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AMERICAN STAGE EDUCATION & OUTREACH

Youth Classes

Ignite creativity, artistry, and collaboration

Youth Classes invite artists of all levels to elevate, explore and brush their skills. These courses are offered in eight or 10 week courses as one-time sessions. American Stage Education fosters an accessible environment that encourages a sense of belonging, curiosity, and collaboration. Our teaching artist staff consists of working theatre professionals who are culturally competent, have a passion for teaching, and are trained in key methodologies.

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Adult Classes

Ignite creativity, artistry, and collaboration

Adult Classes invite artists of all levels to elevate, explore and brush their skills. These courses are offered in eight or 10 week courses as one-time sessions. American Stage Education fosters an accessible environment that encourages a sense of belonging, curiosity, and collaboration. Our teaching artist staff consists of working theatre professionals who are culturally competent, have a passion for teaching, and are trained in key methodologies.

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Summer Camp 2023

June 5 - August 4, 2023

Be curious. Be creative. Be YOU! At American Stage, we provide a quality performing arts education in a positive and empowering environment giving young people the tools to be fearless, focused, and flexible on stage and in life. Studying theatre does not only help students become accomplished and confident performers and communicators, it also strengthens creative, intellectual, and emotional growth.

All experience levels are welcome! We believe in fostering an accessible environment that encourages a sense of belonging, curiosity, and collaboration. Our teaching artist staff consists of working theatre professionals who have a passion for teaching, and are trained in key methodologies, cultural competency, and inclusion.

Camp classes
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Pre-care

American Stage Summer Theatre Programs provides pre-care services for parents and families from 8-9AM, Monday-Friday each week of camp. Students will have time to connect, explore and play in the morning before the camp day.

Pre-care is supervised by an American Stage Professional Teaching Artist.

Cost: $40

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After-care

American Stage Summer Theatre Programs provides after-care services for parents and families from 3-5PM, Monday-Friday each week of camp. Students will have time to connect, explore and play in the afternoon following the camp day.

After-care is supervised by an American Stage Professional Teaching Artist

Cost: $70

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Financial Aid through our sponsor-a-student Program

Financial Aid for Summer camp 2022 is now closed. Please considering looking into other funding options through Creative Pinellas' Summer Camp Grants

Apply Today

Other Community Sponsored Funding Support Opportunities

CREATIVE PINELLAS ARTS SUMMER CAMP GRANT

The Creative Pinellas Arts Summer Camp Grant was created to make it possible for young people in Pinellas County to have high quality arts and cultural experiences at Pinellas County area summer camps.

More Details Coming Soon!

Adult Classes

Ignite creativity, artistry, and collaboration

Adult Classes invite artists of all levels to elevate, explore and brush their skills. These courses are offered in eight or 10 week courses as one-time sessions. American Stage Education fosters an accessible environment that encourages a sense of belonging, curiosity, and collaboration. Our teaching artist staff consists of working theatre professionals who are culturally competent, have a passion for teaching, and are trained in key methodologies.

Adult classes
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More Information Soon
Coming Soon! Series of Master Workshops and Advanced level class!

In Schools

Ignite curiosity

American Stage Education provides a variety of experiences for schools, educators and students to journey beyond the classroom. From touring productions, to field trips to the theatre, to residencies in your school, students explore the power of the performing arts, and teachers expand on their learning goals in a supportive and active environment. Our programs for schools and students ignite a thirst for learning about new people, places, and ideas. Choose your adventure below!

School Tour

For generations, young people have experienced theatre for the first time in their lives with the American Stage School Tour. Each school year, a team of professional theatre artists travels to your school with staged adaptation of classic children’s literature.

Cinderella Eats Rice and Beans:  A Salsa Fairytale

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What will happen to Cinderella at the ball … game? That's the surprising climactic question in this contemporary Latin-American Cinderella musical, which delightfully turns the classic fairy tale on its head, telling the story from both Cinderella and the "stepsister's" perspective. Cinderella Eats Rice and Beans: A Salsa Fairy Tale crosses language and gender barriers, weaving a subtle lesson on empathy, sportsmanship and respect.

