is on exploring and creating while using the imagination to breathe life into puppets.

Playtime! for grades 1-3 & 4-6 (advanced) : Students will first learn the elements of a play and then will create their own short plays each week full of their own imagined plot, characters, and themes. This creative process will help students learn and understand the process of putting on a play and how to have fun doing it!

Lights, Camera, Improv! for grades 3-5: For students who want to learn the spontaneity of improvisation! This class will help students build confidence, think on their feet, and re act! Basic improv fundamentals will be taught. Students will be encouraged to use their imaginations while creating scenes and characters. This class is not a film class or an on-camera acting class.

On Stage for grades 4-6: Monologues, scene study, techniques in improvisation, and theatre games are all employed to help students become versatile actors.

Script “Comedy” Writing for grades 4-6: For students who want to learn to write scenes for improvisation, plays, or movie scripts! This class will focus on theatrical comedy for the intended target audience. Students will learn about various types of comedy and how to write the jokes, gags, and physical humor into the scene.

Creative Playwriting for grades 4-8: Students will delve into the world of playwriting by concentrating first on the idea of voice and how to capture it on page. Then tey'll learn how a play is structured and assembled as they work on two original monologues and a few pages out of a play. In the spring, all students will write their own short one act play, and workshop it!

Playback Theatre for grades 6-8: An exciting form of improvisational theatre! If you like improv or stories, you;ll love playback! In playback theatre, audience members share actual experiences from their lives, and then the actors bring those stories to life on stage! Students in this class will learn and work with the following skills: listening, storytelly, improvising, ensemble-building, empathy, stage presence, trust-building, and confidence.

Theatre for the Young Professional for grades 6-8: This class is for students who want to develop as a professional in the theatre business. This class includes but is not limited to auditioning, monologues, stage presence, acting, preparing for a role, and the business of theatre. Students will learn from guest artists as well as their instructor and be taught the expectation of the theatre world.

Stage Combat for grades 6-8: SLAP! PUNCH! SWORD FIGHT! This exciting new class will introduce students to safe and convincing stage fighting techniques. Create exciting fight scenarios and learn how the pros make it look so real! Students will perform fight routines for family and friends in the Spring Showcase.

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Instructors
Classes are taught by a variety of theatre professionals and teachers with many years of experience. Teachers in the 2009-2010 season include:

Emma Caywood is a native to the North Shore and an Apple Tree student when she was a child. She has recently returned to her home after five years working in Hollywood as a literary manager and teaching drama/creative writing/environmental issues in Los Angeles. Along with being a teacher, she is a storyteller, an actress, a creative drama leader, and Theater for Young Audiences Playwright. Emma has degrees from Northwestern University in Theater and Gender Studies, as well as a certificate in Creative Writing for the Media.

David Chrzanowski is honored and thrilled to join the Apple Tree staff as a teaching artist! For the last eight years he has had the pleasure to work with students all over the country in both rural and inner city settings. He is constantly amazed by how students respond to the arts and inspired by their creativity. David is the lead teaching artist for Silk Road Theatre Project's educational outreach program: "Myths to Drama." He has been a teaching artist for: Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare on Navy Pier, and the Montana/Kentucky Shakespeare Festivals teaching everything from 'stage combat' to 'physical improvisation.'
As an actor David has worked with Kentucky/Montana/First Folio/Chicago Shakespeare Festival's, Chicago Children's Theatre, Lifeline Theatre, and the Milwaukee Repertory to name a few. He believes very strongly that the arts can help students become more creative "on" and "off" the stage.

Elizabeth Cowan recently graduated from Indiana University where she majored in theatre and theatre education. During her student teaching at Mooresville High School in Mooresville, Indiana, Lizzie directed The Nutt Family. At Indiana University, she participated on all three technical crews and also performed in the The Crucible. She was a member of Ladies First, IU's premiere, all-female a cappella group. Born and raised just down the road in Deerfield, Lizzie acted in many Deerfield High School productions including Arsenic and Old Lace as Martha Brewster, Footloose as Irene, and University as Susan. Lizzie also acted in Oklahoma! and The Music Man through Deerfield Family Theatre.  Because she is local, she remembers sitting in the audience at Apple Tree Theatre where her favorite production was Violet.

