Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts offers classes for all ages! If you or someone you know are interested in the performing arts, these classes in everything from acting, to dance, to improv comedy are a great place to begin. Check below for upcoming education opportunities.
Classes
To get the most up-to-date announcements about class enrollment, auditions, and other youth opportunities, please contact wagonwheeljr.kids@gmail.com and you will be added to our email database. Please use subject ADD in the email.
Wagon Wheel Conservatory Spring Class Schedule
Come learn with us at the Wagon Wheel Conservatory!
See details below (Sign up will begin soon!)
Acting Classes
Classes are limited to 15 students each. Students will be required to wear masks. All classes will take place at the Wagon Wheel Conservatory, 2517 E Center St.
Each class offering costs $75 for the session and meets one night a week.
- Spring Session runs six weeks from March 29th to May 5th. There is a showcase performance after the Spring Session on Saturday, May 7th at Wagon Wheel Theatre.
Class offerings:
Tuesdays:
Acting: (Grades 5-8) Tuesdays, 5:00pm-6:00pm
Learn voice, movement, and acting techniques through beginning scene work and improvisation. Students will practice creating characters by making specific choices to support the text in this introduction to the formal study of acting.
Acting: (Grades 9-Adult) Tuesdays, 6:30pm-8:00pm
This class covers everything from audition techniques to performance. Actors will engage in intensive scene work using scenes from contemporary and classic plays to explore the actor’s world of analysis and character interpretation.
Please email Kira Lace Hawkins with questions:
Wednesdays:
Acting: (Grades 1-2) Wednesdays, 5:00pm-6:00pm
An introduction to the world of theater! Each class will bring a new adventuresome scene to life as the students learn basic principles of acting. Students will gain confidence and creative experience through storytelling, games, and creative dramatization.
Improvisation: (Grades 6-12) Wednesdays, 6:30pm-8:00pm
This class is for fans of Improv Theater! Every class will be filled with Improv games and exercises. By the end of each session we will be ready to perform as a troupe. This class will be filled with creativity and bold choices!
Please email Kira Lace Hawkins with questions:
Thursdays:
Acting: (Grades 3-4) Thursdays, 5:00pm-6:00pm
Learn voice, movement, and acting techniques through beginning scene work and improvisation. Students will practice creating characters by making specific choices to support the text in this introduction to the formal study of acting.
Musical Theater Scenes and Songs: (Grades 6-12) Thursdays, 6:30pm-8:00pm
This class is for students who have taken at least one of our acting classes in the past. We will build on the techniques previously taught and add singing instruction, along with some music theory. An accompanist will be present during this class.
Please email Kira Lace Hawkins with questions:
Private Lessons
Voice lessons:
Voice lessons at the Wagon Wheel will help to develop a reliable, balanced, and performance ready singing voice across multiple musical genres. Lessons are structured to help students develop healthy vocal production, and properly implement those skills across the various genres that are present in the current musical theatre landscape. There will be a firm foundation in classical voice, and the development of a balanced musical theatre speech-mix and belt.
Lessons are available for 30-minute sessions. If you would like a 60-minute session, please sign up for 2 consecutive 30-minute time slots. Click the button below to enroll now!
Please email Thomas Hall with questions: thomas@wagonwheelcenter.org
Piano lessons:
Piano lessons through the Wagon Wheel will focus on developing the piano skills needed for solo piano performance with a movement towards collaboration and accompanying.
Piano lessons are offered in 30-minute sessions. Upon completion of your registration, you will be contacted to set up your lesson time. Click the respective button below to enroll now!
Please email Thomas Hall with questions: thomas@wagonwheelcenter.org
Summer Tykes:
Grades 1-2, June 6th-June 10th
This five-day workshop is built around story-theater, fun crafts, and a final performance that will take place on the Wagon Wheel stage for family and friends.
Requirements: Memorization of lines will be expected as the students perform before their friends and family on the last day of the workshop. Bring snacks for breaks each day.
- What: A 5-day workshop that will culminate in a performance showcasing the talents of the
students. - When: Monday, June 6th – Friday, June 10th from 10:00am-12:30pm
- Where: Wagon Wheel Conservatory
2517 E. Center St.
Warsaw, IN 46580
(574) 267- 8041 - Who: Young actors who have just completed grades 1 and 2 are welcome. An ability to read at grade level is essential. (Enrollment limited to 25 individuals)
Cost: $200
How do I sign up? Follow the link below to pay for the workshop and complete registration. You will receive a confirmation email shortly. All questions for the summer workshops should be directed to kira@wagonwheelcenter.org
Summer Play:
Grades 3-4, July 18th-July 22nd
This five-day workshop will take students through acting and movement exercises that will build confidence and provide further knowledge of acting technique. A final performance will take place on the Wagon Wheel stage for family and friends.
Requirements: Memorization of lines will be expected as the students perform before their friends and family on the last day of the workshop. Bring your lunch for each day along with a snack for breaks.
