Acting studio comes to town offering hope to hopefuls

SPARTA — Becoming an actor is a grand dream many have but few are able to achieve. A new window of opportunity has just come to Sparta. With classes starting the week of Oct. 10, Alpine Arts will be giving its students a taste of the New York acting world close to home—offering classes in acting, commercials, TV/film, improvisation, musical theater, acting as a business and more. Classes are taught by current industry professionals. “Alpine Arts strives to provide its students with a solid foundation in the performing arts by focusing on skills and development. Our goal is to find the best approach for each individual in order to develop his or her talent to its fullest potential,” said co-directors Sam and Jennifer Kitchin. “We also offer the information and guidance necessary for students wishing to pursue the performing arts at a more professional level. The directors and staff of Alpine Arts are working professionals in their fields and can offer a unique insight into the performing arts profession.” Jennifer Kitchin said they will be offering a host of classes and since they have many connections in the entertainment business, will also be offering an ongoing series of workshops and seminars with various professionals. Both Sam and Jennifer Kitchin work in the entertainment industry in New York. Jennifer has been a casting director for television commercials for almost 11 years. She has BFA in musical theater from the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music and worked as an actress for about 10 years nationwide. Examples of her work have been seen in commercials for Dr. Scholl’s, Pizza Hut, Crest, Hasbro, HSBC, Aleve, Total, CVS, LensCrafters, Tylenol, and Nickelodeon to name just a few. She performed nationally in shows such as Man of La Mancha, The Fantasticks, Carnival, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Will Rogers Follies. She also toured the country as a director with the Missoula Children’s Theatre, working with thousands of children. She has a strong background in classical piano and has taught privately for a number of years. Her husband Sam is a professional actor. He has worked in all aspects of the business and has been a working actor for over 15 years - not a small feat in the business. On Broadway he was featured in Frozen and Jerry Springer the Opera. Films include principal roles in The Truman Show, Across the Universe, No Reservations, The Hoax, The Messenger, Splinterheads, and Holy Man. You have probably seen him on TV as he has appeared in Law & Order, The Sopranos, Law & Order Criminal Intent, 30 Rock, Whoopi, Third Watch, All My Children, Guiding Light and One Life to Live. He has also appeared in over 70 commercials. The Kitchins met doing a production of Man of La Mancha together. “We’d been living in Bloomfield for about eight years when I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 35,” she said, “This experience prompted us to re-evaluate our priorities and our quality of life. We began searching for the place where we would like to spend the rest of our lives and discovered Sparta. We fell in love with the town and decided to make it our home. Once treatments were completed, we moved to Sparta and we couldn’t be happier. Our daughter, Natalie, just started kindergarten at Alpine school and we are excited to move forward with our lives.” Classes will be offered for students age eight through adult. Among their offerings will be Fundamentals of Acting, TV Commercials, Musical theater and The Business of Acting. Alpine Arts will also be offering private coaching for those with upcoming auditions, those working on a piece for a performance or competition and more. Private sessions are available for monologues, scenes, songs, etc. and voice and piano. Both Kitchins are still working at their professions in the city, but have always wanted to run a school. “We both have experience teaching and love working with students of all ages - kids, teens and adults,” Jennifer said, “For those who are seriously interested in performing, we feel that actors receive a lot of misinformation about the business and that we can really offer some practical information and guidance to students. Of course, if you just want to have fun there is no pressure to do more than that. We love what we do and love sharing it with others. Alpine Arts can be reached at 973-432-7239 or at alpinearts@embarqmail.com. The Web site is: www.alpinearts.org