Young actress selected for apprentice program

WARWICK — Gahlia Greene-Kaufman, 15, of Warwick, was among 50 high school and college students from across the United States selected to participate in the Powerhouse Theater Apprentice Training Program this summer at Vassar College. The program, now in its 23rd year, is a unique collaboration between the prestigious liberal arts college and New York Stage and Film, an established professional theater company that has been staging summer performances at Vassar since 1985. The Powerhouse takes its name from one of three theater facilities on the Vassar campus, a black box theater created out of the old powerhouse building that provided power to the campus for a century. Apprentices in the Powerhouse program choose a discipline and then work alongside theater practitioners for six weeks, observing and participating in the process through which new works are brought to life. More than 50 plays that were developed or premiered at the Powerhouse have gone on to major New York City productions. The Powerhouse Apprentice Company is an integral part of the process. Greene-Kaufman, a student at the Storm King School in Cornwall-on-Hudson, is the youngest member of the apprentice program, which runs through July 29. “She may be the youngest, but she is working hard and she fits right in,” says Tom Pacio, educational director of the program. The training includes three primary components: classes, apprentice company productions, and crew assignments on the professional company productions. The daily acting classes are taught by leading artists in various theater disciplines. The core classes are acting, voice, text and movement. “I am learning so much,” says Greene-Kaufman, who received a partial scholarship to attend Storm King after taking part in the school’s annual “Mad About the Arts” auditions for new students. “It’s awesome.” Last year, her first at Storm King, she performed the lead role of Carnelle in “Miss Firecracker Contest,” and also played Velma in the school production of “West Side Story,” both directed by Harold Heno. Prior to attending Storm King, Greene-Kaufman was a member of the MCC Acting Workshop in Warwick, under the direction of Donna Haley. Greene-Kaufman will appear in two of this season’s Powerhouse Apprentice productions, beginning on Thursday, July 5, with “Ruins,” directed and “soundpainted” by Tomi Tsunoda and Mark Lindberg. Soundpainting is an improvisational technique in which the composer/conductor utilizes more than 750 gestures to silently indicate the type of improvisation desired of the performers. “Ruins” will also be performed on successive Thursdays, July 12, 19 and 26. “It is hard to describe but it is amazing,” says Greene-Kaufman of the soundpainting technique. “I think people will love it.” Greene-Kaufman will also perform in “As You Like It,” by William Shakespeare, adapted and directed by Anthony Luciano, on Friday, July 13, through Monday, July 16. All apprentice company performances start at 6:30 p.m. and admission is free. For information on all Powerhouse apprentice company and professional performances, call the box office at 437-5599 or 437-7235 or log on to http://powerhouse.vassar.edu/season.html.