Jacque Lueken is ecstatic to be working with Apple Tree this season (directing Bridge to Terabithia for the Eileen Boever's Performing Arts Workshop and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry for TYA at Apple Tree). She grew up in Sandwich, IL, where she made her acting debut as a dragon on stage at the Sandwich Opera House at age 5. She went through life making stops at Six Flags Great America as Rita Remington, the rough-tough-shoot-'em-up-cowgirl in the Southwest Territory, London where she lived for 4 months getting her concentration in Shakespeare and Syracuse where she earned a BFA in Acting before landing in Chicago where she has been acting, teaching and directing with numerous companies including Steppenwolf, Redmoon, Emerald City and Apple Tree. Along the way she has learned how to grind metal, weld and stilt walk - but can't wait for the day she gets enough courage together to fly on a trapeze (um...with a net under her, of course...)!

Jonathon Lynch is a recent graduate of Northwestern University with a major in theatre, a certificate in musical theatre, and a minor in music composition. While at Northwestern, he music directed Candide and Cabaret and assistant music directed WAS, Parade, and Little Shop of Horrors. Recent projects include music directing Seussical the Musical and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at North Central College in Naperville, IL, music directing Kiss Me Kate at Providence Catholic High School in New Lennox, IL, and assistant music directing My Favorite Year at the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre in Chicago, IL .

Shelley Nixon is originally from Ohio and has been working in theatre for over 16 years as both actress and educator.  She is the Director of Youth Programming at Apple Tree Theatre and serves as Artistic Director for TYA. Teaching credits include EBPAW, Emerald City Theatre Company (ECTC), and Horizon Youth Theatre.  As a Chicago actress, Shelley has worked with Metropolis Performing Arts, ECTC, Murder Mystery Productions, and independent production companies around the city. She is a past winner of the Cleveland Playhouse Shakespeare Competition (competing nationally at Lincoln Center), a two time Irene Ryan nominee, and has received numerous awards in competitive speaking. Shelley has participated in theatre intensives with Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music, the American College Theatre Festival, and accomplished performers such as Svetlana Efremova and Darlesia Cearcy. She is a graduate of Bowling Green State University.

Kristen Pickering has been acting in the Chicago area for several years, including work with TYA at Apple Tree Theatre, Emerald City Theatre, and LiveWire Theatre, to name a few. She has taught classes for Emerald City Theatre and the Summit Hill School District. Kristen has studied acting under Adam Belcuore (Casting Director at The Goodman Theatre) and Kimberly Senior (Award-winning Chicago director).

Amanda Rountree has been performing and exploring various styles of theatre since 1992 and teaching since 1998. She recently relocated to Chicago from Seattle where she was a performer and teacher with Unexpected Productions and the Co-Artistic Director of Playback Theater Northwest. She has performed in seven countries and in numerous cities throughout North America. At the 2004 and 2005 Colorado Shakespeare Festival, she performed in "Unexpected Shaxpeare," a completely improvised Shakespearean play. Most recently, Amanda has been performing solo pieces of her own creation.

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Additional Classes not currently offered

Summer Stars for grades 1-4 : Students will explore the foundations of theatre with fun theatre games, improvisation, music and movement. This class encourages confidence and a positive self-image, and helps students to be brave and take risks on stage. This class is only offered during the Summer session.

Star to Be for grades 2-3: For those who want to sing, act and dance, this class explores the foundations of theatre with fun theatre games, improvisation, music and movement. The instructor encourages confidence and a positive self-image, and helps students to be brave and to take risks on stage.

Musical Theatre for grades 2-3: This class combines Broadway show tunes and song interpretation with drama techniques such as improvisation, theatre games, basic scenes and monologues. Students begin to learn performance techniques and the literature of the theatre.

Intro to Improv for grades 3-5: Learn how to make it up as you go along, using improvisation formats that encourage scene creation and teamwork, while focusing on basic improv fundamentals. You will learn how to go with your impulses, instincts, and imagination while creating scenes and characters that express a wide range of emotions.

Auditioning 101-Music & Monologues for grades 4-5: Whether your next audition is for the school musical, a local commercial, or a Broadway show, this class is guaranteed to prepare you with the necessary auditioning techniques to do your absolute best...and have fun too! This hands-on class covers audition etiquette, stage presence, monologues and songs, cold readings, headshot/resume, what to wear/bring on the 'big day,' and more! Students will demonstrate their new skills in a mock audition for family and friends in the Spring Showcase.

Sing Out! for grades 4-7: Whether your ambition is to sing on a Broadway Stage, wail in front of cameras American Idol-style, or just sound better in the shower, this class is for you! During the course of the class you will work 1-3 solos, ultimately polishing them for performance. Focus will be on proper singing within the style of the solo, working on character, analyzing the song and learning the history behind the song and the piece.

Improv! for grades 4-8: Emphasis on teamwork in creating characters and scenes with little or no preparation. This is great for building spontaneity, imagination, confidence and verbal skills.

