Paper Mill Playhouse Announces New Theatre School Classes for Adults

Paper Mill Playhouse has announced a wide array of classes and performance opportunities for adults. There is still time to sign up for the diverse adult class Theatre School offerings. For more information or to register for Paper Mill Playhouse Theatre Classes, call Mickey McNany at 973-315-1669 or fill out a registration form on Paper Mill's website www.papermill.org.

A new SENIOR PLAYERS ACTING WORKSHOP emphasizing positive reinforcement will be offered on Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., April 9 through May 21 at the Paper Mill Playhouse under the guidance of stage, television and movie veteran Ed Schiff. The Senior Players Workshop will see the actors work through basic acting exercises and evolve into monologue and scene work through positive guidance from Mr. Schiff.

"The 'reality of doing' is one of the basic tenets of truthful acting and the participants in the Senior Players Workshop will find great fun and stimulus in the six weeks of 'doing' stage presentations," said Mr. Schiff. Mr. Schiff's philosophy of teaching, directing and acting is "always stay positive. The good director and acting teacher never says anything negative - he has to find a positive way of improving things or just keeping quiet until he finds a way to improve the elements."

Mr. Schiff is a veteran with over 200 professional credits in film, television and movies as an actor, director and producer. He has also taught acting, directing and theater history in conservatories and universities, most recently as the Resident Professional Theatre Associate at Cornell and as the Distinguished Artist at Bergen Community College. Mr. Schiff's professional acting credits range from Broadway (i.e., "The Black Picture Show") to major motion pictures (i.e., "War of the Worlds") to daytime television (i.e., "One Life to Live") to primetime TV (i.e., "Grapevine") and most recently to documentary work as Andrew Carnegie on the History Channel's "The Men Who Built America" and the Biography Channel's Ernest Hemingway. He has directed more than 50 professional productions on stages from ranging from Off-Broadway ("I Hate Hamlet") to regional theater ("The Redwood Curtain") to university theater ("The Good Doctor") to local professional productions featuring the likes of Tovah Feldshuh, Broderick Crawford and Robert Morse. Mr. Schiff is also an award-winning playwright ("How Many People Have You Slept With - Teen AIDS Awareness" and "A Eulogy for Vincent".)

There will be limited enrollment, so students are urged to reserve spaces in the Senior Players Acting Workshop as soon as possible.

Another new offering is the Broadway Workout class. This class is a great way to move to your favorite Broadway show tunes and get in shape while doing it! Get your "jazz hands" ready to combine simple Broadway steps to this gentle aerobic workout.

For those who find inspiration in song, Paper Mill Playhouse's Theatre School offers a Community Chorus that meets for six weeks on Monday evenings from 7:45-9:15pm, and culminates in a showcase performance as well as touring opportunities. This past season The Paper Mill Playhouse Community Chorus performed for nursing centers, civic associations and sang the national anthem in front of 2,000 people at a community event.

THE Paper Mill Playhouse COMMUNITY CHORUS will be directed by Meg Zervoulis. Zervoulis is an Arranger, Pianist and Music Director. She has worked off-Broadway on Chuckleball at the Snapple Theatre. Regionally, Zervoulis served on the music team for Rated P...for Parenthood at SOPAC (Midtown Direct Rep). Workshops and concerts include: Kooman and Dimond's Dani Girl in the ASCAP/Disney Workshop with Stephen Schwartz. Zervoulis provided musical direction for many special events including collaborations with Ms. Lauryn Hill, Max Weinberg and Christine Noll among others. Zervoulis also arranges and accompanies many Paper Mill Playhouse special events including master classes, New Voices concerts and benefit galas. Zervoulis is also a Musical Director and Adjunct Keyboard Professor at Montclair State University. Zervoulis attended Carnegie Mellon University for piano performance and conducting. Meg was selected internationally as one of 20 musical directors for the inaugural Goodspeed Opera House Musical Direction Intensive.

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