SILER CITY, N.C. — Jordan-Matthews students interested in theater will once again have an opportunity to expand their acting expertise during the third-annual Spring Theater Workshop organized by JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, and supported by a grant from the Galloway Ridge Chatham County Charitable Fund.

As in previous years, the two-week workshop — scheduled for April 25 to May 6 — will be held after school for about 30 JM students. But this year’s event is a collaborative venture with RhinoLeap Productions, a professional theater company based in Asheboro that draws artists from all over the United States who are committed to performing and teaching in North Carolina.

RhinoLeap Artistic Director Jeremy Skidmore says residencies like the one with Jordan-Matthews can emphasize a wide range of skills — including film, puppetry, music, movement, writing and improvisation — but all allow students to work and create with each other and with accomplished professionals.

This residency will be led by three of RhinoLeap’s professional actors, including Associate Artistic Director Patrick Osteen, who will provide intensive dramatic work for outstanding JM actors and an opportunity for less-experienced students to try their hand at acting and learn more about dramatic arts. The workshop will conclude with participants attending a performance of RhinoLeap’s “Unnecessary Farce” at the Sunset Theatre in Asheboro.

Osteen worked for three years as a puppeteer in Cirque du Soleil’s international tour of “Toruk” and also in the Broadway national tour of “War Horse.” He has taught acting, movement, improv and puppetry to high school students all over North Carolina.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our students to work closely with professional actors,” said JMArts President Rose Pate. “We want them to develop both their acting skills and their overall communication skills, which is important given our ongoing need to strengthen students’ social and emotional learning.”

Because the high school has no theater or dance teacher, JMArts launched its annual spring theater workshop in 2019 to provide outstanding JM actors with an opportunity for more intensive dramatic work and experience in technical theater.

That inaugural workshop, titled “Scene X Scene,” featured weekly, two-hour sessions focusing on working “scene by scene” and concluded with a free public showcase performance demonstrating various acting exercises used during the workshop. The second workshop, postponed one year to last spring because of the pandemic, once again offered more intensive acting instruction, this time leading to a public performance of “The Lottery,” the school’s first live performance after the pandemic shutdown.

This season’s Spring Theater Workshop is being supported by a grant from the Chatham County Charitable Fund, a way for residents of Galloway Ridge and other donors to support local not-for-profits, schools and government agency projects. Last year, the fund awarded 16 grants totaling $100,000.

More information about JMArts, including a schedule of all upcoming arts events and information on membership, is available online at JMArts.org.

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