Apple Tree Idol for grades 5-8: Learn to perform all styles of songs! Rock, country, R&B, 50s, disco, pop - a new one each week! This class compliments the contemporary styles & musical theatre of Stage Door Summer.

Stage Door Summer (Junior for grades 6-8 & Senior for grades 9-12): A summer experience for older students, this workshop meets 3 times a week for an hour and a half each day. It explores singing, acting and dancing skills. One day of the week is devoted to working with a vocal coach, one day with a dance and movement coach, and one day with an acting coach. A great class for building and refining skills in all three areas. High school students will have a chance to work on audition pieces.

Theatre Class Sampler for grades 6-8: Get a taste of everything in this fun-filled, hands-on class! Topics include improvisation, clowning, auditioning, the business of acting, stage combat, print and runway modeling, film and commercial acting, Broadway and more. Students register for all 12 sessions. The topic changes each week! Students will perform in the Spring Showcase.

On Tour for grades 6-8: This is a performing group, that will learn music and movement for a musical revue. The group will have four performances in the spring, including a public performance at Apple Tree Theatre in May. No audition is necessary for this class however prior class or performance experience is necessary.

Put on a Play for grades 3-5: This class gives students the chance to go through the process of working on a script from auditions to blocking to working on characters and scenes right down to opening night jitters! Previous performance training and full-year enrollment required. The show is presented at the culmination of classes in spring.

Broadway Boot Camp for teens and adults : Offered through Apple Tree Theatre by the Broadway Company, this special one-week intensive is taught by Broadway veterans and includes an audition with a major Broadway casting director. This class develops your skills, broadens your theatre know-how and teaches you to give a fearless audition that gets results. Call for more information.

Improv for Non-Actors! for Adults: This class is specifically for folks who are NOT actors! The emphasis will be on fun, fun, fun! Students will gain more confidence, more creativity, and more playfulness in their lives through the basic improv skills of listening, reacting, working together, and trusting oneself. Amanda Rountree is an accomplished improv teacher and artist, and has performed on multiple occasions with Ryan Stiles (of "Who's Line is it Anyway?" fame).

Scene Study for adults: This course will emphasize the differences in playing comedy and drama. The first few sessions will utilize improvisation as a “getting to know you” tool and then progress to scenes selected by both the teacher and the students. We will explore character analysis, development, approaching a character from a dramatic/comedic perspective and relationships with the director and scene partner. The course should be helpful to both newcomer and seasoned professional. Some outside work will be necessary. Call for more information.

High School Musical Class for grades 3-4: Learn songs and routines from your favorite movies and musicals. Material will differ from other class offerings.

Broadway Musical Workshop for grades 3-5: This advanced musical theatre class focuses on musical numbers from some of our most cherished musicals. This class is a preparatory class for our Traveling Troupe.  Students will focus on learning and memorizing song and dance numbers as a group. Singing, dancing, and acting techniques will be taught in an effort to build upon the students' coordination, stage presence, and performance abilities.

Broadway Bound for grades 4-6: For students who love to sing and act, this class develops song interpretation and drama techniques. Students will be guided to appropriate selections for their voice range and character type.

Put on a Musical for grades 4-8: This class gives students the chance to go through the process of working on a musical script from auditions to blocking to working on music and choreography, right down to opening night jitters! Previous performance training and full-year enrollment required. The show is presented at the culmination of classes in spring.

Musical Theatre Dance/Jazz for grades 5-8: Learn Jazz techniques, combinations, and choreographed dances to musical theatre and popular songs. Classes will address each student's appropriate age and skill level. Enrollment in level 2 is determined by prior jazz classes and/or teacher recommendation.

Let's Act Up! for grades 3-4 : Improvisation, theatre games, story theatre and scene study are incorporated into this class and adapted to the individual ability level of each student.

Improv Exploration for grades 3-5: For students who want to explore the spontaneous side of acting! This class will help students build confidence, think on their feet, and react through theatre and improv games and exercises. Basic improv fundamentals will be taught to students who will be encouraged to use their imaginations.

Acting for grades 3-5 : Monologues, scene study, techniques in improvisation and theatre games are all employed to help students become versatile actors.

The Illusion of Magic for grades 4-6: Explore the world of magic! Students will begin to learn the art of magic and the performance skills associated with performing magic on stage. Students will learn tricks each week, but more importantly, how to perform their tricks for their audience. In the class we will learn about character, personality, showmanship and much more! This fun filled class is hands on; students will need to purchase supplies at a minimal cost.

