On Friday night, this year’s Summer @ the Conservatory program completed its three-week camp with a showcase featuring three shows brimming with talent from students, alumni and faculty. The days leading up to the showcase were spent in the classroom working on all aspects of theater craft, from scene study to set building, with workshops in dance, auditions and voice from Los Angeles-based professionals, while afternoons were spent in production for the showcase.
High school-level Conservatory Intensive students were featured in “The Bully Plays,” directed by theater veterans Tony and Tanna Kienitz. Conservatory Presents, directed by Class of 2015 alums Zoë Woehrmann and Madi Lang-Ree, produced two productions: “Daisy Pulls it Off” (Lang-Ree) and “Race to the Saturn Exhibit” (Woehrmann). Lang-Ree and Woehrmann are both graduates of the Harker Conservatory’s certificate program and went on to complete degrees in the arts. Lang-Ree graduated magna cum laude from Chapman University with a B.A. in theater, with departmental honors, and minor in integrated educational studies. She begins work at The Goodman Theater in Chicago this August. Woehrmann recently graduated from New York University with a B.F.A. in drama from the Tisch School of the Arts. Recent Harker graduates Emmy Huchley, Neha Premkumar and Ellie Lang-Ree – also Harker Conservatory graduates – served as production assistants, aiding in the classroom in rehearsals and with design execution.
Laura Lang-Ree, Harker’s K-12 director of performing arts, founded S@tC last year and serves as its artistic director. The program was started following the closing of the California Theatre Center, one of Lang-Ree’s favorite local summer theater offerings. “Our three weeks was such a joy and I loved watching our students grow,” she said. “Being able to work alongside such talented graduates is a teacher’s dream. I’m so proud of everyone involved!”