METUCHEN — This fall, back to school means more than just the standard concept of school. Students from age 5 to adult will have the opportunity to take classes in theater, screenwriting, and how to be in a rock band at Metuchen’s Forum Theatre Arts Center.
“Even if kids are not ultimately looking to be performers, [theater] opens up your mind,” said Karin Leone, managing director at the Forum. “It teaches you to think outside the box. It’s huge in building self-confidence. We see kids who come in, who appear to be shy, and they are surrounded by their peers and encouraged to leave their comfort zone.”
The Forum Arts School classes start on Sept. 21 and will be launched with an open house Sept. 2 for people interested in finding out more about the classes, Leone said.
Leone is married to Peter Lowy, owner of the newly refurbished Forum Theatre, which is on Main Street. Lowy also writes and directs shows at the Forum, several of which have toured the country. He will direct “Annie,” a children’s production that is part of the theater school.
Auditions for “Annie” will be held Sept. 3. Rehearsals for the show will run as a weekly theater arts class, with a performance at the end of the session in December, Leone said.
“It will be a full-scale musical with professional actors and with great roles for kids,” Leone said. “We’re not auditioning kids to see if they’re good enough, but to see where to place them in the cast. We’re not looking for top performers. We’re looking for kids that want to have fun and work hard.”
Other classes include story theater, theater games, teen acting and improvisation, and adult scene study. Students interested in the class “mr. RAY’s Train to Rock,” in which former Meat Loaf band member Ray Anderson, also know as mr. RAY of the preschool set, also will audition. Anderson will work with students who are already proficient in an instrument. He’ll put them together in bands and teach them about working together, performing, and other “band” techniques.
Lowy also will teach a class in stand-up comedy, and his class on the music for the young children’s program “Music for Aardvarks” will move to the Forum.
Michael Napolitano, who runs the “Aardvarks” program, will teach a music program titled “Rock Discovery,” in which younger children will be exposed to music from Chopin to the Clash, experiment with a variety of instruments, compose songs and experience playing a variety of instruments.
Once word got out that the Forum planned to begin offering lessons, several teachers contacted them about coming on board, Leone said. Local writer Jana Siciliano will also be one of the teachers.
“We had the luxury of being selective,” Leone said. “We’re converting two old offices into small studios. One will be used for dance lessons, and the other will have a classroom in one part and a small voice studio in the back.”
For more information, contact the theater at Forumtheatrearts.org.