STAGE TUBE: 'BROADWAY BABIES' Rock It Out!

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Applause Theatrical Workshops was founded in 1995 in an effort to provide a nurturing environment for talented, passionate kids who love to perform. Each week children would come from all over the tri-state area to sing, act, dance, and simply share their passions with each other. In addition to having fun, students had the opportunity to develop their talents, learn the importance of working with others, and generally strive to achieve their goals. Each semester culminated in a production in an Off-Broadway Theater. 

In 2000, Applause decided to spread the magic of Broadway to children of all ages, opening up their "Broadway Babies" program for children ages 6 months - 3 years. "I was taking my 6-month-old to other music classes at the time, and none of them were that exciting," says founder Audrey Kaplan. "So I thought I would write my own class for him and introduce him to the music I love most." And thus, Broadway Babies was born. BWW TV spent the day with the gang at Broadway Babies and learned what it takes to be a "Broadway" babe!

Now, in its 14th year, Applause is proud to be the only music and drama program of its kind that offers classes for children of all ages: Babies (for 0-3 years), Toddlers (3-5 years), and Kids (K-6th grade), Tweens (6th-8th grade), and Teens (9th-12th grade). "The most gratifying thing now," says founder Audrey Kaplan, "is that we're starting to see kids stay with us for many years and move up within our program. We have children that started with us at 6 months who are now performing in our Superstars classes. And we have former Superstars students who now take our intensive weekend workshops at Applause! What's more, many of our teachers are former students themselves. It really is one big family where we all get to share our love for music and theater."

Audrey Kaplan is the founder of Applause Theatrical Workshops, which has been in existence for fourteen years. Audrey attended the Yale Shakespeare program at Oxford University and Carnegie Mellon's musical theater program before receiving her B.F.A in Drama from Tulane University. She then went on to receive her Masters Degree in Education from NYU. In 1995, Kaplan found a way to merge her passions for both education and theater by founding Applause Theatrical Workshops. She has directed over 25 productions at Applause while also coaching many children privately for performing arts schools, colleges, and professional auditions.

For more information visit, www.applauseny.com