New Bethel Arts Center Set to Open Early August

New Bethel Arts Center Set to Open Early August

Editor’s note: This article was written by the owner/Editor of Bethel Buzz, Wendy Mitchell, who also owns Studio 10 Center for the Arts.

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If you have driven by the old Whaley’s Flower Shop on the corner of Nashville and Chestnut recently, you may have been wondering just what is going on. The driveway is being ripped up, the inside is being gutted and the  ”For Rent” signs are down. The new owners are renovating the inside and outside of the building and Studio 10 Center for the Arts will open our doors to the public in early August.

For those who don’t know me, I’m the owner/editor of Bethel Buzz of www.BethelBuzzNews.com and I also run Ultra Violet Puppets.  Since January of 2010 I have been teaching children’s theater classes, performing educational puppet shows and hosting kid’s karaoke events throughout  Fairfield county. So why add something else into the mix of all that I already juggle? Because by opening up this studio I hope to fill a void and offer a much-needed center for our town’s musical and artistic youth.

More importantly, I hope to fulfill a calling I have had for the past few years; to offer a place where students can participate in a free community theater to educate on drug and alcohol abuse and raise awareness. I originally intended to open as a non-profit, however, due to unforseen circumstances, I am unable to go through with the process at this time, but hope to in the future. Many Bethel business owners donated gift cards for a raffle held at Greenwood’s last November. That money will still go where it was originally intended– to fund the free educational program for local youth. The money raised in November, combined with the generosity of private donors Gloria Hutchinson and Kevin Cleary,  will allow the program to have 28 students participate, free of charge, for the fall session. Our original mission remains the same:

Mission Statement: The mission of Studio 10 Center for the Arts is to enrich the lives of children, teens and young adults in the community by encouraging creative thinking, building self-esteem, and developing creative skills through individual and group involvement in affordable programs in music, theater, performing and fine arts.

Studio 10 is currently accepting registration for our summer youth theater programs. Sessions run as follows:

Session #1  Monday August 13 – Friday August 10

• 9am-12pm Elementary Kids – “The Lion King”
•  A lion prince, Simba, is born in Africa and the animals of the Pride Lands pay tribute. Later Simba is told by his father, King Mufasa, that when he dies, Simba will become King of the Pride Lands. Simba’s Uncle Scar would have been king had Mufasa not had a child. Scar plots to kill Mufasa and Simba to take over the throne. Simba survives so Scar implies the stampede he planned was Simba’s fault. Simba flees and is later found by Timone the Meerkat, and Pummba the Warthog, and the trio become fast friends. Simba stays with them into adulthood until his friend, Nala stumbles upon Simba’s new home. Astonished to find him alive, she begs him to return to the Pride Lands, where Scar has reigned as King and ruined everything. All of the animals will starve if Simba does not return. Simba agrees to fight for his kingdom, battles Scar, and learns his father’s death was Scar’s fault, not his. Simba prevails, has his own son, mirroring “The Circle of Life.”

• 12:30-3:30pm Middle/High School Students – “Once On This Island.”
• This colorful, cultural musical play takes place on a Caribbean island in the Antilles. Written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and based on the book My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy, is a musical which is the home to two entirely different societies: the poor peasants and the aristocratic Grand Hommes. A group of storytellers tell the tale of the young girl Ti Moune, who was saved from a flood by the gods as a child and raised by a pair of kindly old peasants. As she grows up, Ti Moune longs for a grander life than the one she faces and, inspired by the sight of a young and handsome grand homme driving past in a white car, prays to the gods to grant her wish.

Performance Dates:

Elementary Students “The Lion King” Saturday, 8/11, 2:00pm

Middle/High School Students “Once On This Island” 8/11, 4:00pm

Session #2 Monday August 20 – Friday August 24

• 9am-12pm Elementary Kids – “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.”
• A beautiful girl, Snow White, takes refuge in the forest in the house of seven dwarfs to hide from her stepmother, the wicked Queen. The Queen is jealous because she wants to be known as “the fairest in the land,” and Snow White’s beauty surpasses her own. The dwarfs grow to love their unexpected visitor, who cleans their house and cooks their meals. But one day while the dwarfs are at their diamond mine, the Queen arrives at the cottage disguised as an old peddler woman and persuades Snow White to bite into a poisoned apple. The dwarfs, warned by the forest animals, rush home to chase the witch away, but they are too late to save Snow White from the poisoned apple. They place her in a glass coffin in the woods and mourn for her. The Prince, who has fallen in love with Snow White, happens by and awakens her from the wicked Queen’s deathlike spell with “love’s first kiss.”

• 12:30-3:30pm Middle/High School Students – “Into the Woods.”
• An ambivalent Cinderella? A blood-thirsty Little Red Riding Hood?  A Prince Charming with a roving eye? A Witch … who raps? They’re all among the cockeyed characters in James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s fractured fairy tale. When a Baker and his Wife learn they’ve been cursed  with childlessness by the Witch next door, they embark on a quest for the special objects ( a cow as white as milk… a cape as red as blood… hair as yellow as corn… a slipper as pure as gold… ) required to break the spell, swindling,  lying to and stealing from Cinderella (with the slipper as pure as gold) Little Red Ridinghood (with a cape as red as  blood) Rapunzel (with the hair as yellow as corn) and Jack (the one who climbed the beanstalk – with the cow as
  white as milk). Everyone’s wish is granted at the end of Act One but the consequences of their actions return to haunt
  them later, with disastrous results. A Giant (A female Giant, that is) steps down from the heavens and straight upon
  some beloved characters. It takes a few lives before the survivors realize that they have to act altogether in order to
  succeed. Thus, what begins a lively irreverent fantasy becomes a moving lesson about community responsibility
  and the stories we tell our children.

Performance Dates:

Elementary Students “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” Saturday, 8/25, 2:00pm

Middle/High School Students “Into the Woods” 8/25, 4:00pm

Classes are taught by Studio 10 Director and Owner, Wendy Ann Mitchell, an experienced, professional instructor with CPR/First Aid certification. Studio 10′s philosophy focuses on building the child’s self-esteem and encouraging their unique individuality. Our no-pressure approach allows children and teens to have FUN while learning performance skills that will benefit them throughout their lifetime!

Each week students will learn lines, blocking, technique, set design, costumes and explore all aspects of theatre arts through this interactive class. At the end of the session students will put on a presentation for family & friends.  With plenty of safe, fenced-in parking, parents will find it easy to get in and out to drop off their kids and teens on camp days. For more information and a registration form please contact us at studio10bethel@gmail.com or call the studio at 203-826-7194.

LIKE STUDIO 10 ON FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/studio10bethel

For more info please visit http://studio10bethel.com/

~Wendy Ann Mitchell

Owner/Editor BethelBuzzNews.com

Owner/Director Studio10Bethel.com

ctbuzznews@gmail.com

studio10bethel@gmail.com

Home Office 203-826-7194