CTAA Announces Registration for Summer Programs

EASTCONN’s Capitol Theater Arts Academy (CTAA) Opens Summer Registration; Musical Theater Program to Present Brigadoon

Willimantic—EASTCONN’s Capitol Theater Arts Academy (CTAA) is now accepting student registrations for two different summer programs: a five-week Summer Musical Theater Program, as well as a musicians’ track, for youngsters who will enter grades 4-12 next fall; and summer dance classes for children, ages 3 and up.

CTAA, a community arts program of EASTCONN, is housed in EASTCONN’s historic Capitol Theater at 896 Main St., in busy downtown Willimantic. To register or learn more about CTAA and its summer programming, contact CTAA Coordinator Rachel Roccoberton Griffin at 860-465-5636, ext. 1023, or at rgriffin@eastconn.org.

The Summer Musical Theater Program runs from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, from July 7 through Aug. 9, 2014. Early and post-program childcare is available. A nutritious lunch is included with the tuition. Each day of the students’ five-week-long CTAA Summer Musical Theater Program will be filled with acting, singing, dancing, technical theater and creative learning extensions that will be based on the famed 1940s Broadway musical, Brigadoon. While working on this musical, students will have the chance to learn traditional Scottish Highlands dancing. Students will present Brigadoon on Aug. 8, and 9, 2014.

Written by lyricist Alan Jay Lerner, with music by Frederick Loewe, Brigadoon opens in the Scottish Highlands, where two hunters become lost and stumble upon the mythical Brigadoon, a village that appears out of the mists only one day every 100 years. The show includes songs like “Waitin’ for My Dearie,” “I'll Go Home with Bonnie Jean, Come to Me, Bend to Me,” “Almost Like Being in Love,” and many others.

CTAA is also partnering with Song-A-Day Music Center in Coventry to create the pit orchestra for Brigadoon. Student musicians with four-plus years of experience are invited to participate in the summer Musicians’ Track. They will learn the music for the full-length Brigadoon production and play during all three public performances, alongside professional musicians. For Brigadoon, the Musicians’ Track program needs violin, viola, cello, bass, flute/piccolo, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, percussion and bag pipes. Students must be proficient in reading music and playing their instrument. Interested families should contact Song-A-Day Music Center at 860-742-6878 or inquiries@songadaymusic.com for fees and details.

CTAA’s summer dance classes are offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 1 through August 21, 2014. The summer dance classes, whose times vary, are not part of the Summer Musical Theater Program. In the relaxed atmosphere of CTAA’s summer dance program, children can either explore a variety of different dance styles or register for a favorite class. CTAA’s five-week or eight-week dance sessions include classes in Tiny Tappers, Exploring Dance; Tap & Jazz Combo; Jazz/Modern; Hip-Hop; Intermediate Ballet; and Pointe & Choreography for ages 4 and up.

CTAA serves northeastern Connecticut residents, ages 3 and up. Classes are taught year-round by some of Connecticut's finest arts professionals, who help students explore the arts through dance, theater, cartooning, creative writing and individual music lessons. Classes are offered in both fall, spring and summer sessions.

CTAA is an arts education outreach program of EASTCONN, a public, non-profit agency that has been serving the education needs of northeastern Connecticut schools and communities since 1980. Visit www.eastconn.org.