- What: A 5-day workshop that will culminate in a performance showcasing the talents of the students.
- When: Monday, July 18th – Friday, July 22nd from 10:00am-1:00pm
- Where: Wagon Wheel Conservatory
2517 E. Center St.
Warsaw, IN 46580
(574) 267- 8041 - Who: Young actors who have just completed grades 3 and 4 are welcome. (Enrollment limited to 25 individuals)
- Cost: $200
How do I sign up? Follow the link below to pay for the workshop and complete registration. You will receive a confirmation email shortly. All questions for the summer workshops should be directed to kira@wagonwheelcenter.org
Theater Workshop:
Grades 5-7, June 20th-June 25th
This six-day workshop will take students through acting, voice, and movement exercises that will culminate in a dynamic final performance on the Wagon Wheel stage. The student actors will be challenged throughout the week to deepen their understanding of the craft of acting and strengthen important life-skills.
Requirements: Memorization of lines will be expected as the students perform before their friends and family on the last day of the workshop. Bring your lunch for each day along with a snack for breaks.
- What: A 6-day workshop that will culminate in a performance showcasing the talents of the students.
- When: Monday, June 20th – Saturday, June 25th from 10am-2pm
- Where: Wagon Wheel Conservatory
2517 E. Center St.
Warsaw, IN 46580
(574) 267- 8041 - Who: Young actors who have just completed grades 5-7 are welcome. (Enrollment limited to 25 individuals)
- Cost: $200
How do I sign up? Follow the link below to pay for the workshop and complete registration. You will receive a confirmation email shortly. All questions for the summer workshops should be directed to kira@wagonwheelcenter.org
Musical Theater Workshop: Something Rotten!
Grades 8-12 June 29th-July 9th
Now in its 17th year of producing the highest quality student productions on our very own Wagon Wheel stage, the camp that brought to life such amazing shows as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Pirates of Penzance, HONK!, Kiss Me, Kate, Les Miserables, and 2021’s Once Upon a Mattress is back to put on the fantastic Broadway smash Something Rotten! Campers will experience the thrill of a Wagon Wheel summer as they mount a full-length Broadway musical in eleven days.
This year we are thrilled to announce our Guest Director, Matthew Baker! Matthew also performed the lead role William Shakespeare in the 2018 tour of Something Rotten! Coming back to Choreograph is Wagon Wheel alum Ashlyn Maddox who you may remember as Dorothy in Wizard of Oz at the Wheel. Students enrolled in this workshop will get training in acting, singing, and dancing while rehearsing a final production on the Wagon Wheel stage for friends and family. Memories and friends made at this intensive workshop will last for years to come.
- What: 11-day workshop that culminates in a fully realized production of Something Rotten!
- When: Wednesday, June 29th – Saturday, July 9th from 9:30am to 4:30pm every day but Sunday when we’ll have an evening rehearsal. Students should bring lunch and snacks each day.
- Auditions for specific roles will be held on the first day of camp.
- Performance will be held at 1:00pm Saturday, July 9th
- Where: Wagon Wheel Conservatory
2517 E. Center St.
Warsaw, IN 46580
(574) 267- 8041 - Who: Young actors who have just completed grades 8-12 are welcome. (Enrollment limited to 30
individuals) - Cost: $300
Something Rotten synopsis (from mtishows.com)
Set in the 1590s, brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rock star known as “The Bard.” When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first musical. But amidst the scandalous excitement of opening night, the Bottom Brothers realize that reaching the top means being true to thine own self, and all that jazz. Something Rotten features large song and dance numbers, and a wacky cast of over-the-top characters, each given his or her own special moment in the show to shine.
How do I sign up? Follow the link below to pay for the workshop and complete registration. You will receive a confirmation email shortly. All questions for the summer workshops should be directed to kira@wagonwheelcenter.org
Scholarships:
Scholarships are available for all programs. Wagon Wheel Theatre believes that every child should have an opportunity to experience live theatre first-hand regardless of ability to pay. To request consideration for a scholarship, please complete the scholarship application form and bring it to the box office. You may also submit it directly to Kira Lace Hawkins, Education Director, (kira@wagonwheelcenter.org).
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Meet the Teachers
Kira Lace Hawkins
Education Director
Bio
Kira has performed in over 40 Wagon Wheel productions playing such roles as Miss Hannigan in Annie, Donna in Mamma Mia!, and Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins. Kira has an MFA in Acting from Penn State University and loves teaching students of all ages. She has served on the theater and music faculty of St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, and Manchester University in North Manchester.
Thomas Hall
Voice/Piano Instructor
Bio
Thomas Hall holds a M.M. in Voice Performance from DePaul University in Chicago, IL. He has maintained a private voice studio since 2003, taught five years at Warsaw Community High School, music directed over 30 productions, worked as a Graduate Assistant in Voice and Opera at Ball State University. He has recently joined the Wagon Wheel Family as the music director for many Wagon Wheel Junior Productions, the music director for the latest production of Always, Patsy Cline, and he looks forward to working as a music director this upcoming summer season.
