“Every child is an artist…the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.”
-Pablo Picasso

 Hello! Thank you for your interest in Poison Apple Productions!

Whether you are are an experienced actor/parent, or you are brand new to the world of theater, Poison Apple is a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone to explore, imagine, create, and work together.

To the left is a 1 minute video to tell you a little bit about us, and how we began - as a dream of a 13 year old creative mind!

So you’ve got a dramatic kiddo…

Welcome to the club! We truly believe in the quote at the top of the page, and believe that children should all have the opportunity to participate in performing arts to build an appreciation of the form as well as learn the multitude of life lessons being a part of theater arts can provide.

Poison Apple Productions Academy offers a variety of classes to our San Francisco Bay Area community. In the past five years, the Bay Area has seen significant downsizing of performing arts programs in schools and the closing of community theatres due to lack of funds, high rental costs, and dwindling audiences. We at Poison Apple have watched this sad decrease and are always working to continue to provide affordable, accessible theater for all. We believe that theatre changes lives. Theatre is our Tradition. We hope to pass that on.

Our mission is to promote increased participation and understanding of live theater by providing affordable performing arts education and enrichment experiences to youth and young adults as well as affordable access to live theater entertainment for members of the community, including children, families, senior citizens, and differently-abled persons.

We are strongly committed to achieving these aims in a positive, supportive, respectful, and safe environment that encourages learning, creativity, and artistic self-expression for all participants regardless of age, ability, gender, gender identity, ethnic, racial, religious, or social background.

If you are brand new to theatre…

We suggest beginning in our “Apple Seeds Musical Theater Program” for participants ages 5-12 to learn the “Seeds” of theater. This program will give your child (and you) a taste of the experience without the pressures of auditioning, long rehearsals multiple times a week, and a supportive environment that is specifically designed for children to feel successful and confident.

Apple Seeds I: 5-7-Year-Olds

Early elementary-age theater participants learn to work together to achieve theater’s number one goal: to tell the story. In this once-a-week, low-stress recreational class, participants are inspired to love and appreciate performing arts through participation in educational musical comedies. Participants are exposed to the history and language of theater for the first time. They are assigned characters based on the instructor’s assessment of the participant's skills through games and class time, with consideration given to their preferences. They experience the excitement of wearing costumes, building and utilizing props, working with basic scenery, and performing before a supportive and positive audience comprised of their families and friends. Skills gained include practicing empathy, public speaking, teamwork, literacy, building self-confidence, creative problem solving, embracing mistakes, and communication of thoughts and emotions to others. All of this is achieved as participants rehearse one hour a week for eight weeks and perform two fully realized productions for family and friends at the Poison Apple Playhouse.

Apple Seeds II: 7-12-Year-Olds

Our largest program at Poison Apple, Apple Seeds has the most participants throughout the year! First time and returning young theater participants learn to work together to achieve theater’s number one goal: to tell the story. Popular musical theater titles inspire participants to love and appreciate performing arts in a once-a-week recreational class. Participants are reminded/or exposed to the multicultural history and language of theater in this class. They are assigned characters based on the instructor’s assessment of the participant’s skills through games, and a friendly, supportive in-class audition; everyone who is enrolled will take part in the final production. Role assignments are not based on type, as we have always promoted equity, diversity, and inclusion in our programs. 

Once cast, participants rehearse once a week for two hours, memorizing dialogue, blocking, choreography, and music as an ensemble. They perform four fully realized shows for friends and family at the Poison Apple Playhouse, with beautifully designed, specially painted backdrops by local artists, coordinated costumes from an award-winning costume designer, and (pre-COVID!) special effects makeup to transform performers into amazing characters and creatures. Skills gained include practicing empathy, public speaking, teamwork, and literacy, building self-confidence, creative problem solving, embracing mistakes, and communication of thoughts and emotions. Apple Seeds II participants also learn to write take notes and write downstage directions, take personal responsibility, practice organizational skills, engage in peer-to-peer leadership, take constructive criticism with grace, implement notes and direction, and learn to create magic on stage for our community before a live audience.

My child is experienced in theater…

You’re in the right space. We have over 500 children in our Poison Apple Space every “season” (fall, winter, spring, summer) and many of them come from diverse and impressive theatrical backgrounds. While not all schools offer drama programs many have participated in church productions, other recreational summer camps, community theaters, dance or music programs and recitals, and some even come from professional modeling or commercial acting backgrounds complete with agents. What we want you to know as a parent of an experienced actor is that your child is in the right space to be challenged and grow as part of our ensemble company.

Our staff is highly trained in theater Arts holding multiple Masters, Bachelors, Certificates, and Awards between us specifically in Theater Arts Directing, Acting, Design, Technique, and Theory. We love what we do and we have a lot to share.

