Speakeysie News Desk — January 11, 2020

Sandy Springs, GA,– City Springs Theatre Conservatory announces the inaugural PRE-PRO AND PRE PRO JUNIOR COMPANIES for middle and high school students–which are selective young artist groups  focused on rigorous, weekly training to prepare the next generation for a career on Broadway, film/tv,  and beyond! Students will be led by Broadway and Atlanta prfessionals with extensive years of teaching  and performing as they train in dance, voice, and acting. Each week, students will train six hours  including weekly ballet and jazz classes as well as group voice and acting coachings.  

Acceptance into the program is by audition only. Auditions take place at City Springs Theatre  Company Studios on Saturday, January 23, 2021 with middle school students auditioning from  10:00am – 1:00pm and high school students auditioning from 2:00pm – 5:00pm. The inaugural  Company classes will begin with a Spring Semester from February – May 2021 and will culminate in a  final performance in May 2021. Specific program details and a link to register for the audition can be  found by visiting http://www.CitySpringsTheatre.com/ProPro 

The Pre-Pro Companies will be led by Company Directors Billy Tighe and Kristine Reese. Alongisde them  are Ballet Mistress Regine Metayer and Jazz Instructor Maya Bowles, whose combined experience  includes Broadway, National Tours, the West End, Off-Broadway, TV/Film, Regional Theatres,  Professional Ballet Companies, concert halls, and arenas across the globe. Weekly curriculum includes  vocal and dance technique, scene study, monologue coaching, self-tape preparation, final performance  rehearsal, and more. 

“From our inception, City Springs Theatre Company has prioritized educaton as the cornerstone of our  artistic efforts,” said City Springs Theatre Company Executive/Artistic Director Brandt Blocker. “I am  extremely proud of the arts education work we have accomplished over these few years, and am excited  to announce the next level of pre-professional training for interested students in musical theatre.” 

Thanks to the Jimmy and Helen Carlos Scholarship Fund and the Sandy Springs Society, financial aid  scholarships will be awarded to students in need. City Springs Theatre is committed to never turning a  student away due to an inability to pay.  

BILLY TIGHE has performed on Broadway, the West End, National Tours, Off-Broadway and many of the  country’s most prestigious regional theaters. He made his Broadway debut in PIPPIN and starred as  Elder Price in the West End production of THE BOOK OF MORMON. He has toured North America in five  Broadway National Tours including: JM Barrie in FINDING NEVERLAND, Fiyero in WICKED, Jean-Michel in  LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, Elder Price in THE BOOK OF MORMON and DIRTY DANCING. He played Anthony  Hope in the critically acclaimed, immersive Off-Broadway production of SWEENEY TODD at Barrow  Street and has originated roles in the upcoming Broadway-aimed productions of HEART OF ROCK AND  ROLL and THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS. As a musical theater coach, Billy specializes in the triple threat  approach. With a career spanning from swing, ensemble, understudy and starring roles he has learned the vital importance of every facet of a production. Training will focus on improving student’s less  confident skills, while brightening where they already shine. Whether it’s song coaching, dance class,  audition prep or scene analysis the goal is building confidence and crafting fully developed characters  and performers.

KRISTINE REESE has performed on Broadway, National Tours, regional theatre houses and concert  venues across the globe. She is best known for playing Catherine on the Tony-Award winning National  Tour of PIPPIN and Nessarose in the original Second National touring company of WICKED. She has also  appeared on the National Tours of FINDING NEVERLAND (Mary Barrie) and MAMMA MIA! and made her  Broadway debut in the 2006 revival of Les Miserables. Regional theatre credits include Theatreworks  Silicon Valley, Kansas City Starlight, the St. Louis MUNY, Music Theatre Wichita and City Springs  Theatre. Kristine has performed as a vocal soloist with dozens of international pop and symphony  orchestras, including the Indianapolis Symphony, the Cleveland Symphony, the Cincinnati Pops and the  National Symphony. As a coach, Kristine specializes in acting through song and vocal technique.  Technical approaches include freeing the voice, connecting to the breath and building the belt. She is  committed to empowering young female singers to find their true voice and sing safely and successfully  in today’s musical theatre landscape. Visit http://www.kristinereese.com for more information. 

REGINE METAYER began her dance training in Port-au-Prince (PAP), Haiti at the Haitian-American  Academy of Ballet & Arts. She was a performing member of the Haitian-American Contemporary Dance  Theater. In 1993, she began teaching and was a faculty member at HAMABA. She is currently a Licentiate  Member of the Cecchetti Council of America, holding three Teacher Examination Certificates. After  graduating from Florida State University where she obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, she  relocated to New York City and studied at Ballet Hispanico. She has performed with Dance Continuum as  a contemporary ballet soloist, Albano Ballet at the Mohegan Sun, Ballet NY, the Brooklyn Ballet Company,  ASEID at the Dicapo Theatre, and performed the role of Tinker Bell in a Hatian production of Peter Pan. In  2008, she joined the Ballethnic Dance Company where she was a member of their professional dance  company for seven seasons. Later, she performed with the World Ballet as a principal dancer, City Gate  Dance Theater as a soloist, and Southern Arc Dance Theatre as a principal dancer. Currently, Metayer is  the Artistic Director and founder of Metayer Conservatory for the Arts and is the Ballet Mistress of Fusion  Dance Company. She is a 2017 School of American Ballet National Visiting Fellow. Apart from her  performance career, she is a certified Pilates/fitness instructor and personal trainer.  

MAYA BOWLES is a recent Point Park University graduate where she majored in Dance, with a  concentration in jazz dance and minor in musical theatre. Over the course of her time at Point Park,  Maya taught community and pre-professional dance classes to dancers in the Pittsburgh area. Classes  ranged from Jazz, modern, theatre jazz, dance fitness, and tap. Maya spent her summers off from school  doing professional theatre with the Atlanta Lyric Theatre, the Strand Theatre, and the MUNY. Those  summers also included choreographing for Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts’  “ComPAny” at Pebblebrook High School. Currently, she is choreographing for Bravo Dance Center and is  teaches private lesson with City Springs Theatre Conservatory. http://www.mayabowles.com 

The Pre-Pro Auditions and Classes will take place at City Springs Theatre Studios (8601 Dunwoody  Place, Suite 136, Sandy Springs). Per our COVID guidelines, acceptance into the Companies will be  limited. Face masks, temperature checks, and social distancing will be required for all in-person  programming, along with following ALL safety guidelines required by health officials and the CDC.

For more details and registration, visit http://www.CitySpringsTheatre.com/PrePro