Parker Irwin
Education Intern
Bio
Parker Irwin is thrilled to return to the Wagon Wheel for his 11th summer season in an entire new role as a member of the Conservatory Staff. Parker has performed in over 15 Wagon Wheel productions, most recently playing such roles as Mack in Peter and the Starcatcher, Michael Wormwood in Matilda the Musical, and an Ensemble Member in Singing In The Rain. Favorite local credits include Willy Wonka as Charlie Bucket and Anything Goes as Billy Croker. He looks forward to working with the Wagon Wheel cast and crew to make this another great season! Parker would like to dedicate his work this season to the life of his loving grandmother, Gigi (Karen Calengor).
Matthew Baker
Director – Musical Theater Workshop (Something Rotten!)
Bio
Matthew trained at Bird College in London and achieved a BFA in Musical Theatre. He has worked with many gifted and talented choreographers and directors during his career. He performed regionally in and around London; productions including Sweeney Todd, Hair and Jack The Ripper in Concert . Since moving to the States Matthew appeared as ‘Tony’ in the U.S and Canada National Tour of Saturday Night Fever, ‘Northbrook’ in Mary Poppins at the John W. Engeman theatre and the opening cast of the newly imagined Beauty and the Beast with Disney Cruise Line. Most recently Matthew performed in the US and International tour of Something Rotten! as ‘Shakespeare’. Additionally Matthew has worked with prestigious casting teams in NYC for The Walt Disney Company. Matthew is “egg-static” to be directing this production of Something Rotten! at the Wagon Wheel.
Ashlyn Maddox
Director – Theater Workshop; Choreographer – Musical Theater Workshop
Bio
Ashlyn is a recent Texas State University graduate and is thrilled to be back at the Wheel in a new capacity. You may have seen her as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, Zaneeta in The Music Man and in many other shows in both the 2021 and 2018 seasons. She has served as a director and assistant director at Texas State University (The Crooked Cross and Guys and Dolls, respectively) and is excited to make her choreographic debut this summer. Other performing credits include Jane Doe in Ride the Cyclone at the McCarter Theatre Center and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway at Theatre Under the Stars. She would like to thank her family, her Wagon Wheel family, and all of her lifelong friends for their love and support. Eat em up!
Jennifer Dow
Bio
This marks Jennifer Dow’s 21st year at the Wagon Wheel as a performer, her 11th year as the wig designer, and her 8th year as a wearer of many hats including organizer of the Wagon Wheel Jr. program. After receiving her BFA in Music Theatre from Millikin University, Jennifer’s favorite place to work quickly became the Wagon Wheel Theatre. Her most memorable roles on the Wagon Wheel stage are A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck), Always, Patsy Cline (Louise), Young Frankenstein (Frau Blucher), Marvelous Wonderettes (Suzy), Guys and Dolls (Adelaide), Seussical (Gertrude), South Pacific (Nellie). Other regional credits include Cats (Rumpleteaser) at the Marriott Lincolnshire, Grand Hotel at Drury Lane Water Tower, Jekyll & Hyde (Emma) at Pheasant Run, and performing as a singer with the Rockettes for 3 seasons in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
Emily Ann Luhrs
Summer Songs and Scenes/ Summer Musical Theatre Workshop
Bio
Emily Ann Luhrs is a Chicago theatre artist whose exploits include writing, performing, directing, and puppetry. Favorite roles include Sophie in Mamma Mia (Arvada Center Theatre), Lizzie in Baby (Cherry Creek Theatre), and Emily in A Christmas Carol with Richard White (Arvada Center) among others. Recent directing credits include The Wolves and Seussical at the Chicago Academy for the Arts She also designed a five-headed dragon puppet for the Theatre department’s play: She Kills Monsters. Emily also worked for five years as a teaching artist at the Denver Center Theatre Academy. She has a BFA in Musical Theatre Performance from the University of Oklahoma.
Scott Michaels
Dance Classes
Bio
Prior to Scott’s 11 years as the Wagon Wheel’s Artistic Director, he spent 12 seasons as resident Choreographer/Director on nearly 100 productions. During that time, he spent 4 years as the resident Director/Choreographer at the Armory Theatre in Janesville, Wisconsin. In his free time, he continues to work with high schools and colleges all over the Midwest directing, choreographing, and running countless workshops and master classes. Scott’s work on Cats at Arrowhead H.S. in Hartland, Wisconsin won USA Today’s award for Best High School Musical in the country for 2008. Scott spent 2 years as an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL as the Musical Theatre Dance Teacher. He has over 25 years of performing experience from Chicago to Regional theatre. Scott has performed all over the country and Japan and enjoyed a 2 year tour as a back-up singer for Perry Como.
Auditions for Youth, ages 9 -18
Please visit our audition page for the latest auditions for Youth/Teens.
Please click button below for more information.
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