Apple Shakes: Ages 10-16

This performance class challenges teen and tween performers with the dramatic and comedic material of William Shakespeare under intense and exciting instruction from professional instructors. Participants will be immersed not only in the iambic pentameter of the Bard but will also learn the history, performance style, literary analysis, and contemporary parallels to Shakespeare’s works. Participants will rehearse and perform the plays of William Shakespeare over an 8 month period. The length of the class is essential to appreciate, understand, and memorize the verse of Shakespeare to guarantee a quality experience. Time to achieve mastery of the material and experience success come showtime. The curriculum includes stage combat, clowning technique, physical theater, voice and dialect coaching, character building and analysis, historical research, dramatic deaths, Shakespearean insults, poetic verse, the connection of voice, body, and breath, and physical storytelling. Experience is suggested, but not necessarily required for this class. 

The two-hour class will take place two days a week, (generally October through April) at Poison Apple Academy. This class is taught by one master teacher and multiple guest artists who are qualified to teach their area of expertise with varying degrees of experience, certificates, and credentials in performing arts and education.

My experienced actor won’t stop singing Musical Theater songs…

Sorry (not sorry!) We have two Musical Theater Troupes that are cast by audition that your child will sing their heart out in. Perfect for experienced performers, these audition-only troupes not only produce a high-quality theater production led by highly educated and experienced directors, but they also travel to be adjudicated by industry professionals at the Junior Theater Festival (JTF) West in February, and Texas in Spring!

Apple Players - 9-14 year olds / Apple Teens 13-18 year olds

Participants audition for these productions and are expected to commit to the full rehearsal and performance schedule. Although they only rehearse twice a week, the caliber of the final performance makes the four to six-month rehearsal process imperative because of the professional quality of the productions, which perform at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, with 4 performances each. Participants experience a high level of learning technique in styles of dance (musical theater, jazz, hip hop, tap, modern, ballet, contemporary), music, and acting (classic, contemporary, musical theater, physical, clowning, stage combat, voice and dialect, and more.) Participants practice the skills and values taught in our younger programs; kindness, and inclusion, mutual support, personal responsibility, organization, communication, and peer leadership as well as skills in performing arts. These participants become masters at accepting constructive criticism with grace and implementing notes and direction. This program develops a sense of comradery and community, stronger than other programs because of the rigor and love of performance the participants share. The cherry on top of these programs is the experience of attending the Junior Theater Festival, which occurs over a weekend and is the largest international Musical Theater Festival for youth performers. At JTF, our performers have been award-winning and celebrated for their hard work and love of performing arts.

AT JTF, participants meet other musical theater-loving youth from around the world and receive feedback from Broadway Professionals in the adjudication of their performance and in musical theater workshops in acting, singing, and dance. This program is the “carrot” for many of our younger program participants as they see the larger productions and dream of getting there themselves.

My child is very creative and very interested in theater, but not in being onstage…

This is actually a common predicament, and we DO have a program offering to meet these needs! Our Theater makers program is almost as old as we are!

Theater Makers (which began as Young Writers and Directors) is a collection of classes that allows students to learn how theater is made!  The experience begins with a Playwriting class for ages 10-20, in which participants write an original one-act play in the fall, which will be produced in the spring. Next, young directors learn the art of directing and then bring the plays to life with young actors for the world premiere!  Participants also take part in the design and development of the production as a whole - the making of theater!

Participants choose their specialty (writing, directing, acting) and work together, guided and supported by industry professionals, to create theater! Skills learned include the format of a play, character development, the construction of a story, scriptwriting, literacy, communication, leadership, a positive group project experience, organizational skills, working with deadlines, giving and receiving feedback, theatrical design, and construction in scenery/costume design/properties/sound/lighting design.  The experience concludes with the satisfaction of a fully realized final project that is youth conceived, created, produced, and brought to life.

Want something we don’t offer? Let us know! We’re constantly growing!

We’re ready to audition and perform the big shows at the Playhouse and Lesher Center for the Arts!

Where Art and Education come together to further our mission and challenge performers, audience, and artists alike! Our Main Stage Shows are cast by audition only and are the largest productions of the year for our company.  While we must charge a participation fee for youth, adults DO NOT “pay to play”; everyone who participates is expected to volunteer outside of rehearsals as part of their commitment and contribution to the process; this usually ends up being the most fun and rewarding part of the production for many adults and youth alike because it is where much of the comradery and ownership of the production develops.

Mainstage Shows Range in age from 5-100! Everyone is welcome to audition.

Themes and subject matter for this program range from Disney musicals to historical dramas and period pieces and are constructed into a themed season that is timely and relevant to our community. The goal of the main stage program is to bring our community together to listen, learn, inspire minds, change hearts, and celebrate our humanity together through the magic of theater.

“It’s communication - that’s
what theatre is all about!”
-Chita Rivera

Communicate with us! Use the form below to contact us regarding your questions about classes, auditions, shows, and more! We love making new friends and welcoming your family to our community of storytellers!