Free audition prep workshop Sept. 3

The Patel Conservatory, at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Tampa, offers acting classes for students from preschool through adult.

Auditions are right around the corner for the Conservatory's 2015/2016 theater productions School House Rock Live! Jr.. (Grades 2 - 8) and Disney’s 101 Dalmatians Kids (Grades 2 - 4).

To help students get ready, the Conservatory is offering a free audition prep workshop.

Audition Prep Workshop
Grades 2 to 12
Thurs., Sept. 3, 2015
5 to 7 p.m.
Parent workshop from 5 to 6 p.m.
Cost: FREE

Whether you're a beginning or experienced actor, auditions can be intimidating. But if you’re prepared, it’s a lot easier and can be a lot of fun. Every audition offers a chance to perform, learn, gain experience and connect with other actors.

For young actors who'd like to sharpen their audition skills, this free audition prep workshop will help students in grades two through 12 learn how to prepare for an audition and what to expect.

Participants will work through the audition process, requirements and expectations, and discover how to exit the audition with their head held high.

Topics will include selecting material, memorization, creating resumes, slating, headshots and much more. Students will participate in lecture as well as coaching to gain knowledge and understanding of how to be successful and confident in auditions.

The workshops includes a separate seminar for parents to learn how to support and aid their student through the process.

The workshop is free, but RSVP is required. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Audrey at audrey.siegler@strazcenter.org.

Free audition prep workshops in April

Do your kids want to perform in our Patel Conservatory summer theater shows like Aladdin Jr. and Shrek the Musical?

The Conservatory will hold auditions for these shows in May and all experience levels are welcome.

Whether you're a beginning or experienced actor, auditions can be intimidating. But if you’re prepared, it’s a lot easier and can be a lot of fun. Every audition offers a chance to perform, learn, gain experience and connect with other actors.

For young actors who'd like to sharpen their audition skills, we're offering two free audition prep workshops to help students in grades two through college learn how to prepare for an audition and what to expect.

In the Conservatory’s audition workshops, actors will learn how to prepare, build and execute a professional theatrical audition from the ground up. Participants will work through the audition process, requirements and expectations, and discover how to exit the audition with their head held high.

Topics will include selecting material, memorization, creating resumes, slating, headshots and much more. Students will participate in lecture as well as coaching to gain knowledge and understanding of how to be successful and confident in auditions.

The workshops include a separate seminar for parents to learn how to support and aid their student through the process.

Audition Prep Workshop

Grades 2 to 6

Sat., April 25, 2015

12 to 2 p.m.

Parent workshop from 1 to 2 p.m.

 This workshop is geared towards students interested in auditioning for Aladdin Jr.

Audition Prep Workshop

Grade 7 to College

Wed., April 22, 2015

5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Parent workshop from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

 This workshop is geared towards students interested in auditioning for Shrek, Romeo & Juliet and Showstoppers.

The workshops are free, but RSVP is required. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Audrey at audrey.siegler@strazcenter.org.

Join us for Camp-A-Palooza 2015!

Ready for some summer fun? Join us for free food, fun and prizes at the Patel Conservatory’s Camp-A-Palooza!

Patel Conservatory's
Camp-A-Palooza

Sat., Mar. 21, 2015

11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Bring your friends and come hang out with us on Tampa’s beautiful Riverwalk and learn how you can become a part of one of the largest performing arts centers in the country!

Enjoy live music from our Rock School bands and performances from our Barbershop quartet, award-winning dance Show Team and a preview from Fiddler on the Roof.

Then, join in on the fun with free interactive demonstrations. Let the kids make some noise with our percussion demo, and instrumental demos from Sam Ash Music, get some free vocal tips, try your hand at Improv, and sing along to Aladdin's A Whole New World.

It's your opportunity to tour the Conservatory, check out our theater and studios, meet staff and ask questions.

There'll be free face painting and a chance to win a family 4-pack to the Broadway production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast and other shows.

The Patel Conservatory offers a variety of  summer camps and classes in dance, theater and music, for preschoolers to adults.  

Learn how your kids can perform on stage in Shrek the Musical or Disney’s Aladdin, Jr.! From Mini Musical Theater camps to pre-professional training, there’s something for everyone.

