Los Angeles-based television and film actress Deanna Lund had nothing but praise for the students in Carol Lyn Webster’s class at the Roanoke County Public Schools Center for Performing Arts, at the Burton Center for Arts and Technology in Salem.
“She [Webster] brought me in to teach the film and television aspect of acting to her students, and I’ve never seen such terrific students,” Lund said of her experience with them. “They’re very advanced. She’s done a terrific job with them. I thought all of them were terrific but there were a few outstanding ones, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see their names in lights someday.”
Lund was the kick-off artist to the Performing Arts Center’s 2010-2011 Guest Artist Series, now in its second year. The concept for the center traces its origins back seven years, when then-Roanoke County Public Schools Superintendent Linda Weber presented the idea of merging the specialty education centers scattered around the county public high schools into one facility.
The concept was the brainchild of then associate superintendent Dr. Lorraine Lange, who subsequently moved into the superintendent’s job. “This really was her baby,” says Webster. “She took it over, and has just been very supportive. Last year, when we did ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ at the Jefferson Center, she appeared in our performance [during] the curtain call. She came in as the Chinese mother of the two Chinese brothers.”
Webster, in addition to being in her second year as director of the center, teaches theater at William Byrd High School. The center at Burton “was a natural fit, being a school employee and understanding the rigors of academics, as well as the artistic venue.” The center provides the opportunity for students from all five county high schools to learn dance, voice, and acting skills. “They call it the ‘House of Musical Theatre,’” says Webster, “but we’ve expanded that to include film studies and other aspects.”
Classes for the students are held from 7:30 to 9 a.m., and are rotated so that they study acting one day, dance the next and voice the following day—all during a nine-day cycle. Once their performing skills are developed, the students then begin appearing in productions.
To qualify for admission to the program, students from all Roanoke County schools must pass an audition in the eighth grade. “Students come in and do a song for us, a little bit of a dance movement that we teach them,” Webster explains. “We really look for a potential. We realize that at this level, at eighth grade, they’re not going to know all of the skills that they need to know, so we’re looking for teach-ability potential. We also look for enthusiasm in students … because you have to be willing to get up pretty early in the morning to come in and be here before everybody else in the county, to start learning and start doing those kinds of activities.”
Once classes are finished at 9 a.m., the students then resume their regular studies at their respective schools. To remain in the Performing Arts Center program, they must maintain a C or better average.
The center’s initial production for this year, scheduled for November, will be an evening of original works consisting of monologues and scenes the students themselves will perform and direct. In December there’s the annual “Holi-Dazzle” production, and a full-scale musical is slated for the Jefferson Center in March, with “Swinging on a Star” tentatively scheduled.
April will feature a vocal recital. “Last year, it was themed around the USO,” says Webster. “This year, I think they’re looking at maybe 1950s ballads and rock’n’roll songs. And then, of course, at the very end of the year, our seniors do a “Senior Showcase’ where they create their own piece.” Several students to date have been gone on to study their craft at Shenandoah Conservatory, Roanoke College, JMU, Mary Washington, Penn State, and Marymount Manhattan. Some have done regional work for road shows, professional theater troupes, or worked on stage at Studio Roanoke and Mill Mountain.
“You can be a performance artist who doesn’t necessarily have to train in New York or L.A. to be successful,” says Webster. “If they get the basis of their foundation and get their skill sets at a really good college. Then they can go from there.”
In addition to Deanna Lund (she appeared in the sci-fi show Land of the Giants), other entertainment professionals scheduled to appear at the Performing Arts Center’s current Guest Artist Series include Jeff Howell, a native Roanoker, William Byrd graduate and the Vice President of World Wide Wadio.
Actress Joyce Meadows will also make a return trip to the Performing Arts Center (her credits include the 1950s sci-fi classic “The Brain from Planet Arous” and the television soap operas “Days of Our Lives” and “General Hospital”).
“Bond Girl” Caroline Munro of “The Spy Who Loved Me,” “The Golden Voyage of Sinbad” and “At the Earth’s Core” fame is also a guest speaker. The center is also seeking to schedule additional artists, and will announce them as soon as they’re confirmed. Webster’s father, former Roanoke County educator and principal Dr. Fred Eichelman, has connections to Hollywood actors, and no doubt helped land the special guests lined up.
As for Deanna Lund’s feelings toward the area: “I love Roanoke. It’s like my home away from home.”
Further information about the Center for the Performing Arts can be obtained by contacting Carol Lyn Webster at (540) 857-5000 or (540) 890-3090.
