Stage Right!

In The News!

NEWS RELEASE - 8/20/10

For Immediate Release:

GREENSBURG, PA, August 20: Stage Right! School for the Performing Arts and Professional Theatre Company in Greensburg is pleased to announce its 2010/2011 season, its Non-Profit Partners, a new studio location in Johnstown and its new partnership with Propel School of Pittsburgh and K.A.R.A.T Charter School in Greensburg.

Stage Right!

Stage Right! has been serving the community for over 13 years offering both musical theatre education classes for kids, community outreach Books Come Alive programs through your local library, and on the stage at The Palace Theatre bringing you Broadway in your own back yard. We are proud to announce the non-profit partners for this upcoming season. “We began this program last year when we entertained for a young child who received a swimming pool from Make-A-Wish and were so surprised to see the level of services provided right here in Westmoreland County”, says Christine Orosz, Executive Director. “We figured if we didn’t know all they do, more than likely other people don’t either”. This years’ partners are:

Big Brother and Big Sisters – The King and I

Westmoreland Intermediate Unit Foundation - Madeline’s Christmas

The YMCA of Greensburg – Disney’s Sleeping Beauty

Greater Westmoreland Labor Council – Working

The Westmoreland County Blind Association – Jesus Christ Superstar

Each of these organizations will display their services in the lobby of their respective show and give a curtain speech to explain their commitment to Westmoreland County. “We do actually try to match the organization with the show and explore the connection between our two organizations.” A small donation from the proceeds of ticket sales will be donated to each organization from Stage Right! “It gives each of us a new audience - a win, win situation”

Professional and Student Theatre Company

A Season That Will Take You Far And Away! is the title of Stage Right!’s upcoming season of Professional and Student Theatre productions and features a line-up that starts in Siam and ends in the Holy Land. Rogers and Hammerstein’s The King and I opens the Professional Season at the Palace Theatre September 24-26. This musical theatre classic features Tara Geisler as Anna and John Noble as the King. Our Non-Profit Partner for this production with be Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Laurel Region. The Rocky Horror Show will continue to be the best Halloween party in the area - Frankenfurter, Riff-Raff, Brad and Janet will all be there to lead everyone through the Time Warp again - October 29 and 30. Next, Stage Right! is proud to partner with an organization dedicated to helping children - the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit Foundation, in presenting the area premier of a brand new musical - Madeline’s Christmas. Based on the beloved children’s book, this heartwarming musical follows the 12 little girls in 2 straight lines and their Christmas adventure in Paris and will deck the halls of the Palace Theatre November 19-21. Next up Stage Right! features its very talented student body with Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Kids - January 21-23 at the Greensburg Garden Civic Center. Enjoy our character lunch where kids can eat and take pictures with the cast. Presented in conjunction with a proud new addition to our Non-Profit Partners - The YMCA. In February, in conjunction with our Non-Profit Partner the Greater Westmoreland Labor Council, we deliver a Valentine to the American Worker . Working, a musical based on the classic Studs Terkel novel that told the stories of everyday hard-working Americans. The score features music from Stephen Schwartz (Wicked) and James Taylor among others, and will feature last season’s Sky Masterson David Cabot. It runs at the Garden Civic Center - Feb 18-20. Finishing up our professional season will be the original rock opera - Jesus Christ Superstar, featuring Tony Marino as Judas. As relevant and timeless as ever, this exhilarating piece of musical theatre will be done in conjunction with our Non-Profit Partner the Westmoreland County Blind Association at the Palace Theatre March 25-27.

Coming April 28-30 is the 5th annual All-County Musical - Fame! We celebrate our 5th year with a musical that celebrates kids who love to perform. Fame is based on the classic 80’s film of the same name, about kids at a school for the performing arts. With a score that features many of the songs made famous by the film, as well as a brand new storyline that brings this new classic up-to-date, this production will, as always, feature students from 18 plus school districts. Next up, we finish out our season with our yearly celebration of the talented students at Stage Right! with our Student Company Performance. The Teens will dance and sing their way thru the 60’s in the Broadway Smash - Hairspray, while our younger students tackle the beloved Disney Classic - Beauty and the Beast. These will be performed at the Greensburg Garden Civic Center May 20-22.

Stage Right! School for the Performing Arts, Greensburg

Stage Right!’s School for the Performing Arts starts classes August 28. This year Stage Right! introduces a new College Track Program that enables students preparing to audition for College Performing Arts Programs to be given personal instruction and coaching as well as help with the application process and audition preparation. New to the Dance Curriculum is Modern Dance. Based in the roots of Modern, students will explore choreographers like Twyla Tharp and Martha Graham. Also this year Stage Right! welcomes new staffers Cindy Baltzer and Alyssa Zagorac. Ms Baltzer, a highly respected voice teacher, recently retired from Derry Area School District, where she was a music teacher and the director of their High School Musical for the past several years, is our new Voice Teacher. She will also be offering private voice and vocally directing for the professional company. Joining her is former Stage Right! student Alyssa Zagorac. A senior Acting Major at Point Park University, Alyssa has been the director of the Pre-teen program during Stage Right’s last two summer camps and will be teaching the pre-teen and beginner teen acting classes this year.

Stage Right East!

Last May our Books Come Alive Program performed at The Learning Lamp Children’s Festival in Johnstown. Afterwards, Artistic Director Anthony Marino chatted with head of the Learning Lamp about possibly bringing professional arts training to Johnstown. Seeing a need for it in their area, the Learning Lamp approached Stage Right! in June and just like that Stage Right East! was born. The Learning Lamp, founded in 2003 with a single program, one-to-one tutoring, now serves thousands of children each year by working together with families and schools to meet the needs of students. Manning this new location, in addition to current Stage Right! staff, will be Former Broadway performer Gregg Brandt and local musician Laurie Richards. Stage Right East! will be identical in philosophy with the original and will initially offer a more limited schedule with plans to expand services and classes offered as interest and enrollment grows.

