No Square Theatre offers summer classes for kids

TOM TITUS

How can you make your mark in musical theater, no matter how talented

you are, if you can’t seem to get beyond the audition process?

This and other elements of the theatrical experience will be

passed down this summer in two summer classes initiated by Laguna

Beach’s No Square Theatre.

Both classes will be supervised by Vanessa Schneller, a pro with

over 15 years’ experience as a theater, dance and music educator,

who’s in town to choreograph the 13th annual Lagunatics variety show.

Schneller is the daughter of No Square Theatre veteran Linda

Haylett -- also a dance, music and theater instructor -- illustrating

the old maxim that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

“Most performers are excellent on stage, but may never get there

if the audition process overwhelms them,” Schneller says. Her

audition class is geared to “get feedback on the part of show

business that really matters. The audition will make or break you.”

Her tryout class, for teens 14 and older, will feature a mock

audition once a week, with students being asked to prepare songs to

perform in certain genres. They will be taken through a dance call

and will be given scenes to read aloud. Each class will end with a

discussion on what worked and what needs to be reworked.

The audition class is just one segment of several summer classes

being offered for teenagers. Others are Broadway Tap, Faking It (a

dancing course for singers with two left feet), Hip Hop History and

Modern Dance and Improvisation.

For those under 14, Schneller will be conducting a session

entitled Broadway Kids Camp. This class will include instruction in

singing, dancing, auditioning, crafts and performing.

Four two-week sessions will be offered, beginning July 5, divided

into two age groups -- 9 to 13 and 5 to 8 years old. No prior

training is necessary, Schneller points out, and no special shoes are

required, although students are permitted to bring tap, ballet and

jazz shoes (no sandals or flip-flops).

The locally born and raised Schneller has trained with

professionals in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. She graduated

from the Orange High School of the Arts in Santa Ana.

After graduation, she attended the Chicago Academy for the Arts

and received her undergraduate degree from USC in theater and music.

She’s currently working toward her master’s degree in dance education

at New York University, where she runs a musical theater program in

Long Island.

Enrollment in the youth classes is limited, and those interested

are advised to contact the No Square Theatre at www.nosquare.org.

Further information is available at the theater, (949) 497-1950.