Part Conservatory-Style Training, Part Performance

Over the last two years, we’ve been building a new advanced training program for teens. We launched Performance Lab in the fall of 2024 with a 4-week process that culminated in the Rise Up Cabaret, celebrating the world of contemporary musical theatre. That winter, a 6-week acting lab focused on Moises Kaufman’s play The Laramie Project under the expert direction of Mark Wade.

“After witnessing his incredible work in callbacks with the teens, I rearranged my entire schedule to guarantee I could be in the room to soak up every minute of class.” – Liz Filios, Director of Artist Training

Professional Mentorship from High Caliber Theatre Artists

“Mark is a master teacher. He creates such a welcoming environment. It's low stakes but we also have firm goals.” – Teen Performance Lab participant

Teaching artists like Mark are the backbone of Performance Lab. In Liz’s words, “Mark brings such passion, humor, and care to his work as both a director and an educator (the two skillsets are so inextricably linked that you can’t really tell where one ends and the other begins.) He doesn’t hold people’s hands, and he doesn’t make them feel small. He gives them the tools, and then makes them learn to sharpen each one themselves, through open dialogue, frank questioning, and an insistence that only they can truly know what is ‘good’ or ‘right’. It can be infuriating at times for the students, but the end result is that instead of good little soldiers who do exactly what they’re told, you end up with an ensemble of thinking and feeling artists who have learned how to support themselves and each other.”

In addition to rigorous training sessions in the rehearsal rooms, Performance Lab participants get the chance to work alongside and learn from other professional actors. Most recently, they joined the ranks of Andrew Watring’s Twelfth Night cast, sharing the role of Fabian, in addition to staging their own adaptation of The Tempest.

The Seven Fabians

Twelfth Night Adapter and Director Andrew Watring has been a passionate supporter of Performance Lab from its inception, and eagerly embraced the opportunity to mentor the young Fabians through this new and ambitious iteration of the program. It wasn’t easy. For every one chance a teen has to run a scene in rehearsals, the adult actors had seven. Andrew and the company of Twelfth Night went above and beyond to make sure the teens were not only adequately rehearsed, but welcomed into the process as collaborators and equals.

“This is similar to being a professional understudy. Getting to watch the adults and absorb their artistry is like a masterclass.”

– Performance Lab participant

The idea of having young artists share the stage with professionals at People's Light is not new; several of our Company Artists were once students here themselves, and kids and teens have infused many of our greatest productions (from Shakespeare to pantos) with a special kind of vibrancy that only they could bring. What's different about this program is the training component designedto support and enhance the growth of each individual young artist, to serve both their performance on our stage and their future creative pursuits.

This winter, we covered everything in Lab sessions from dramaturgy to rehearsal etiquette with this highly disciplined, thoughtful and cohesive ensemble. For two months, they worked to earn their stripes in theatre, tagging in and out as Fabian in rehearsals without skipping a beat, taking notes for each other to track the nightly changes in tech/previews, moving effortlessly between their roles in Twelfth Night and The Tempest, and rotating seamlessly in the 8 show/week performance schedule.

“My goal in designing this program was to offer teens an onramp into the world of professional theatre and help them find their unique voice in an industry that's constantly trying to make them look and sound like everyone else.” – Liz Filios, Director of Artist Training

“The program is well organized. I like that we get to work on The Tempest as well as Twelfth Night to hone our skills. It feels like we are a part of the cast. It's affirming, and less stressful for the team to accommodate all of us. The rest of the cast and crew are so nice, and they treat us as equals. Everyone here is treated with respect.” – Performance Lab participant

Text adapted from The Tempest program note by Liz Filios
Photos by Mark Garvin