Date published: 11/7/2006

By KATHRYN MOLINARO

As Randi Thomas and Bryan Varney built a hut, Morgan Bishop stirred that night's dinner in a pot large enough to feed a whole village.

Suddenly one of the villagers stepped into the stream.

"You're getting all wet!" teacher Karina Rothenberger warned the drama-student players.

"Use the bridge," she said, pointing to the tape outline on the floor at the Courthouse Community Center that connected the "villagers'" camp with that of a documentary film crew.

The villagers and the crew, Stafford County children ages 5 to 11, were in the middle of that night's mini-play at Drama Kids. Rothenberger, 30, was teaching the class.

Drama Kids is an international drama program that focuses less on memorizing lines and more on gaining confidence through theatrical exercises.

Angela Myers is the local director of Drama Kids. She started the program in Stafford two years ago after looking for an acting class for her daughter, then 8.

"I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for kids in the area," Myers said.

Despite an eight-year career in broadcasting, Myers still remembers the paralysis of stage fright.

In fourth grade, she was supposed to present a book report and, though she had prepared, she couldn't stand up in front of the class.

She began overcoming her fear in high school drama productions. That experience is one of the reasons she was attracted to the Drama Kids curriculum.

"I could relate to a child that maybe didn't have a high level of confidence," she said.

Myers explained that while Drama Kids is an acting program, the primary concern is developing confidence and speaking skills.

"And the acting skills come along with that," Myers said.

Every one-hour class has a voice-training segment and a movement segment.

The last part of each class is devoted to improvisation of a different short play each week.

For the teen class, ages 12 to 17, the improvisation section included learning lines from a script Rothenberger provided and then creating an ending for the play.

Andrea Rowe, 13, who played the part of a boy who thought winning was everything, said she is looking forward to the full-length play the class will perform later.

The classes have other benefits for Andrea. "You get to meet a whole bunch of new people from different schools," she said.

Dominique Giles, 14, who is in her first year with Drama Kids, said the confidence she is gaining is helping her overcome shyness.

"I start talking to new people at school now," Dominque said.

Myers, who taught last year, said that seeing progress in shy students is the best part of her job.

Drama Kids host performance

Local
Source: Gainesville Times
THURSDAY, MAY 7 2009

The 2009 Spring Performance will take place on May 9, 2009 at 12:00p.m. and 4:00p.m. at Stonewall Middle School in Manassas. The event is free and will feature original DKI plays performed by children ages 5 - 17.

"We are always very excited to offer an event to the local community and provide our students with an opportunity to showcase their skills and talent," said Angela Myers, owner of Drama Kids in Prince William County. "The 2009 Spring Performance allows parents and local drama fans to see how much fun children and teenagers can have in a developmentally focused dramatic arts program, and will observe the  positive impact that drama has on children and young adults."

Drama Kids provides creative lessons with a built-in advancing scale of language development that enables students of various ages and abilities to relate to the program and progress at their own rate and comfort level. According to Myers, the international drama program emphasizes activities that focus on confident acting skills, strong speaking techniques, creative movement and dialogue development. The short spring plays, delivered in less than an hour, are a culmination of a school year of working on these skills using many different drama activities, and will be delivered in a fun way while displaying the students' dramatic talents to the public.  

"At each event we can really see the passion our students have for drama and how their confidence has increased--that makes it all worthwhile," said Myers.

For more information on Drama Kids in Prince William County, please contact Angela Myers at 540-658-1190.
Drama Kids International is the largest after-school drama program in the world, with more than 45,000 students currently at its 1,500 plus locations both in the United States and internationally. Its copyrighted curriculum features original, creative lessons with a built-in advancing scale of language development that enables students of different ages and abilities to progress at their own rate.  Its curriculum differs significantly from traditional drama programs, with an emphasis on fun drama activities that are designed to allow all students to fully participate and develop acting and speaking skills regardless of age or prior experience level.

Drama Kids offers age-appropriate classes for students ages 3 through 18 years old. Classes meet once each week for one hour at locations throughout the country. The program allows new enrollment throughout the year, space permitting. Drama Kids also offers Drama Kids Preschool Workshops, Drama Kids Summer Camp, and Drama Kids At School, an in-school program for elementary and middles schools that brings its innovative curriculum directly into the schools as part of the after-school program. For more information, visit www.dramakids.com.