Directed by | José Avilés

FOR SCHOOLS

Bring a performance to your school!
$475 for up to 200 students
(25% off for a 2nd same-day performance)

Includes:
An interactive study guide connected to Florida State Standards
Post-show chatback with the cast!

To schedule a performance, contact us at education@americanstage.org or 727.823.1600 ext 212

FOR FAMILIES

Experience American Stage’s popular School Tour on our MainStage!

Includes:
A relaxed performance environment
Sensory friendly accommodations, such as a pre-show “touch tour”

Saturday, December 3 at 11am
Sunday, December 4 at 1pm

Buy Tickets

Florida State standards

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See study guide above for more details

FL State Standards for grades K-12
LAFS.K12.W.3.9; LAFS.K12.R.2.6; LAFS.K12.SL.2.4; LAFS.K12.R.3.9; LAFS.K12.W.1.3; LAFS.K12.R.2.5

WL.K12.IM.8.3; WL.K12.IH.8.1; WL.K12.IM.8.1; WL.K12.NH.3.6; WL.K12.NM.8.1; WL.K12.NH.9.1; WL.K12.NM.4.5;
SS.2.G.1.4; SS.3.G.2.1; SS.5.G.4.2

TH.K.F.3.1; TH.1.S.1.2; TH.2.S.1.2; TH.3.S.2.1; TH.4.H.3.1; TH.5.O.1.2; LAFS.K12.W.3.9; LAFS.K12.L.3.6; LAFS.K12.L.3.6

Download the full Benchmark Results from Cpalms.org here

FL Early Learning and Development Standards
III. Social and Emotional Development
IV. Language and Literacy
VII. Social Studies
VIII. Creative Expression Through the Arts

Residencies

Write-ON! is an outreach residency in several Pinellas County School classrooms. American Stage Teaching Artists instruct students in the art of playwriting at both the middle and high school levels. This initiative is a grant-funded, subsidized program that the schools do not have to pay for, and is a way we can really give back to the community. Each residency ultimately ends with a reading of the student-written works by a group of professional actors. In addition to having a group of professional actors come in and read the work of the students, a select number of student-written plays are chosen to be showcased at the Lift Every Voice: New Play Festival. 

Si Se Puede!, is a Spanish-language component to our playwriting curriculum that works within ESOL classrooms in the Pinellas County School District.

student Matinees

American Stage offers a number of special performances for student audiences through our Student Matinee program, including live onsite productions and digital productions for your students.

Experiencing live theatre empowers us all to be bolder, wiser, and more compassionate on stage and in life. Through our student matinee program, many students have the opportunity to see a play for the first time, and to foster a love for powerful storytelling and the performing arts.  We select plays in our season that support what local educators are teaching in their classrooms.

The colored museum

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Dates
TBD
Time
10am
Price
$12/student

Includes:

- Post show Chatback with the cast & crew

- In-person or virtual workshop with your class connected to Florida State Standards in Language Arts & Theatre

About the Show:

"Mr. Wolfe is the kind of satirist, almost unheard of in today's timid theater, who takes no prisoners" - New Yorker

Redefining our ideas of what it means to be African American in contemporary America. “The Colored Museum,” a satire, takes us on a journey through eleven “exhibits” that illuminate African American stereotypes old and new and return to the powerful soul and spirit of what it means to be African American citizens.

Age recommendation: Grades 6-12

Complimentary tickets to 1 chaperone per 10 students booked

Meet the Faculty

Education & Outreach Staff
John Perez
Education Associate

John is an actor, singer, and teaching artist. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from the University of West Florida, and is an alumnus of the American Stage Apprenticeship Program. Currently, John serves as the Education and Outreach Associate, working alongside public county schools and other community members to bring theatre education to as many students as possible.

John’s mission as a theatre professional is to fight to make theatre accessible to BIPOC and other marginalized groups. He is a firm believer that Education is one of the most impactful ways to do so.

Don’t stop. Stay Loud. “¡No pare, sigue, sigue!”