PROPEL & KARAT Charter Schools

Propel Charter School has become the largest, fastest-expanding set of charter schools in Pennsylvania with the highest levels of student achievement among Pennsylvania public school districts and its commitment to the Creative Arts is second to none, ensuring that each student gets 190 hours of arts education a year. This program establishes and maintains relationships with partners, and potential partners, who come from local fine and performing arts groups. This year Stage Right! will be providing Teaching Artists at 4 Propel Schools, teaching musical Theatre to K-8 at their Homestead and McKeesport locations and to High School Students at Andrew Street and Braddock Hills.

The curriculum, developed by Stage Right! Artistic Director Tony Marino and Teaching Artists Renata Marino and Tara Geisler, who will focus on getting kids on their feet, learning by doing, using an integrated approach to tie art to the world around them and ending with a performance every 6 weeks during the Celebration of Learning held at all Propel Schools to highlight the Creative Arts Program. Stage Right! will also be partnering with a new Charter School located in the YMCA in Greensburg. The KARAT School features a Kinesthetic Approach to Learning for grades 9-12 and will be using Stage Right! as their Arts Education provider. Students will take Acting and Dance classes as well as attending Stage Right! performances.

Home School Arts Training

Stage Right’s Home School Program resumes this fall and will culminate in December with a Production of Honk! the musical. Classes will continue in the spring where the Pre-teen and Teen Homeschool students will present 2 yet to be named productions. Classes start in September - to enroll call Stage Right! today at 724.832.7464.

For More Information about any of the things contained in this release please call:

Christine Orosz - Executive Director - 724.832.7464 - or

Anthony Marino - Artistic Director - 724.244.7177 - or

Renata Marino - Education Co-ordinator - 724.771.0857

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Shakespeare Monologue & Scene Contest

Producer: Andrew Rush
Videographer: Andrew Rush
FOR THE POST-GAZETTE
March 20, 2009

[video link] The Pittsburgh Public Theater held the preliminary round of its annual Shakespeare Monologue & Scene Contest for students in grades 4-12 this week.

Les Mis

Young thespians bring 'Les Miserables' to the stage for second All County Musical

By Candy Williams
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, April 24, 2008

For 96 talented students from 15 school districts and home schools, "Les Miserables" is the Super Bowl, the World Series and the Stanley Cup all rolled into one....

Stage Right students take a musical trip to Narnia

By Marjorie Wertz
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, December 7, 2005

Stage Right's artistic director, Anthony Marino, first read C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," one of the Narnia series, as a youngster.

"When I was 15, I was working at a playhouse, and I was in the costume room nebbing around....

Stage Right is featured on the "Great Places in Westmoreland County" site. Click on the text below to read the entire article.

Stage Right began in 1998 as a school for the performing arts. Located across from the Westmoreland County Courthouse in downtown Greensburg, PA, Stage Right teaches young performers...

Teen TV star

By Maryann Gogniat Eidemiller
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, August 14, 2005

Cassie Corsaro, of Greensburg, is about to make her second appearance on television, and she had a doggone good time filming the latest show.....

Festival supporters party it up at Cabaret

By Dawn Law
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, July 4, 2005

[Scroll down the article to read this.... ]

Stage Right performs 'The Popcorn Dragon'

For an actor, audience appreciation is everything. Six days a week all summer, Stage Right, a performing arts school and professional theater company in Greensburg, travels throughout Westmoreland County, putting on shows for children....

Stage Right to bring 'Cabaret' to life

By Maryann Gogniat Eidemiller
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, January 17, 2005

When American writer Christopher Isherwood lived in Germany from 1929 to 1933, he witnessed social and political changes that would soon explode into a world war. He turned his observations into a book called "Berlin Stories," which later hit the stage as "I Am A Camera."

Stage Review: Stage Right combines versions in 'Cabaret's' Kit Kat Club

By John Hayes,Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Friday, January 21, 2005

Greensburg is a great little bedroom community without a lot to do whenever you leave the house. It's completely ripe for the Kit Kat Klub, a fictional little dive with call-me phones on the tables, trollops on the stage and Nazis in their audience...

Musical is hats-off to Dr. Seuss

By Maryann Gogniat Eidemiller
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, November 9, 2004

....only one of the loving gestures from a cast of characters based on the endearing and enduring tales of Dr. Seuss, the late Theodor Seuss Geisel.....

Stage Right presents 'The Rocky Horror Show' just in time for Halloween

By Maryann Gogniat Eidemiller
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, October 25, 2004

Don't be alarmed if the audience yells at the actors when Stage Right performs "The Rocky Horror Show" Oct. 29 and 30 at the Greensburg Garden and Civic Center. Don't take offense, either, if some of their calls are even insulting...

Eryn Berquist--Our Community Idol!

By Jeannie Rings
FOR THE HEMPFIELD PAPER
October 5-18, 2004

The Community Idol contest held at Hempfield Community Days (September 20) was an overwhelming success. Many talented local singers braved the main stage and audience to take their chance to win the $100 cash prize. The winner was brilliant 13-year-old singer Eryn Berquist from Hempfiled who sang a beautiful rendition of the song “Colors of the Wind.” Other contestants sang beautifully, earning them all fabulous prizes that were all donated by businesses and event sponsors. The contest winner was able to do an encore performance on Sunday and open up for the Poverty Neck hillbillies; this was definitely a moment to remember for Eryn.

Source: The Hempfield Paper, By Jeannie Rings