The RKYHS and JKHA Drama Clubs will be featuring “Actor’s Studio” workshops this fall to learn performing arts skills featuring Broadway actors and other working professionals in the field.

Working with Fresh Theatre Arts, the programs will take place remotely after school and will be age appropriate for each school division. A highlight of the array of workshops being offered will be the opportunity to learn from Broadway actors Thayne Jasperson and Jonalyn Saxer. Jasperson is part of the original company of “Hamilton,” and remains a current part of the cast. Saxer was featured in the original cast of Broadway’s “Mean Girls” and is a principal actress in the show’s national tour. Jasperson has also appeared on Broadway in the original casts of “Newsies” and “Matilda” and on TV in Disney’s “High School Musical” 1 & 2 and “So You Think You Can Dance.” Saxer’s previous Broadway shows include “Cats,” “Holiday Inn,” “Bullets Over Broadway” and “Honeymoon in Vegas.” She also appeared in Steven Spielberg’s remake of the movie musical, “West Side Story.” Both Jasperson and Saxer will lead workshops on choreography and the experience of acting through a song performance. They will also take questions from the students and speak about their individual career paths.

Additional workshop topics will focus on other elements used during production. During the course of putting together the performances for the JKHA and RKYHS Drama Club, the rigorous rehearsal schedule doesn’t always allow for intense skill building. The “Actor’s Studio” workshops will allow the students to break down individual disciplines and work on building students’ skills. Topics for other workshops include stage makeup, voice overs, auditioning, improvisation, musical theatre, acting for TV and film, and more. A video utilizing the skills that they’ve worked on will be produced by the students at the end of the weeks-long program.

“The remote Zoom format gives us the opportunity to work with leading professionals in the field who we would not normally have been able to have access to,” commented Tova Halpern, CEO and artistic director of Fresh Theater Arts. “I am excited for the students to be part of this unique experience.”