Teens Get Into the Act at CSUN Workshop

Area teenagers have descended on Cal State Northridge this summer for an opportunity to act, sing and dance their hearts out.

The annual Teenage Drama Workshop is drawing 65 students ages 12 to 18 to the CSUN theater building to learn skills ranging from dance movements and acting to speech and vocal techniques.

The Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department has donated $6,000 to the program to sponsor 10 disadvantaged youths.

“Given the cost of living these days . . . the cost [of the workshop] prevents numerous kids from attending,” said Jeffrey Levy, the program’s executive director. “That has disturbed me.”

The other 55 children from the Valley, Burbank and Los Angeles are each paying $750 to participate in the program.

Workshop alumni include actors Mare Winningham and Robert Englund.

The program is open to any teenager regardless of acting experience.

CSUN instructors, high school drama teachers, an actress and a producer will teach the class. Levy said the classes are serious and the students are required to give it their all. “We set the highest standards and the students rise to those standards,” he said.

The six-week workshop ends Aug. 2. The teenagers will put on two performances later this month: “Mazel & Shlimazel” and “Little Red Riding Wolf.” For show times and locations, call the CSUN Student Union ticket office at (818) 677-2488.

Levy said many students, especially the shy ones, seem to change after the six-week program.

“I hear from parents in the fall how [the workshop] has changed their child’s life,” he said. “The child has new confidence and does better in school.”