Exploring different theater lessons available in the buffalo area

Step aside, Idina Menzel. Look out, Sutton Foster. There may be a new Broadway star in the works, and that star could be you.

Working your way to Broadway might take a little while, but there are many ways to get started in and around the Buffalo area. The first step is to take a couple performance classes to either learn the ways of the stage, or brush up from your high school musical days.

Now some people might think that having an acting coach, or taking an acting class, means that you just go into a room and do little skits with some other people, but this is not entirely true.

In keeping with modern times, some coaches offer classes via Skype. Other classes even have you performing right on the stage of Shea's, which has been home to numerous Broadway shows.

The classes don't just teach you how to act either. Some acting coaches, like Frank Rossi, like to think that their class also helps boost people's confidence.

"What I liked best about taking a beginning acting class with Mr. Rossi is that it did more than just improve my acting skills," said Nathan Hamm, a Buffalo State College student. "He really helped me break open my shell, and after I finished his class I felt more confident walking up to people I didn't know, and walking into an audition with my head up high."

Just a 20-minute drive from Buffalo State College, you will find the Walh Performing Arts Studio in Orchard Park. The center offers classes in acting, voice and dance, plus a musical theatre class, which is a combination of the three.

"I think what makes our musical theatre class intriguing is the diversity that is offered," said David Walh, an owner and teacher at the Walh Studios. "Our students have the pleasure of learning choreography, scenes and music from Broadway shows and movies. We don't only teach them, we coach them on how to improve their performing skills."

Classes run from late August through June, and end with a recital to show the hard work students have put in.

Tuition depends on the amount of class hours per week students are enrolled in, and range from $40 to $125 per month. The Walh Studio also offers private voice lessons for $68 per month.

For classes a little bit closer to campus, New York Talent, in Amherst, offers introductory classes in getting started, which exposes to everything from acting to modeling and even etiquette.

The business also offer classes in artist development, modeling and acting, young models program, and performance without barriers.

There are other alternatives for students worried that taking classes while school is in session might be a little too much to handle.

The Greg Natale Acting Studio offers a six-week summer session called "Beginning: Meisner Technique of Acting." Held Monday and Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m., the class has spots for 12 students and costs $575.

"This class is so worth the price," said Jessica Krol, a temp currently working at NYU Langone Medical Center. "I took the summer session with Greg Natale and it was an experience I will never forget. The class is fun, yet only for people who are very serious about acting."

Registration for the Greg Natale Acting Studio is by interview only.

"I have to say this is such an enjoyable class," Krol said. "Greg is such a fun and funny guy, he really makes learning fun. It really helped me get a better understanding of the comedic aspect of acting. All of the previous classes I have taken just seemed so serious."

On top of offering beginner classes, advance classes, weekend seminars, and private coaching, Frank Rossi Studio offers private lessons via Skype. The Skype lessons are $75 per hour and offer basic and advanced acting techniques for stage, film, television and commercials.

"What Mr. Rossi did was give us these character roles that we had to learn, and then we would have to interview each other as the characters," Hamm said. "At first it was hard to stay in character, and it felt almost awkward, but after doing it a couple times it didn't feel awkward at all and it was fun. Now I feel completely comfortable talking to anyone I can find that will listen to me."

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