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STAGE TEN SEVENTEEN
4 Week Summer Theatre Intensive for Young Performers entering grades 6 through 12
THURSDAY - JULY 30TH - 2026
Class A - 1:00 pm - 3:00 PM | Class B - 5:00 pm - 7:00 PM
and
THURSDAY - AUGUST 6TH, 13TH & 20TH - 2026
Class A - 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM | Class B - 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
PERFORMANCE SHOWCHASE (optional)
FRIDAY - AUGUST 21ST - 2026
PERFORMER CALL 5:00 PM | DOORS OPEN 6:30 PM | SHOW 7:00 PM
ABOUT THE CLASS
Step into the spotlight this summer with a theatre class designed to help young performers build confidence, strengthen their acting skills, and learn how to tell a story with their whole body. In Storytelling on Stage, students will explore the foundations of acting, stage movement, character work, improvisation, and ensemble performance in a fun, supportive, and high-energy environment. Through theatre games, movement exercises, scene work, and collaborative storytelling, students will learn how to make bold choices onstage, connect with scene partners, move with purpose, and bring characters to life. This class is a great fit for both new performers who want to build confidence and experienced theatre students who want to sharpen their stage presence and performance skills. Students will work on character creation, physical storytelling, blocking, projection, stage awareness, and truthful performance while learning what it really means to tell a story on stage. The session will end with a casual (free) showcase for family and friends featuring scenes, movement pieces, and performance work developed in class. No experience necessary - just come ready to move, play, create, and perform!
MEET THE INSTRUCTOR
Erick Dobberfuhl is a theatre artist, director, performer, choreographer, and designer with a career built around one thing: bringing stories to life in bold, memorable, and imaginative ways. With a background that spans professional theatre, national touring productions, theme parks, immersive entertainment, haunted attractions, educational theatre, and live events, Erick brings a high-energy, all-in approach to storytelling both onstage and off. His experience covers nearly every corner of the theatrical process - from performing and directing to choreography, movement, staging, and visual design - giving students a chance to learn not just how to act, but how to truly live inside a performance. Erick has also spent years working with young performers, including teaching and directing at Seymour High School, Appleton West High School, Renaissance School of the Arts and the University of Wisconsin - Fox Valley campus, where he helped students grow in confidence, creativity, and stage presence. His teaching style is equal parts encouraging, imaginative, and hands-on, with a focus on helping performers make bold choices, trust their instincts, and tell stories with both heart and physicality. As the creative force behind Stage Ten Seventeen, Erick is passionate about creating theatre that is exciting, immersive, and deeply human and about giving the next generation of performers the tools to step onstage with confidence, curiosity, and joy.
WEEK BY WEEK SYLLABUS
WEEK 1 | THURSDAY - JULY 30TH: Ensemble, Confidence & Stage Basics Theme: Getting comfortable onstage and learning how performers use space Skills Covered: Ensemble-building and trust Stage directions and basic stage vocabulary Stage presence and confidence Intro to projection, focus, and performance energy Movement warmups and theatre games Intro improvisation and nonverbal storytelling WEEK 2 | THURSDAY - AUGUST 6TH: Character Through Movement Theme: Building characters from the outside in Skills Covered: Physicality and character choices Gesture, posture, tempo, and status Facial expression and body language Pantomime and storytelling without words Using movement to reveal age, attitude, and personality WEEK 3 | THURSDAY - AUGUST 13TH: Acting Fundamentals & Scene Work Theme: Bringing truth, intention, and connection to a performance Skills Covered: Objectives: what a character wants Listening and reacting onstage Vocal expression, projection, and clarity Scene partner connection Beginning scene work and rehearsal basics WEEK 4 | THURSDAY - AUGUST 20TH: Rehearsal, Polish Theme: Pulling everything together and sharing the work Skills covered: Rehearsal etiquette and performance polish Entrances, exits, transitions, and stage pictures Ensemble storytelling and focus Performance confidence and audience awareness Informal showcase/open studio for family and friends at the end of class SHOWCASE (optional) FRIDAY - AUGUST 21ST 5:00 PM Performer Call | 6:30 PM Doors Open | 7:00 PM Showcase