IMPROV FLEDGLINGS

Ages 13-18 | w. Leo Lion

Improv Fledglings is a creative launchpad for teenagers who want to master the art of improvised performance. The class emphasizes the importance of listening, quick thinking, and teamwork in creating spontaneous, hilarious scenes. Led by Leo Lion, host of NYC improv show Scandalton Live, this advanced improv curriculum guides students to develop their unique comedic style, devising characters and stories on the fly, all while having a blast! At the end of the semester, the Fledglings showcase their improved skills in a longform improv performance!

PLAYWRITING NEST

Ages 13-18 | w. Zoe Senese-Grossberg

Young writers learn to craft stories for the stage in Firebird Nest Playwriting Seminar. Workshop participants study classic and contemporary plays, spend in-class time writing their own projects, learn to give generative feedback on each others’ work, and finally have their original plays performed by professional actors in a staged reading festival. Led by Zoe Senese-Grossberg, a National Playwrights Conference semi-finalist, students will hone their writing craft and work to develop their personal creative voice as they learn to tell stories for the stage.

MOVIEMASTER FILM LAB

Ages 13-18 | w. Benny Rendell

MovieMaster Film Lab is a hands-on workshop where teen filmmakers develop practical skills in screenwriting, cinematography, directing, and production design. Students watch and analyze some of the great films of the last 100 years, and complete creative practical assignments to hone their craft. MovieMaster teens have gone on to enroll in NYU Tisch and Pratt Institute, and one of our student films received an award at the RolikiFest international children’s film festival in Moscow. The semester culminates with a screening of an original short film self-produced by the workshop participants.

Plane Shift RPg Club

Ages 13+ | w. Leo Lion & other instructors

Are you a young artist, writer, or performer looking for adventure? Firebird invites aspiring adventurers to join us for PlaneShift Adventures, a series of RPG (roleplaying game) workshops for teen artists. Led by a professional Game Master, teen artists create original characters and devise their own story set in a fantastical world. For fans Dungeons & Dragons as well as roleplaying newcomers, PlaneShift is an opportunity to explore improv, creative writing, and team-based problem solving. Don your armor, down your potions, and join us on an epic adventure!

COACHING & AUDITION PREP (ALL AGES)

Since 2013, Firebird has offered programs and productions that have turned first-time performers into award-winning veteran actors. Now, aspiring young stars of stage and screen have the opportunity to receive private coaching and audition prep sessions with Firebird directors Leo Lion and Zoe Senese-Grossberg. Training in scene study, monologue coaching, voice and movement workshops, public speaking, and more is available by request. Reach out with your needs and book a coaching session today!

Leo Lion is a NYC-based storyteller, educator, and community organizer with ten years of experience as a teaching artist. Since founding The Firebird Project in 2013, Leo has directed eleven Firebird productions (with youth, adult, and multi-generational casts): Down the Chocolate River and Beyond, Expresso, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Treasure Island, Romeo + Juliet, Our Town, R.U.R., The Tempest, Julius Caesar, and An Enemy of the People, Macbeth: Online, and most recently, Rossum’s Universal Robots. Leo also serves as the Associate Artistic Director of Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, and is a six-time recipient of the Outstanding Direction Award from National Youth Arts. Plays by Leo have been produced by Firebird, Downtown Art, and Writopia Lab’s Worldwide Plays Festival.

Leo is a member of the Dramatists’ Guild and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Association. For more info visit www.leolion.com

Zoe Senese-Grossberg is a NY based director, playwright, dramaturg, and teaching artist. She has been the literary director of Firebird since Romeo + Juliet in 2017. Zoe has co-led four summers of theatrical intensives at Firebird from 2018-2023 and has assistant directed, dramaturged, and adapted 6 youth productions for Firebird. Outside of Firebird, she most recently worked as the leading theater teaching artist for NIA Community Services at New Voices Middle School. Her adult directing credits include: The Seagull, R.U.R., At The End Of The World, Hamlet, Orlando, and Twelve Ophelias. Zoe has worked at Powerhouse Theater, the Workshop Theater, Gallery Players, Four Walls Theatre, and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. An alumnus of LaGuardia High School, Zoe is also a classically trained vocalist, accomplished musical theater performer, and proficient folk musician. Zoe graduated Oberlin College with High Honors in English and the Nash Drama Award. Her play, Lay The Bent to the Bonny Broom, was recently a 2023 semi-finalist for the National Playwright’s Conference.

zoesenesegrossberg.com. | newplayexchange.org/users/77555/zoe-senese-grossberg

Benny Rendell is a filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter, and has worked with Firebird for more than 8 years, growing up in their youth ensemble and now performing in the resident company (Boy My Greatness, RUR). He teaches Firebird’s award-winning MovieMaster Teen Film Lab along with Leo Lion. He studied filmmaking for a number of years with Carlo Mirabella-Davis (dir. Swallow, The Swell Season, The Servant) and studied screenwriting with Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia, Homeland, Fellow Travelers). Benny’s films have been selected for film festivals including the Woodstock, Austin, and Williamsburg Film Festivals. A proud homeschool alum, Benny is currently studying Filmmaking and Cinema Studies at NYU Tisch.

Find out more about Benny’s films and his independent production company at mirroruptonaturefilms.com