New camps this year include our Popular Dance Intensive, led by award-winning choreographer Kelly King, and our instrumental camps including Jazz Intensive, Chamber Music and Vocal Intensives and Drumline.

Extended camps hours are now available before and after most camps.

Enjoy samples from PDQ, EVOS, our summer camp lunch partner, cotton candy, and more.

Register early and save! Register for summer camps or classes by Mar. 28, 2015 and receive 10% off!*

For more information, call 813-222-1002 or visit patelconservatory.org.

Don't miss the fun! See you at Camp-A-Palooza!

*Discount not available for Next Generation Ballet Intensives.

Free audition workshops

Want to perform, but tentative about auditions?

Auditioning is part of the process for all actors, but it can be intimidating. However, it can also be a lot of fun. Every audition offers a chance to perform, learn, gain experience and connect with other actors. And if you’re prepared, it’s a lot easier!

The Patel Conservatory is offering two free audition workshops to help students in grades two through adult learn how to prepare for an audition and what to expect.

Audition Prep Workshop

Patel Conservatory at the Straz Center

Grades 2 to 4: Sat., Nov. 15, 2014

10 a.m. to noon

Grades 5 to Adult: Sat., Dec. 6, 2014

1 to 3 p.m.

Cost: Free!

In these workshops, students will work with Patel Conservatory theater faculty to gain knowledge and understanding of how to be successful and confident in auditions.

The workshops will include lecture and coaching on the process, requirements and expectations for a musical theater audition. Topics include selecting material, memorization, creating resumes, slating, headshots and much more.

  

On Nov. 15, instructors Matthew Belopavlovich and Audrey Siegler will work with students in grades two through four.

On Dec. 6, instructors Sean Paris and Matthew Belopavlovich will work with students in grades five through adult.

Both workshops will include an informational session for parents to help them understand the process and how to help their students succeed in auditions.

These workshops are a great way to prepare for the Conservatory's upcoming auditions for our spring theater productions of Winnie the Pooh, Kids and Fiddler on the Roof. For more info on audition dates, click here.

RSVP is required. For more information, or to RSVP, please contact Audrey Siegler at 813.222.1073 or audrey.siegler@strazcenter.org.

Free audition workshop

The Patel Conservatory will host auditions in April for our summer theater and vocal arts programs.

Walk into your audition confident and prepared with two workshops this weekend!

Just a Minute: Putting Together the Perfect Audition with Sean Paris

Sunday, Mar. 23, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Grade 6 to adult

FREE

Learning to give a great audition doesn’t happen instantly. It takes practice. Being prepared is the first step to seeing your “name in lights.” Step by step, students will learn how to build and execute a professional theatrical audition from the ground up.

Participants will work through the audition process, from what to pack in your audition bag (yes, there is such a thing!) to exiting the audition room with your head held high.

Sean Paris has worked as an actor, director, acting coach and casting director in New York and in national tours throughout the United States and Canada. A graduate of The University of Florida, he holds degrees in Theater Performance, English, and a minor in secondary education.

The workshop is recommended for students auditioning for high school or college programs, and is free and open to the public. Students who come with a monologue or song prepared may be given the opportunity to audition their piece in front of the entire class.

The workshop is free, but RSVP is required. Please contact our registrar at 813.222.1002.

For those interested in auditioning for film and television, don’t miss our on-camera workshop with Miami-based casting director Ellen Jacoby this Saturday and Sunday, Mar. 22 and 23. For more info, click here.

Free master class with Elizabeth de Trejo

The Patel Conservatory will offer a free vocal master class with Elizabeth de Trejo.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from the renowned soprano who will be a featured soloist in Opera Tampa’s upcoming L’amour Toujours A Popera! Concert at the Straz Center in Tampa.

De Trejo performed with Opera Tampa in La Traviata, Romeo et Juliette, Lucia di Lammermoor and Faust, and with North Carolina Opera as Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte and the title role in Bellini's masterpiece, Norma.

She recently performed in Carnegie Hall as the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana, as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, in a tour with the Florida Orchestra as guest soloist, and in concerts of zarzuela in Mexico City and Lincoln Center. She has worked with the Metropolitan Opera in Lulu, and made her Carnegie Hall debut as a soloist under the baton of composer John Rutter.

