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wjfetfenijbk september 19 19stp2e markham actor teaches theatre to kids this is the first of a series on theatre for youth in the markham area my tenyear old daugh ter or son is pestering me for acting lessons or to join a theatre group what can you suggest theatre contacts listed with in formation markham have re ceived dozens of calls along those lines in the past few years until now the answer has had to be regretfully nothing now there is something sever al options are open to young peo ple with a theatrical bent one is the acting classes just instituted by a local man who recognized the need for them in the markham working actor john kozak is a professional actor director and producer cur rently at work on alan aldas latest film a new life now shoot ing in toronto and new york he is fresh from the fourmonth run of the highly acclaimed musical company at torontos centres- tage and the national arts centre in ottawa a longtime awardwinning member of markham little theatre kozak last appeared with them in the dining room a year ago his other recent roles on the professional stage were the father in brighton beach memoirs and mushnik in the mar vellously entertaining little shop of horrors last summer he is a veteran of several tv shows and commercials and is a regular on cbcs wayne and shuster spe cials why would such a busy actor be interested in teaching his skills to children the father of two teen- aged sons enjoys working with young people and considers theatre an important part of their education its always been in the back of my mind he says back in the days when i used to be more involved with markham little theatre i did run an acting class for children and a few adults in the upper rooms of the old town hall but then i started getting busier professionally and with out another instructor to spell me i couldnt continue mlt wanted to get involved with childrens theatre but time was a problem members had just enough to spare for the seasons produc tions school in a barn in the wake of phone calls from interested parents over the past three years came a call from sharon russell of lifetime learn ing inc which launched him on his new enterprise lifetime learning is a recreational school of art and music founded by rus sell and her partner lynn howarth housed in an old barn on leitchcroft farm on highway 7 just west of leslie street the school also runs a summer camp and recently added computer reading to its curriculum they offer three 14week courses in theatre arts the first for young children aged 4 to 6 is in puppetry it is designed to stimu late imaginations and encourage selfexpression in creating their own puppets to act out stories his young pupils must visualize the way their char acters look thereby gaining in sight into the importance of cos tume and makeup in character development the two courses in theatre basics one for ages 7 to 11 the other 12 to 16 are similar in con tent but differ in complexity and depth voice and movement exer cises improvisations acting techniques mime and script work will bgotnbjflcd with arfand music as slmjeiksjiiszi makeup costume lighting and set design will be studied because kozak maintains all the best actors understand the other disci plines that get them on that stage theatre emphasis each of the two theatre classes will culminate in the performance of a oneact play for parents and relatives and kozak stresses that the emphasis is on theatre were not preparing anyones child to become a tv star instead he hopes to foster with kids a recent graduate in drama of the university of wind sors school of fine arts furfaro played kozaks son stanley in brighton beach memoirs at the nowdefunct variety dinner theatre eventually they hope to add another two instructors to the staff program most comefrom special schools like montessori and are very bright and imaginative kozak isnt sure why more stu dents from the public school sys tem havent registered i dont think its the dollars he says because its not that expensive probably parents dont know of a childs bent in that area because the child hasnt yet expressed an interest in acting with the theatre courses having begun just last week and the pup petry class yesterday openings are still available interested pa rents may call lifetime learning inc at 7642579 john kozak knowledge and love of theatre that will encourage students to take theatre arts courses in high school geoff young of unionville highs drama department has expressed enthusiasm for his program kozak will alternate instruction with an assistant adam furfaro who he says gets along well barn to theatre plans are also afoot to convert the leitchcroft barn into a fully- equipped 130seat theatre in the new year providing a home base for theatre 48 productions of which kozak is founder and artis tic director its production of the valiant tailor at the markham theatre last christmas drew rave reviews from critics and audience alike in cooperation with lifetime learning theatre 48 hopes to mount a season of childrens theatre each year since train ing was always a part of theatre 48s mandate students from the school will have the opportunity of working with professionals and other seasoned actors both back stage and onstage community access kozak who will combine the roles of artistic director and general manager of the new theatre also sees it as a more ac cessible alternate space to the markham theatre for other com munity groups if all goes well it will be in operation by the spring of 88 not expensive the response to the new theatre school has been good with more than 30 students registered in the chinese village restaurant 4431 hwy 7 west of kennedy authentic qanohz szzqwafl food special meal of the month szechuan spicy shrimps dai doy roy mixed meats vegetables vegetable fried rice 4 4 95 for 2 or 3 persons only 1 1 for reservations call 4790944 how will your child do in school this year we offer special courses designed to 1 help improve performance in all classroom subjects 2 help students acquire the selfconfidence organizational skills and motivation needed to improve academic performance for more information call 2948757 today mmm centre for learning skills suite 203 southeast comer highway 7 and mccowan v count down markham fair boards annual baby contest saturday october 3rd 1987 9 am entertainment tent rules 1 babies must be bom between july 186 and june 30v87 2 babies must be a resident of markham or whitchurchstouffvihe area boundiied by yonge on the west steeles on the south markhampickering townline on the east 3 limited number of entries accepted 4 deadline september 2387 application form baby contest 1987 babies name parents name mhma address phone 0 babies i date of birth sex please submit your application no later than sept 2387 to markham fair baby conlest 12 elizabeth st markham ont l3p 2b4 for more info call cathy lee 2943179 uwm october 1 2 3 4 1987 if something for you and me 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