Previous Participants Reflect on the Studio Series

After a brief hiatus, the Studio Series is back with nine performers sharing their art across film, plays, solo performance, poetry, and more! Part of Freehold’s educational mission is to encourage those who study with us to experiment in a performance situation with the process and tools developed in the classroom. As a result, we created the Studio Series: performances presenting work created by current and former Freehold students and faculty. This popular series is intended primarily as an opportunity for students to investigate work in a studio setting, to evolve as an independent artists, and to experience the evolution of the work through the processes of production and performance. 

Before we head into these marvelous new works by our talented students and alum, let’s reflect back on what previous participants have accomplished by participating in the series. 

Farewell, Janae! And hello to...you?

Hello Freehold family! This past year with Freehold has been full of excitement: new faculty, the return of programing, the creation of NEW programming, and just getting to know some truly fantastic people. But all chapters must close. I will be moving on to continue to explore the power of communications in the nonprofit space, and Freehold will as always continue to be in amazing hands! So, on that note: if you or someone you know is passionate about engaging current supporters and sharing Freehold with new communities, check out the Development and Communications Coordinator job description for more information and how to apply.

Playwriting with Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin

Tuesdays, April 5th - June 7th, 6PM - 9PM

I might need a new playwriting origin story. For years now I’ve been regurgitating the same tale: in my undergraduate education, I was tasked with finding a monologue for my exact “type.” As a bigger-bodied queer mixed Asian American nonbinary femme, I scoured the library searching for something that would fit any of my identities, much less all of them. I came away with three takeaways: that I was obsessed with the few works I could find by Asian American playwrights; that roles for me as a performer did not exist substantively within the American canon; and that I wanted to create those roles myself. And so I started writing. 

Solo Performance with Kevin Joyce

Tuesdays, April 5th - May 31st, 6PM - 9PM

I’m delighted to be teaching Solo Performance at Freehold this spring.

I’ve been at this professionally for over 30 years and I still marvel at it, I still quake before going on. And I’m still trying to figure out what makes it work. And that’s what the class will explore.

It’s exciting, terrifying, bewildering, empowering and crazy-making to perform alone. By yourself, on stage, just you to make sense of the space and time of it all, the dynamics, arc, and quality of connection to the moment. Who thought this would be a good idea?