De Trejo has performed with several opera companies nationally and has performed internationally across Europe. She has received numerous awards from prominent vocal competitions, including the Gerda Lissner Opera Competition in New York, the MacAllister Opera Competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in the Connecticut and Gulf Coast Regions, the Jenny Lind Soprano Competition, the Rosa Ponselle Competition and the Giulio Gari Foundation Opera Competition and the Liederkranz Competition. She received her Bachelor of Music from Loyola University, New Orleans and her Master of Music from Yale University.

The free master class will be Sat., Mar. 1, 2014 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

RSVP is required no later than February 28. Participants are asked to submit repertoire selections at the time of registration.

For more information, or to RSVP, please contact the Patel Conservatory registration office at 813.222.1002 or patelconservatory@strazcenter.org.

Free theater workshop with TE'A

Join us for a FREE TE’A Insight Theatre master class this Sunday!

TE’A (Theatre, Engagement & Action) is a group of artists who dedicate their time and talent to creating Insight Theatre. Insight Theatre is an interactive, documentary-style performance that is undergirded by the Insight approach to conflict transformation that builds and strengthens communities on the key issues that threaten to divide or polarize them.

TE’A is pioneering Insight Theatre to foster the kind of curiosity, insight and self-reflection that enables audiences to transcend the barriers of experience, identity and culture that disconnect them from each other, or that lock them into conflict.

For more information on TE’A and Insight Theatre, click here.

The free master class will be Sun., Nov. 10 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Patel Conservatory.

Space is limited. Please RSVP by Wed., Nov. 6, 2013.

To register, call 813.222.1002 or email patelconservatory@strazcenter.org (include student’s name, age, phone and email).

October was full of exciting guest artist appearances

Owen Thorne, of the Scottish Ballet, works with
NGB students at the Patel Conservatory.

When visiting artists perform at the Straz Center, students at the Patel Conservatory and our partnership schools often reap the benefits.

Last month, guest artists offered some exciting master classes and performances.

Scottish Ballet

Artists from the Scottish Ballet recently offered master classes to our Next Generation Ballet (NGB) students at the Conservatory, as well as our partnerships schools.

The Scottish Ballet is Scotland's national dance company, presenting a wide range of high-quality dance to audiences across Scotland, the UK and abroad. They brought their production of A Street Car Named Desire to only three locations in the U.S., and the Straz Center was one of them.

During their time in Tampa, artists from the company spent time in the community by providing dance master classes for students at Blake High School, Metropolitan Ministries Partnership School and NGB.

Students at the Metropolitan Ministries Partnership School enjoyed a
master class with the Scottish Ballet.

Scottish Ballet master class at Blake High School

Improvised Shakespeare Company

Back by popular demand, The Improvised Shakespeare Company (ISC) returned to the Straz Center in October. Based on one audience suggestion, ISC creates a fully improvised play in Elizabethan style.

While in town for their two performances, ISC spent time in residence with some of our great partnership organizations. They had the opportunity to visit Academy Prep Center of Tampa, Tampa Preparatory School, Orange Grove Middle Magnet School, as well as our Conservatory students. Each workshop was different and unique. Why? Because it’s improv! Students thoroughly enjoyed the interactive performances created on the spot!

Students at Orange Grove Middle Magnet School enjoyed a workshop with
the Improvised Shakespeare company (back row).

More guest artist appearances and workshops are always on the horizon at the Patel Conservatory at the Straz Center.

Join us this Sun., Nov. 10, 2013 for a free theater workshop with the theater troupe, TE’A (Theatre, Engagement & Action).

To keep up with master classes, workshops and events offered throughout the year at the Conservatory, make sure to like us on Facebook!

Free ballet master classes Aug. 24

The Patel Conservatory will host free ballet master classes on Sat., Aug. 24, 2013.

The classes are a great way to introduce students to ballet for the first time, or, for experienced students to work on technique with Next Generation Ballet (NGB) faculty.

All master classes offer an opportunity for placement in the Patel Conservatory Youth Ballet  program at the Conservatory for the 2013/2014 season.

PCYB is the official school of NGB, an award-winning pre-professional dance company.

Master classes are free, but pre-registration is required.

Intro. to Ballet

Pre-K3 - Kindergarten: 9 to 9:45 a.m.

