Act Too Studio

Private lessons, coaching, & workshops for singers & actors in the Pioneer Valley

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In-person lessons now available!

We are now offering in-person lessons to fully vaccinated students. Since singing is such a breath-intensive discipline, all voice lessons will be taught in the upstairs studio, which allows for more space between the student and teacher while singing. Acting lessons will be taught in-person at the studio’s discretion. In-person time slots are limited, so contact us now to reserve your summer slot. We look forward to seeing you!

If you are a new student or a student we have not been in contact with for a while, you will be asked to present your COVID-19 vaccination records in order to begin in-person lessons. Our staff and everyone we live with is fully-vaccinated. No unvaccinated person may enter the studio at any time. Unvaccinated students, partially-vaccinated students, or any student who prefers to do so may continue to study with us remotely.

Our policies may change as local infection rates, new variants, booster recommendations, or other public health considerations require. Thank you for your patience!

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ATS COVID-19 Update

Things are moving fast with this virus. With news of cases in our community, we’ve decided it’s best for all of us to transition to remote lessons only until the situation is better under control. We can offer lessons via Skype or FaceTime, so let us know what you’d prefer! Thanks for your patience and understanding. Stay safe and healthy!

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ATS COVID-19 Arrangements

Hey, all!

We’re starting to put some safety measures in place at the studio. As of today, Bob and Jan will no longer be offering in-person lessons, since they are both at high risk with the virus floating around. Melinda will continue to teach in the upstairs studio, entering from the outside stairs, so there’s no contact with them. You have the option (at this time) of continuing with Melinda in-person, OR moving to Skype/Facetime lessons. This is for VOICE ONLY and only for Melinda. Bob and Jan may also be available, but for remote teaching ONLY. If you are their student, please contact them directly to talk about possible arrangements.

If you want to study with Melinda in person, here’s the protocol:

    • Enter using the outside stairs, which will bring you into the kitchen of the upstairs studio.
    • Wash your hands as soon as you get inside.
    • Please bring your own water bottles, which can be filled at the sink.
    • Come into the main upstairs room, where a music stand will be set up OUTSIDE the recommended 6ft distance, to keep all parties safe.
    • Sing!
    • On your way out, wash your hands again before you leave!

We’ll have disinfectant wipes on hand as well, and will deal with any other issues as they arise, with everyone’s safety in mind!

If you are a student of Melinda’s and would like to move to remote lessons, contact her directly! We will also be sending out details on remote classes we can offer over the next few months!

This situation is in flux. More updates as we have them.

Thanks!

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Help us save Rinaldo!

We’re about to wrap up our third week of rehearsal for our summer production of Handel’s 1711 opera Rinaldo. It’s our most ambitious project to date—a new adaptation of a beautiful classic, full of difficult arias, heart-wrenching emotion, a beautifully queer updated libretto, and seven young singers with their noses to the grindstone while many of their peers are on vacation.

But as glorious as their hard work might be, our project is the most underfunded it’s ever been. We’ve been rehearsing in our own small studio, staging scenes in the front yard, and have yet to secure a performance space we can afford. With production week just a few weeks away, we’re excited, but drowning in uncertainty.

Thanks to your generous donations, we’ve raised over $1500 this week, which means that next week we’ll move out of the yard and into our beloved rehearsal space at All Saints Church! But we still need to raise $3500 more to get us into a performance space and to pay the artists whose brilliance and generosity we rely on to make our productions sound and look the best that we can make them.

Can you help us reach that goal? Even as little as $10 helps move us forward! Click here to donate online. If you prefer, you can also donate by check*.

Thank you for your support!

Act Too Studio Opera Workshop is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non‐profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Act Too Studio Opera Workshop must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” and are tax‐deductible to the extent permitted by law.

*Checks should be made payable to Fractured Atlas, with “Act Too Studio Opera Workshop” in the memo line. Checks may be mailed to Act Too Studio Opera Workshop, Attn: Melinda Beasi, 15 Cottage St. #418, Easthampton, MA 01027. Checks for $1000 or more must be accompanied by a Major Gift Letter.

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Week of Teen Opera, Day 2: “Opera Misconceptions”

Today’s theme in our Week of Teen Opera was “Opera Misconceptions,” for which our teens (and a couple of grownup cameos) submitted videos debunking common ideas about opera. For those who might have missed them, we compiled a YouTube playlist which makes it easy to catch them all in one place! Check it out below, and please consider supporting us during this fundraising week! CLICK TO DONATE.

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Giving Tuesday: Thank you!

Yesterday was #GivingTuesday, and we’d like to thank everyone who came out to support Act Too Studio Opera Workshop! Though we fell short of our goal for the day, we’re hopeful that we can make up that deficit as our Week of Teen Opera continues! Every dollar that was donated yesterday is vital, and we are so grateful to you all. If you missed out on yesterday’s flood of videos, we’ve collected them all here for you!

Each day this week comes with a theme, and for #GivingTuesday, our students recorded video testimonials about what the workshop means to them, and why they think it’s important. Even I got in on the action and recorded my own testimonial about what the *kids* mean to me! Check them out below.

We also received a written testimonial from one student, which I’ll share with you here as well:

So I’ve been sharing a bunch of links to this today, and here’s why I think you should donate money to this cause:

The Opera Workshop is an amazing cause and an amazing opportunity, there is nowhere else that I know of that does what Melinda Beasi does for us. When you search for high school opera schools and programs, none appear that aren’t related to the Met or Universities like Carnegie Mellon. Now, when I first started taking voice lessons at Act Too and Melinda and Janet Klump asked if I wanted to try a classical piece I resisted and worked a tiny bit on an easy little french piece, not giving it any thought. Melinda continued to try to convince me to do classical pieces to which I maneuvered my way out of, and then I saw the Opera Workshop’s production of The Medium. My view of Opera had been shattered and I was shown how amazing this art form was, throughout the next year I worked a little and a little bit more on classical pieces, and a year later, Melinda asked me to officially join the Workshop. It changed my life, I could perceive music in a whole new way, Opera helped me understand the history of the art form, and the importance, as well as the beauty of it.

But why should you donate money?

It is safe to say that Opera is a dying art form, barely any young people have any interest in it. The mission of ATS Opera Workshop, is to bring this huge part of the history of the world back, and to keep it alive, and show people what Opera truly can be. Donate money so that the Workshop can keep putting on productions that will captivate the community and revitalize the art form, as well as help teens find their voice.

– Brayden (16)

Our Week of Teen Opera continues today with “Opera Misconceptions.” Follow us on Facebook to enjoy the videos as they come! And please, if you’re able, consider a donation of any size to help keep this program alive and affordable for all our teens. CLICK TO DONATE.