2021 Fall Teaching Artists
Nicholas D. Hoop

Nicholas was most recently seen in American Stage’s Digital School Tour production, FAIRYTALES REIMAGINED credits include STUPID F**KING BIRD, A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, THE ICEMAN COMETH (Tampa Repertory Theatre) The FANTASTIKS (freefall theatre) A FEW GOOD MED (Stageworks Theatre) SILENCE: THE MUSICAL, TWELFTH NIGHT(Jobsite Theater) POPCORN FALLS (Walnut Street Theatre) COLOMBINUS (Innovocative Theatre) amongst others. Education: Point Park University and University of South Florida. He’s happy to be returning to American Stage again to create this unique theatrical experience for children and families.

Teaching Artist Collective
William Bryant

William is an award winning actor, director, music director, dancer, and singer. He began music directing at age 15 and attended Berklee College of Music. While working with a big band orchestra, William fell in love with ballroom dancing and traveled the world for years as a professional dancer. He has worked in every aspect of theatre for over 40 years. His most rewarding projects include developing a wheelchair ballroom dance program and performing for area elderly memory care homes.

Teaching Artist Collective
Alexa Perez

Alexa holds a B.A. in Performing Arts from the University of Tampa where she performed in many shows, including Moon Over Buffalo, Temptation, and Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. After this, she spent a few years in Chicago where she continued to learn and perform theatrically and on screen in television shows such as Empire and The Exorcist. She has been working with a number of theaters in the Tampa Bay Area since moving back to Florida, including American Stage. You may have seen her in the recent virtual school tour Fairytales Reimagined: Stories for a New World or in the virtual reading of The Polar Bear Society. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to pass on everything she has learned and contribute to her community through the arts.

Teaching Artist Collective
Ryan K. Hill

Ryan is a singer, songwriter, actor and music director. She is a Berklee College of Music alum where she studied Contemporary Writing/Production and Vocal Performance. During her time at Berklee she discovered a love for composing, arranging, and music directing. She was heavily involved in the growing Musical Theater Performance and Writing Initiative. After college, Ryan spent time performing in various cities in Ohio before moving to Chicago where she attended classes at The Second City and began teaching private voice and piano. Since moving to St. Petersburg she has music directed theater camps for American Stage and South Tampa Center for the Arts.

Teaching Artist Collective
Ivy Sunflower
Ama

Ivy has recently been seen as Jenny Rappaport in the featured film “I Need I Want” . Additionally as Mom in the comedy film “What Tha Hell”, “The Decision” as Belinda, and Shaun in the comedy series “Nothing Else Matters”. However, Ms. Sunflower’s first love is the stage. Cassandra in Big Girls Need Love Too (Inkwell Centre), A Conversation With Myself as April (Outcast Theatre Collective), and behind the scenes as the Assistant Director of Dionysus On The Down Low (Outcast Theatre Collective) have been a few. Ivy also teaches improv virtually for beginner performers. She’s working to open up a black box theatre for the community. She received her degree from Broward College and has trained with  Robert Nation, A TALE OF TWO CITIES and Daniel Torres, EVITA. Ivy wants to thank her partner Cash, her family and friends for their support in making this dream happen.

Teaching Artist Collective
Davina Reid

Davina Reid is an actor and member of SAG-AFTRA. She was raised in the entertainment world by her father, an actor, and mother, a school teacher. After traveling the country, married to the military, Davina returned to her entertainment roots by training in acting and improv. She was part of the first graduating class, and first house team (As Per Usual) from the previous American Stage Improv program. Some of her film and TV credits include Cha Cha Real Smooth on Apple TV and American Rust (S1E10) on Showtime. Her theatre credits include: It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play at American Stage, and Rory Lawrence’s I Think She’s the One at The Straz Center Ferguson Hall. Davina is excited to be a part of the teaching artist team with American Stage and to help bring the fun of improv to the St. Petersburg community.

