Summer Programming Opportunities Still Available

Registration is still open for Oddfellows Playhouse’s summer programming for youngsters ages 4-7. Oddfellows’ programs cover a variety of arts-based activities, from circus skills to acting and visual art. Our programs allow students to develop their creativity and foundational life skills they can draw upon in the future.  The youngsters will learn things like working cooperatively with other children their age, positive group interaction, and much much more.

This summer, Oddfellows is offering Little Fellows: The World and Work of Mo Willems.  The program will be running from August 6-17, Monday –Friday, 9:00am-3:30pm.  Tuition is $350.  In addition, before and after care will be available for the program, beginning at 8:30 in the morning and be available from 3:30 to 4:00 in the afternoon in order to accommodate parents’ busy schedules.

Students will explore the very busy world of Mo Willems, author and illustrator of “Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale”, “Pigeon Wants a Puppy,” and the Elephant and Piggy books.  Working with professional teaching artists, participants will be at the center of the action, writing, acting, painting and creating a new story inspired by the work of the beloved author and illustrator.

This summer’s teaching artists include Missy Burmeister, Kim West, Renee Soares, and Jamie Guite. Throughout the day, your children will be spending time with each of these teachers in four different “classes” – Art, Movement, Theater, and Writing. Students will be encouraged to explore their creative sides and participate in fun and exciting activities. Along with these teaching artists, children will be led by student teaching assistants to make sure your child is enjoying himself or herself throughout the day. The day will also include breaks for snacks and rest time, as well as an outdoor lunch break in the afternoon.

Missy Burmeister joined the Oddfellows team eight years ago and has enjoyed contributing to the Playhouse as a teacher (CA I, Myths and Legends of Japan), director (Pride and Prejudice, The Laramie Project, Three Penny Opera) and designer (Holes-lighting, Nuevo CA-costumes). In addition to working at the Playhouse, Missy teaches at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts.  Before venturing out to the East Coast, Missy received her BFA in Theatre and Television from Texas Christian University and her MA in Directing from Texas State University.

Kim West moved to Connecticut in 2005; since then, she has directed for the Hartford Children’s Theatre, Portland Schools, America Globe Playfest NYC and several staged readings and short plays for Temple Players, Square Wright, EastBound, and the Stratford Theatre Consortium. She has taught for Hartford Stage and Hartford Children’s Theatre and Performing Arts Program.  She currently teaches at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts.

Renee S. Soares was born in Providence, Rhode Island of African American, Cape Verdean, Native American, and West Indian descent. This artist extraordinaire creates two-dimensional masks that reflect the cultural diversity of the world in which we live. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Theatre Arts, Speech, and Dance from Brown University and presently resides in Hartford, Connecticut where she makes her living as a visual artist, fine art curator, and visual and performance art educator. Working in the medium of polymer clay with glass beads and mixed media, Ms. Soares creates original, one of a kind pieces that range in size, color, and configuration. Her work has been exhibited at fine art galleries and private showings in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey. Many of her pieces are commissioned by private collectors and can be found in public venues throughout the City of Hartford including the Office of the State Treasurer, Denise Nappier.

As an art educator, Ms. Soares has conducted workshops for the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Connecticut Historical Society, the New Britain Museum of American Art, the City of Hartford's Department of Cultural Affairs, the Wheeler Clinic, Milford Public Schools, and New London Public Schools. She presently teaches creative arts and drama at the Playhouse and visual art at the Guilford Handcraft Center's Summer Art Camp in Guilford, CT.

Jamie Guite loves having the ability to work with her theatrical creativity developing a new improv troupe, and as a member of Too Many Monkeys for 6 years. She has been trained at The Circle In the Square, Southern Connecticut State University, and is a graduate of the Upright Citizens Brigade. Jamie has been seen in such roles as Normal Jean in The Colored Museum, Sandy in The Dream's On Me, and the Queen in Cymbeline. She has been teaching theatre throughout CT for the last 15 years.

For more information on programs, to register for classes or to purchase tickets to performances, call Oddfellows at (860) 347-6143 or log onto www.oddfellows.org. 

About Oddfellows Playhouse:

Oddfellows Playhouse is located at 128 Washington Street, Middletown.   For more than 35 years Oddfellows Playhouse has been more than just a performing arts program.  It aims to make a positive difference in the lives of 1,500 young people each year by using the arts as tools to build self-confidence, communication skills, a sense of responsibility, and an appreciation for the richness and diversity of the world in which we live.

Oddfellows programming is made possible through the generous support of the American Savings Foundation, the CDBG Scholarship Program, the CT Department of Economic and Community Development, the CT Department of Education, Community Foundation of Middlesex County, Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Memorial Fund, Elizabeth Carse Foundation, the Fund for Greater Hartford, the George A. and Grace L. Long Foundation, the Irving Kohn Foundation, the J. Walton Bissell Foundation, Liberty Bank Foundation, Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation, Middlesex United Way, the Middletown Commission on the Arts, Middletown Youth Service Bureau Afterschool Incentive Grant, Pratt & Whitney, Price Chopper Golub Foundation, the Stare Fund, Stop and Shop Foundation, Thomas J. Atkins Foundation, Triple Frog, LLC and WESU (88.1FM).