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Theatre and Canvas

Theatre-&-CanvasSeptember 19th, 7pm at The Biz Academy
You’ll be amazed how artistic you can be when you’re surrounded by good friends and a great teacher! Cost will be $30, and $15 from each canvas goes to support The Biz trip to the Junior Theater Festival. The participants will paint a comedy/tragedy symbol with curtains and other musical theatre stuff! The color can be customized to match your home or office decor. CLICK HERE to reserve your spot online!

Comedy and Dance Workshops coming to The Biz!

The Biz Academy is proud to present two upcoming workshops with two talented performers!

Jeff_Stockberger (Medium)
Jeff Stockberger

Jeff Stockberger will conduct a Comedy Acting Workshop on Monday July 14th from 6-8pm.  Jeff recently starred as Admiral Boom in Mary Poppins at Beef & Boards and has been a professional actor for over 25 years.  He spent 8 years in NYC honing his improvisation and comedy skills as a member of Looz Scrooz Improv Troupe.  More below…

j1 (Medium)Jennifer Ladner will present a Dance Workshop Monday, July 21st from 6-8pm.   Jenni has showcased her singing and dancing talents across the country.  In 2013, she was included in the Top Ten Most Influential Artists in Indiana.  She is co-director and choreographer for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Yuletide Celebration.  More below…

Both workshops are for the first 25 students age 10 and up.  The cost is $20 and you can reserve your spot online.  CLICK HERE

Jeff Stockberger 
A native of St. Louis Mo, Jeff has been a professional actor for over 25 years. Jeff has a BFA in acting from Baylor University. He spent 8 years in NYC honing his improvisation and comedy skills as a member of Looz Scrooz Improv Troupe, and as one half of the comedy team The Stupendous Twins, performing at colleges and comedy clubs all over the east coast. Jeff also worked at the Jekyll and Hyde Club in NYC as one of their “club members”, performing improvised characters for tourists from all over the world.

A member of Actor’s Equity for over 20 years, Jeff has been a resident of Indianapolis for the last 12 years. A regular performer at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre, he has been seen in numerous productions. Roles include Captain Hook in Peter Pan, Lord Evelyn Oakley in Anything Goes, Stanley Banks in The Father of the Bride, Charlie in The Foreigner, Stanley in Run for Your Wife, Robert in Don’t Dress for Dinner, Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Charlie Cowell in The Music Man, Luther Billis in South Pacific, Lank in Crazy For You, Jonathan in Arsenic and Old Lace, among many others.

As a director, Jeff most recently directed The Odd Couple for Actor’s Theatre of Indiana. He has also directed the very popular Smoke on the Mountain series for Beef & Boards, plus numerous children’s theatre productions for the Pyramid Players and will be directing Sleeping Beauty for the Pyramid Players this fall.

A huge fan of comedy and a still avid student of the comedic process, Jeff is very excited to share his knowledge of comedy and character acting with the students of The Biz Academy of Musical Theatre.

Jennifer Ladner
Originally from the Chicago area, where she received her early training, Jenni danced in the companies of the Arizona Ballet Theatre, Dance Kaleidoscope, and the Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre. She has performed with Symphony Orchestras across North America in Sophisticated Ellington Symphony & Swing (with Mercedes Ellington) and is currently performing in Pops Goes Vegas. Credits also include Starlight Musicals, over 30 productions at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre, and as a featured dancer in Symphonic Christmas productions, Galas and Pops Concerts at Carnegie Hall with the Cincinnati Pops, National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, Detroit, Alabama, Indianapolis, Seattle, Portland and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s. She is Co-Director and Choreographer for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Yuletide Celebration and Baltimore’s Holiday Spectacular. Through the Symphonic Pops Consortium Jenni has Choreographed: Broadways Blockbusters, Leading Men of Broadway, Cole, The Beat Goes On: Music of the Baby Boomers, Sandi Patty’s Broadway, That 70’s Showcase, Pops Goes Vegas, Guys and Dolls in Concert, Irving Berlin, Ashley Brown’s Broadway, Hello Dolly in Concert, Hairspray in Concert, On Broadway, The Music of Kander & Ebb, and Anything Goes in Concert!   Through the Consortium, Jenni has worked with countless stars of Broadway and Opera – including Tony Award winners Judy Kaye and Beth Level, long time Phantoms Ted Keegan and Hugh Panero, from Broadway’s Hairspray – Merissa Perry and Paul Vogt, Priscilla Queen of the Desert Star Nick Adams, the original Mary Poppins Ashley Brown, Anything Goes Star Rachel York and many more. She was listed in the Examiner.com’s Top Ten Most Influential Artists in Indiana for 2013. She is on faculty at Butler University and is an Emcee for Cathy Roe’s National Dance Competitions.

Dance Audition Workshop with Buddy Reeder!

Buddy_Reeder_headshot (Medium)The Biz has secured the talents of Buddy Reeder for a one-time Dance Audition Workshop at The Biz on Monday, June 16th from 6-8pm.  The workshop is open to the first 25 students ages 10 and up.  The cost is $20 and you can make your reservation online —>CLICK HERE

More on Buddy Reeder:

BUDDY REEDER (Chicago, IL) has been a dance instructor for over 25 years. Teaching tap, jazz, Luigi and musical theatre dance at various studios and universities around the country. Including: The Intrigue Dance & Performing Arts Center, Columbia College, Roosevelt University, The Lou Conte Dance Studio, Hubbard Street Dance Company Outreach Program, University of Akron, Kent State University, Dance Academy of Libertyville, Rockford College, Lincolnshire Academy of Dance and more.
Buddy’s directing and/or choreography credits include: Mary Poppins (Fireside Theatre), Cats (Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre 2014 & 2009, Broadway Palm Theatres & Little Theatre on the Square), Chicago the musical (Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre), How To Bust a Bully (Little Theatre on the Square), All Shook Up (Little Theatre on the Square), Pump Boys and Dinettes (Carousel Dinner Theatre), Some Like it Hot (Theatre at the Center), High School Musical Jr. / Alice in Wonderland Jr. / Willie Wonka Jr. (Elk Grove Park District), A Night with Harold Arlen (Chicago High School for the Performing Arts), Anything Goes, Annie, 42nd Street and for The Pampered Chef National Convention (featuring the Chicago Bulls drum corps The Stampede) and for Mystique Productions. And Buddy has been Marc Robin’s assistant for the past 10 years!
As a member of The Actor’s Equity Association for almost 20 years, Buddy’s stage credits include: Mary Poppins (Bert), Legally Blonde (Grandmaster Chad/Carlos), A Chorus Line (Larry), Cabaret (Emcee), Cats (Mongojerrie), 42nd Street (Andy Lee), Gypsy (Tulsa), West Side Story (Arab), Xanadu, White Christmas, Thoroughly Modern Millie, All Night Strut and Swing.  His Theatre for Young Audience or TYA credits include: Sleeping Beauty (Prince Hunter), Peter Pan (Lost Boy), The Nutcracker (Jack in the Box) and The Velveteen Rabbit (The boy).