Teaching Artist Collective
Cranstan Cumberbatch

Cranstan, born and raised in St. Petersburg, FL,  is an award-winning film and stage actor, director, writer, producer, and United States Talent Olympic Medalist. He loves honey nut cheerios with 2% milk and is a huge fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No judgment). Cranstan has a long history with American Stage since 2010. He’s held roles in Dominique Morriseau's stage play Pipeline as Dun with other American Stage credits including; A Raisin in the Sun as Bobo, Two Trains Running as Wolf, and RENT as Benny. Cranstan's not only been heavily involved on the performance end for American stage, but he also has been involved on the teaching end and has worked in many of our high school, middle school, and summer camp programs. Cranstan is truly grateful to have the opportunity to share his gifts in the arts within his community with the theater company he's always admired.

Teaching Artist Collective
Juan Rodriguez

Juan Rodriguez is an energetic, motivational musical director, pianist, singer, and educator. He recently composed music for the play The Moors for Eckerd College. Over 30 years of regional Music Directing credits inclde: Stageworks:  Evil Dead STRAZ: Shout! , Nunsense A-Men, Eight O Clock Theater: Sweet Charity, Eckerd College: Spelling Bee, New Bedford Festival Theater: Mamma Mia!- co-dir. Jennifer Swiderski (Broadway Cast) Betsy Padamonsky (Donna Nat. Tour)  Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Oliver!, Cats, 42nd Street, Gypsy, The Producers, A Chorus Line, Singin in the Rain, Sound of Music, Grease Moss Hart Memorial Award productions of Les Miserables and Hairspray. Other Dir. credits inclue:  Forum, Once on This Island, Into the Woods, The Secret Garden, Bat Boy, Titanic, Smokey Joe’s Café, Once Upon a Mattress, Man of La Mancha. Next to Normal (Wilbury Theater) Evita (Studio Theater).  Music Supervisor- Norwegian Cruise Line. Successful vocal and piano coach.

Teaching Artist Collective
José Avilés

José Avilés hails from Philadelphia and is so excited to be joining the American Stage team in beautiful St Pete, Florida! He has been an actor, director, producer, arts administrator and theatre arts educator for over 30 years. Most recently he directed the Philadelphia Premier of Elliot a Soldier’s Fugue by Philadelphia’s own Quiara Alegria Hudes for the Walnut Street Theatre Independence Studio and a professional public reading of the same play at the Arden Theatre Co., as well as a TYA workshop production of The Real Life Adventures of Jimmy de las Rosas by Ricardo Gamboa at Passage Theatre. José is the co-founder/Artistic Producing Director of Teatro del Sol where he directed and produced the world premiere of Good Cuban Girls by Iraisa Ann Reilly and Philadelphia premiere of La Gringa by Carmen Rivera. José is the former Director of Education Outreach for the Arden Theatre Company, Taller Puertorriqueño and former Education Associate at The Walnut Street Theatre respectively. He’s also the current Director of Education at American Stage.

Financial Aid through our Sponsor-A-Student Program

  • The deadline to apply for financial aid for Fall 2022 is September 4, 2022.
  • After completing an online application, you will receive an email confirming receipt.
  • After September 4, upon review,  you will hear from us (via the email you provided on your application) to confirm if you have received a Sponsor-A-Student financial aid package. This email will also include next steps on enrolling and preparing for the session.

Every Sponsor A Student application requires support materials be uploaded or mailed. Applications cannot be processed until we receive both support materials. Required support materials are:

1. Select One of Following Options:

Statement of Interest: A brief (1/2 – 1 page) letter OR video (30-60 seconds) from your student answering the following questions:

– Why do you want to attend the program?

– What do you hope to gain or learn through our programs?

– What do you think you can bring or give to this program?

2. Select one of the following to prove your annual income (Please blur or black out your social security number before including):

– Your most recent household tax returns (2020 or 2021)

-4 Pay Stubs

-Letter from your employer

-Disability Insurance

-Unemployment Documentation

Youth Financial Aid Application
Adult Financial Aid Application

Be curious. Be creative. Be YOU!

Experiencing and creating live theatre ignites curiosity, fosters belonging, and heightens creativity; inspiring growth for artists, audiences, and communities on stage, and in life.American Stage Education provides opportunities for intellectual, social, and emotional growth through inclusive and accessible programs. Discover our classes for youth and adults, summer camps, productions for young audiences, and enriching collaborations with schools and community groups.