“So Now You Know”

brings actors who move and dancers who speak together to tell stories of individual discovery in words and dance. This performance concept integrates stories and performers in a new engaging hybrid dance/theatre experience. The performance is developed with a group of actors, dancers, or others from your local community who join in workshops where they share true stories of love, childhood, family, work, birth and death. This can be any group from your area; teens, seniors, artists, physically challenged. Each story must end with what they learned from the experience (“so now I know that…”). From these workshops stories are selected for the production. Music is chosen, inspired by the stories. Working with the Storytelling Coach the story is refined and shaped with the storyteller. Choreography is then added, every member of the cast is involved in movement for the production. We all have stories to tell, “So Now You Know” creates a union between the performers and the audience to share common experiences of life that will uplift and unite them.

“Anaïs Nin, Unbound”

Janet Roston, Director/Choreographer and Cindy Shapiro Composer/Lyricist of “Anaïs Nin, Unbound” offer workshops in dance, theatrical movement, choreography, vocal training, movement and music composition, collaborative creation and research techniques. Workshops tailored to all levels and ages. Many of these workshops can be open for large group community events.  MeMT has given dance workshops as part of their “Anaïs” performance residencies at Chapman University, Miles Playhouse Santa Monica, Santa Barbara Community College and Theater Arts Preparatory School in Las Vegas.

Visit the Anaïs Nin, Unbound Educational Outreach Page

Among other dance workshops taught by Janet Roston as part of MeMT residencies are classes at University of Tennessee and University of Texas (“Midsummer Night”), Palm Desert Choreography Festival (“The Tanjore Project”) and Pebblebrook Arts Magnet, Atlanta (“Sweet Sisters”)

Janet Roston, Educator, Dance and Movement for Theater

A master dance educator, for many years Janet was the Artistic Director of Beverly Hills High School’s acclaimed Dance Company whose members have gone on to form their own successful dance companies and become professional dancers, actors, musicians, graphic designers etc. She has taught dance and movement for actors internationally  in London at Millennium Performing Arts Academy, London Studio Centre and Arts Educational as well as teaching in Toulouse and Cannes. In the USA, national master dance/movement classes includes UCLA, Cal State Long Beach, CAHPERD, Atlanta’s Pebblebrook Arts Academy and Boston Conservatory.  Janet has a BA and MA in Dance from UCLA and a California teaching credential in Physical Education, Dance, English and Elementary Education.

Cindy Shapiro, Educator, Music and Vocal Technique

Cindy’s journey to composing “Anaïs” has been varied. As such she her teaching background is diverse yet interrelated. As a music instructor she has taught music theory, vocal technique, music appreciation, songwriting and conducting. Currently she is a private vocal coach working with rank beginners with pitch issues to professionals who want to elevate their craft. She has been a video game coder applying this background  to teach technology to students, including logic, set theory, coding and gaming applications. Cindy has a degree from Antioch University with a  focus in Music Composition and a Kodaly Music Pedagogy Certification from Cal. State Univ. Long Beach.

Joe LaRue, Educator, Video Editing, Acting, and Projection Design

Joe taught college speech and acting classes for three years while a graduate student in the University of Florida's MFA Acting program. He went on to teach Intro to Acting  at SUNY Fredonia in Fredonia, New York while he was a guest artist in their 2001 production of "Angels in America, Parts I and II." Joe has worked concurrently as a Video Editor and Graphic Designer for 20 years, teaching video editing  and design workshops at high schools, and offering lectures and workshops on story and narrative structure.

"Gatsby Redux"

Community Engagement for Gatsby Redux includes movement classes for all ages.  Workshops can include Dances of the 20’s including Tea Dancing. Participants can also explore the novel The Great Gatsby as a stepping off point for movement exploration. Workshops can include developing movement studies based on characters from the novel, and tackling themes within Fitzgerald’s work; Society and Class, Isolation, Love and the Intricacies of Relationships.