DreamWrights Center for Community Arts invites theater enthusiasts to check out new winter workshops. The organization will offer It's a Show! Build a Production From the Ground Up beginning Wednesday, Feb. 3, and will hold a Musical Theatre Audition Workshop beginning Tuesday, Feb. 9. The workshops will not only provide opportunities to learn more about what happens both on stage and off stage during a production but also give participants a chance to practice skills related to upcoming productions.

For the first workshop series, DreamWrights will use a selection of Aesop's Fables to teach participants about the various aspects of putting on a production.

"They'll be doing everything from gathering props and costumes to working on lights and sound and acting," explained Kate Harmon, marketing coordinator. She added that participants will also learn about voice-over work using the facility's new recording studio. "At the end of the workshop, we'll record the production to show to friends and family," she said.

The second series of workshops will introduce participants to the audition process.

"We have heard a lot over the years that people are interested in doing audition workshops," Harmon remarked, noting that the series will focus on two upcoming shows, "Shrek" and "West Side Story School Edition," with sessions on choreography, vocal techniques and acting choices. "We thought it would be fun to bring together people of all ages to work on music and dance and other features of these two productions. It doesn't mean you'll get a role in the show. You'll still have to audition, but it will give people an idea of what to expect at the audition and to be prepared."

The audition workshop offers an opportunity for DreamWrights to fulfill part of its mission, Harmon noted. "We have a lot of kids who come in to audition having never memorized lines, never been on stage before," she stated. "We're an educational nonprofit, so that is not a problem for us, but this will give them a little more confidence when they audition, if they've already been working on a particular show for weeks."

This is the first time DreamWrights is holding winter workshops. "Usually by this time, we're well into our first and second productions of the year," Harmon said. "This year, because of COVID, we're delaying our season, but this is giving us a way to stay active and still have people here in a safe way."

She encourages anyone with an interest in theater to sign up for the workshops, which are open to children and adults. Scholarships are available as well.

Class sizes will be kept small, and both mask wearing and social distancing will be enforced, Harmon noted. "We're all looking for things to do and something to make us smile and laugh and be around other people," she said, "and this is a great opportunity to do that in a safe environment."

For more information on the workshops, readers may visit https://dreamwrights.org.