Bucks County Playhouse proudly announces the launch of a bold new summer training initiative: the Playhouse Institute Summer Conservatory, a four-week intensive theater program designed to empower and inspire the next generation of theater artists. The program will run July 7 through August 1, 2025, at Lambertville Hall and is open to students ages 13–18.
Far from a traditional theater camp, the Playhouse Institute Summer Conservatory offers professional-level training in acting, movement, vocal performance, and creative storytelling. Led by a faculty of working actors, directors, choreographers, and musicians, the program places students in an ensemble-driven environment that values collaboration, curiosity, and risk-taking.
“We created the Conservatory to offer young performers a space where they can take creative risks, build confidence, and explore the full potential of what theater—and they themselves—can be. Our goal is to provide an experience that goes beyond memorizing lines and hitting their blocking,” says Michaela Murphy, Director of Education. “The program is about developing voice, movement, and storytelling skills, while also cultivating a mindset that is solution-oriented, receptive, and adaptable. We also introduce students to the business side of the industry—how it works, and how to work it. This is a collaborative environment where imagination is valued just as much as technique, and we’re thrilled to launch a program that nurtures the whole artist.”
Each week of the conservatory explores a different artistic lens—ranging from puppetry and musical mashups to devised performance inspired by pop culture. Students will build original material that blends theater with music, media, and internet culture, culminating in a final presentation for Playhouse producers, family, and friends at Lambertville Hall.
This summer, conservatory teaching artists hail from various disciplines in the arts including Obie Award-winning artist, educator, and actor James Jackson, Jr.; multidisciplinary theatre artist, director, and educator Chad S. Parsons; vocal instructor Meagan Lee Hodson; actress Victoria Ann Scovens (National Tour and Broadway’s “Hamilton”); creator, producer and star of the web series "Whatever It Takes” Johanna Tolentino; dancer and choreographer, Dani Tucci Juraga; and more.
Key Details:
With a focus on inclusion and innovation, the Playhouse Institute aims to build a creative space where students of all levels can thrive. Whether preparing for a future in the arts or exploring performance for the first time, participants will leave with sharpened skills, newfound confidence, and a deeper connection to the power of theater.
The Institute is a natural extension of the Playhouse’s ongoing education program. Quality arts education has a positive and lasting impact on individuals and communities. Bucks County Playhouse Education offers a wide range of classes, workshops, and performance opportunities for students, teachers, artists, and audiences of all ages. Whether you are a seasoned professional, a theater enthusiast, or just looking to have fun while learning a new skill, the program is designed to help the community explore creativity through the arts
Registration for the Summer Conservatory is limited and is currently open on the Playhouse website at BucksCountyPlayhouse.org.
For questions and more information, contact Alexandra Kostis, Education Coordinator at [email protected] or 267-740-2067.
ABOUT BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE
Steeped in a theatrical history that stems back to its founding in 1939 by a roster of theatrical royalty, Bucks County Playhouse is celebrating the twelfth anniversary of its 2012 re-opening and restoration. With more than 75,000 patrons walking through its doors every year, the Playhouse is leading the economic resurgence of New Hope and the surrounding community. In 2014, Tony Award-winning producers Alexander Fraser, Robyn Goodman and Josh Fiedler took the helm of the Playhouse, and it has reclaimed its reputation of attracting Broadway and Hollywood artists. Playhouse productions of “Company” starring Justin Guarini, and William Finn’s “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” were named by Wall Street Journal to its “Best of Theatre” list for 2015. In 2018, the Wall Street Journal again hailed the Playhouse and Artistic Associate Hunter Foster in its Best of the Year listings for its production of “42nd Street” and in 2019 labeled the Playhouse “one of the best regional theaters on the East coast.” Box office records have been repeatedly broken by signature productions of “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story,” “Steel Magnolias” directed by Marsha Mason, “Million Dollar Quartet,” “42nd Street,” and “Guys & Dolls” (all directed by Hunter Foster) and “Mamma Mia!” directed by John Tartaglia and choreographed by Shannon Lewis. The 2023 season was the brightest yet, featuring hit productions of Jonathan Larsen’s “Tick, Tick Boom” directed by Eric Rosen, “Bridges of Madison County” directed by Hunter Foster, who also led “The Rocky Horror Show” starring Frankie Grande. “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” became the top-selling show in Playhouse history. In 2024, more than 40% of the audience was new — flocking to record-breaking productions of “Grease!” and “Anastasia: The Musical.” The creative teams who come to create new productions at the Playhouse are among the most talented artists working in the professional theatre today and relish the opportunity to work on the historic stage where Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, and Jessica Walter began their careers.