Script and Movie Creation for grades 4-8 (24 week program): Students in this class will write their own script, create their own story board, and learn the creative planning process of making a story for the camera. Students will learn the basics to beginning film terminology and study how scenes are created. Those in this class will have homework of watching movies as they begin creating their own. This beginning class will not put their movie on film until the winter/spring semester.

Shakes Exploration for grades 5-8: Explore the exciting world of Shakespeare's plays! Using exercises, improvisation games, and Shakespeare's texts, students will discover the meaning, music, and power of the words and begin to develop a personal technique to create living characters, resulting in a dynamic theatrical experience. Not only will this class make understanding Shakespeare easier, it also makes it a lot more fun!

Improv Graffiti for grades 6-8: Level two Improv! Make it up as you go along, using improvisation formats that encourage scene creation and teamwork, while focusing on improv fundamentals. You will learn how to go with your impulses, instincts, and imagination while creating scenes and characters that express a wide range of emotions. Put on an improv show at the end of each semester!

Words behind the Action for grades 8 to adult: Join us for this exciting new class in study of the four main-stage shows for the 2008-2009 Apple Tree Season. This unique class will allow students to study each play/musical of the season. The class will read and discuss the plays, breakdown the scripts, sit in on a rehearsal and watch a performance of each production. The instructor will lead students in group discussion, observation, and dramaturgy work of the productions. In class after each production there will be also time for critique. Themes, ideas, and interpretation will be part of the discussions.

"To Be or Not To Be" Shakespeare for grades 9-12: Explore the exciting world of Shakespeare's plays! Using exercises, improvisation games, and Shakespeare's texts, students will discover the meaning, music, and power of the words and begin to develop a personal technique to create living characters, resulting in a dynamic theatrical experience. Not only will this class make understanding Shakespeare easier, it also makes it a lot more fun!

The Fundamentals of Acting for adults: This class is designed for the beginning actor with little or no formal acting training, and will explore script analysis and character development through a variety of exercises and scenes.  In the first few weeks of class, students are exposed to theatre games which strengthen listening and concentration skills basic to truthful acting.  Each student has the opportunity to work on an individual monologue.  Additionally, students are paired up to explore the dynamic of working on a two-character scene from a full-length play. Although a sense of play is cultivated and encouraged, hard work is also expected.  Extra time outside of class spent rehearsing with scene partners, and memorizing lines is required. Call for more information.

Improv for adults : Here's a low-key way to get your feet wet with some very accessible theatre.  Improvisation is more than just a great tool for actors; it's a different way of approaching life.  Through fun games and exercises, students will gain more confidence, more creativity, and more playfulness in their lives through the basic improv skills of listening, reacting, working together, and trusting oneself.  Not only will it make you more comfortable thinking on your feet, it's a great way to spend an evening. No previous theatre experience required. 

Studio Policies

Schedule of Classes

Fall and spring sessions consist of twelve classes while mini and summer sessions consist of six classes. Up to two classes per session may be cancelled due to either inclement weather or schedule conflicts, and any cancelled sessions will be made up. Any class cancellation due to lack of attendance will not be rescheduled. There are no make-up classes for students missing class. A teacher-student ratio of no more than 12:1 is maintained.

Teachers and Substitutes

We have selected our teaching professionals from the very best of the theatre community. Sometimes, a teacher may have a conflict with a class during the session with other artistic pursuits. We reserve the right to SUBSTITUTE from our very talented staff, although this accommodation will not be abused.

Parent Participation

Your participation in your child's performing arts education is very important. Please drop off and pick up your child promptly. Also, please be sure that your child follows the teacher's directions and completes all home assignments.

To encourage the best class atmosphere and teaching environment, parents may not observe the first few lessons. This orientation period is a sensitive time and your presence may distract or inhibit the other students.  Parents may be invited to the final class of the fall, mini and summer sessions.

At the end of the spring session, parents will be invited to the final class, which will either take place during regular class time or as part of an informal showcase. That decision is at the discretion of the instructor. Other observations may be arranged with the instructor at least one week prior to observance dates.

In Case of Emergency

The Workshop is not responsible for injuries to students during class. Hospitalization insurance is the responsibility of the parents/guardians. In case of emergency, every attempt will be made to contact a parent.  If we are unsuccessful, the emergency contact will be called. Please designate a person as an emergency contact. To aid us with any special circumstances for your child, please make your instructor aware of allergies, disabilities, and special needs.

Refunds

If an individual withdraws two or more days before any program in the Fall or Spring session, a registration fee of $25.00 will be withheld. Except in the cases of extreme or emergency conditions, no refunds will be issued after a course begins as our decision to offer a course and hire a teacher is based on the enrollment just prior to the first class session.

There are no refunds for the Summer or Mini Sessions.

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