Comedy and Dance Workshops coming to The Biz!

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

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…

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.