Beginning Ballet

Grades 1 - 8: 10 to 11 a.m.

Elementary/Intermediate Ballet

Grades 4 - 12: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.            

To RSVP for the free ballet master classes, please call 813-222-1263.

There will also be a free open house on Aug. 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. and Aug. 24 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It’s your chance to take a tour of the Conservatory and ask questions. To RSVP for the open house, click here, or call 813-222-1002.

Enter to win a scholarship to the Patel Conservatory!

Do you like to sing, dance, act or play an instrument? Have you dreamed about your name in lights, but not sure of the steps to take to get you there?

Here is your chance to get free training in the performing arts at the Patel Conservatory!

The Patel Conservatory is holding its annual Scholarship Contest for 2013-2014 school year classes.

As part of the Straz Center in downtown Tampa, the Patel Conservatory offers classes for adults and children of all ages, from beginning to advanced, pre-professional training in the arts. We offer acting classes, musical theater, dance, vocal arts, and instrumental lessons in rock and classical music.

Our instructors are working artists and most of our classes include a final performance in one of our theaters or classrooms, so you can get hands-on experience in a professional environment.

Our scholarship contest helps us find new talent who would benefit from our programs.

The contest runs through Aug. 16 and is open to adults and children in grade 2 or older who have not taken classes at the Patel Conservatory.

To enter to win, simply submit a two-minute video showing us your talent in dance, theater or music. Upload your video submission to a YouTube account and submit the link – along with a completed application form – to patelconservatory@strazcenter.org with a subject line of “Scholarship Contest Submission.”

For more information or complete contest rules, call us at 813.222.1002, or visit patelconservatory.org.

Break a leg!

Open house at the Patel Conservatory

If you’re interested in the performing arts, you’re invited to visit the Patel Conservatory in downtown Tampa at one of our upcoming open houses.

Our 2013/2014 session begins on Aug. 26, 2013 with more than 100 classes for adults and children, from beginner through pre-professional training.

Come tour the Conservatory and learn more about all of our classes and programs. All new and prospective students are encouraged to attend.

For your convenience, we’ll have two dates to choose from:

Patel Conservatory Open Houses

Tues., Aug. 13, 2013

6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Orientation at 6:30 p.m.

Sat., Aug. 24, 2013

9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Orientations at 10 a.m. and noon

Light refreshments will be offered.

Orientation sessions provide students and parents with important information about our policies and procedures, and offers the opportunity to meet staff and ask questions.

Tours will be offered before and after each informative orientation session.

Also, on Tues., Aug. 13, our music department will have auditions for their vocal arts, jazz and orchestra programs; and on Aug. 24, there will be free ballet master classes.

To RSVP for our open house, please click here, or call 813.222.1002.

Open house at the Patel Conservatory

The Patel Conservatory in downtown Tampa invites all students, parents, and prospective students to our upcoming open houses.

All registered summer students, and all those interested in performing arts camps or classes, are encouraged to attend an open house to receive important details about our summer programs.

For your convenience, we’ll have two dates for you to choose from:

Patel Conservatory Open Houses

Sat., Jun. 1, 2013

9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Orientation at 10 a.m. and noon

Tues., June 4, 2013

6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Orientation at 6:30 p.m.

Light refreshments will be offered.

Orientation sessions provide students and parents the opportunity to meet staff and ask questions.

Tours will be offered before and after each informative orientation session. Our summer lunch provider, EVOS, will be available to answer questions about ordering lunches for summer campers.

On June 1, we'll also have free ballet classes and auditions for our summer theater productions.

Free ballet classes will are offered for all ages and skill levels throughout the morning. These free master classes are a great way to introduce new students to ballet, or for experienced students to work on technique with Next Generation Ballet faculty. All master classes offer an opportunity for placement in the NGB and PCYB program. RSVP is required. To RSVP for the free ballet classes, please call the dance department at 813.222.1263.

Auditions for our summer theater productions will be for those interested in performing in The Little Mermaid, Straz Musical Revue and Little Shop of Horrors. Many roles are still available, and especially male actors to for roles in The Little Mermaid. RSVP is required. To RSVP for theater auditions, please call our theater department at 813.222.6414.

The Patel Conservatory offers both camps and classes in dance, theater and music. For more information, or to RSVP for our open house, please call 813.222.1002.