Free Musical Theatre Workshop to be offered

A free three-week Musical Theatre Workshop will be offered at the Markay Cultural Arts Center with a professional playwright and director.

The workshop is for ages 12 to 25, however registration is limited. Participants will learn how to create their own 10-minute musicals. The first week will be led by a professional writer and director, then the next two weeks will focus on composing scripts, music and staging. The public will see the end creations at at special performance, Thursday June 22 at 7 p.m.

Pippin Parker

Pippin Parker will be facilitating the workshop from June 5 to 8. Parker is a writer and director. He is the current Dean of the School of Drama and an Associate Dean of the New School College of Performing Arts. Previously at the School of Drama, he served as Chair of the MFA Playwriting program and as Director of the School, during which time he developed the school’s multidisciplinary BFA degree program. As director, Parker’s work includes Betrayed by George Packer (Lortel Award, Best Play), The Public Theater’s production of Knickerbocker by Jonathan Marc Sherman and the 24 Hour Plays. As writer, his plays have been produced in New York and Los Angeles and for radio (The Next Big Thing, NPR) and published by Playscripts, Inc.

Parker has written extensively for animated television series including The Tick and Pocoyo (Kineo Diamante Award, Venice Film Festival) as well as for interactive and new media.

As an actor Parker has appeared on the television series Law and Order and the film Margaret by Kenneth Lonergan.

Parker is a cofounder and former Artistic Director of Naked Angels theater company and has served on the leadership council of The Writers Guild of America, East.

Parker resides in New York City with his wife, Kim and daughter, Imagine. He is the older brother of actress, Sarah Jessica Parker.

June 12-15 the workshop will focus on writing scripts and musical compositions, while June 19-22 the workshop will focus on staging. Those sessions are under the direction of Minda Hager and Greg Miller.

All workshop sessions are from 9 a.m. to noon.

Workshops will be held at the Markay Cultural Arts Center, 269 E. Main St., Jackson

Participants must submit an application as soon as possible. Click the link for the application: WorkshopApplication

To pre-register call Greg Miller at 740-645-6306

This workshop is funded by the Imagine Arts Endowment/University of Rio Grande with a partnership with the Southern Hills Arts Council.