<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" version="2.0"><channel><atom:link rel="hub" href="http://tumblr.superfeedr.com/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"/><description>**The Performing Arts School Where the Sky is the Limit** 

659 Old Willets Path 
Hauppauge NY 11788 
631-708-9681

www.SoLunaStudioNY.com</description><title>SoLuna Studio</title><generator>Tumblr (3.0; @solunastudiony)</generator><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/</link><item><title>Where has the art gone? </title><description>&lt;p&gt;I was inspired today by a conversation I had to write this entry. Lately I&amp;#8217;ve been putting a lot of thought into why I had the idea to open SoLuna Studio, Why was it so important to me that I open a theater and try and change the world of theater one day at at time? Then today it occurred to me; i&amp;#8217;m trying to break this &amp;#8216;cookie cutter&amp;#8217; image that we have of theater and the arts in general. But with trying to break that mold comes a lot of obstacles. Growing up here on long island, i never truly felt like I belonged. I didn&amp;#8217;t wear what everyone else was wearing, my makeup wasn&amp;#8217;t perfect, my hair was off a magazine page and I always felt like there had to be something more in this world that always trying to fit in. Thats when I moved to the city, and found a world where everyone can be who they are and no one judges. The streets and subways are full of people talking/singing to themselves, dressing &amp;#8216;crazy&amp;#8217;, and being themselves (whatever that might mean). Its at this point that I realized theater is the same way. Theater is not this &amp;#8216;means to stardom&amp;#8217; - its a process. Its a craft - one that is worked on constantly. I always tell my students that being a student of the arts is a never ending learning process. Theres is always something to research, something new to study, something wonderful to learn that you didn&amp;#8217;t know before.  Art is like people, just because it &amp;#8216;doesn&amp;#8217;t fit in&amp;#8217; doesn&amp;#8217;t mean its wrong. I believe that all art is meant to mean something and it is not a road to celebrity. Sure, sometimes it leads there but that should never be the end result. We as a society have built up this idea that only art forms that are &amp;#8216;popular&amp;#8217; are worthy of time. I like to think that theater is not a dying art form and maybe I&amp;#8217;m one of the few people that still believe that it can make a difference that it can stand for something.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;With all this being said, I realize that I fall into this category of being a different type of artist and not conforming to what most think I should do. Granted there is so much in this world I have to learn but I treat everyday like a new learning opportunity.  Working at Soluna as a director and teacher I have learned so much over the past few months. I&amp;#8217;ve noticed that sometimes my directing style is looked at &amp;#8216;lazy&amp;#8217; which I find entertaining to say the least. My style of directing is something that is so basic and I try to find the truth behind every piece that I pick. I tell my actors and students to make choices and see what happens, experiment with the scene,  don&amp;#8217;t worry about where to stand and how to look, most of all - be you, find the truth of the character.  So by allowing truth to be found in work my style is looked at to be lazy, when all i want is for actors to be the truest form of an artist that they can be. Isn&amp;#8217;t that the joy of theater, to create characters that mean something not only to the audience but to you?! I tell my students all the time to find truth in every song and text that they are handed - that theater is so not about standing and looking and singing pretty. The greatest artists of all time I dived into their work  and found ultimate truth and honesty. I don&amp;#8217;t want to watch a play, movie or musical with a bunch of people who are trying to &amp;#8216;show&amp;#8217; me what they &amp;#8216;think&amp;#8217; I want to see - I want honesty. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My mother tells me all the time that I am different type of person - I tend to think thats a good thing (most days). Why would we want the world to be full of &amp;#8216;cookie cutters&amp;#8217;. No one would attempt to change the world. I&amp;#8217;m not at all saying that my way is thinking is correct, all I&amp;#8217;m saying is that in this world where society puts so much pressure on all of every day - shouldn&amp;#8217;t the world where artists play be open and free of judgement. Cant we all learn something from everyone we meet in our life. Yes, now some of you who read this may think I belong is different era where the world was full of hippies and free loving artists, but i say whats wrong about letting a little bit of that history become our present and just love art around us. No art is correct, and no art is wrong - the beauty of art is its freedom to be whatever it wants to be.  I only realize it now, but I learned so much in my years living in the city, it opened me up and allowed me learn that its okay to be different I just have to fight a little harder for what I believe in. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;SoLuna was opened to as a place to allow artists to feel free - to my dying day I will allow that mission statement to be true. I will continue to learn everyday, to open myself up to change, to know that I am not always right,but most of all to stay strong in what I believe.  I hope that the students I teach and the actors I work with open themselves up to free art - not just the this pop culture and celebrity world we consume ourselves in. &lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/20629910265</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/20629910265</guid><pubDate>Fri, 06 Apr 2012 23:06:02 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title>So COMPANY officially opens in 1 week!!! It is a stressful but...</title><description>&lt;img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0a430FMMG1qc0pmro1_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; Company @ SoLuna Studio (March 9-25th)&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0a430FMMG1qc0pmro2_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; Sweet Charity @ SoLuna (April 13-29th)&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;p&gt;So COMPANY officially opens in 1 week!!! It is a stressful but wonderful process. I am currently directing and choreographing Company and Sweet Charity all at the same time and my brain is on “Sweet Company” mode as I like to call it!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Last weekend we raised enough money to get our new lighting equipment so our new row of lights will be on Monday!!! Its nice to know that my actors faces in Company will be illuminated next weekend!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So this week and next week are tech rehearsals for Company and then we open on Friday March 9th. I literally feel like we just started rehearsals a week ago! However my cast is doing a great job and they have over come a few obstacles in their way over the past few months! Overall everyone is working really hard and I could not be prouder of them.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Sweet Charity rehearsals are progressing nicely. Everyone has been working super hard on the choreography and since this is my first huge dance show I’ve choreographed its really nice to see it all coming together and everyone really sweating every week trying to make it all come together.  With this show we are now on our 3rd musical director and I am so happy that even though its late we have found someone that can get us ready for the show! Matt DeMaria came in last week and seriously kicked some butt with the numbers and in one night made HUGE amounts of progress with the cast!   Its nice knowing we have until April to really polish this show since there is a lot of dance and music happening all the same time!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Overall even though rehearsals are crazy (and I’m sleep deprived most days lol) and we are getting close to Spring Showtimes I know that both shows will be great! There has even been a lot of buzz with ticket sales and I have a feeling we will have some sold out shows of Company in the next few weeks so be sure to grab your tickets early and buy them online to make sure you get a seat! &lt;a href="http://solunastudiony.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;a href="http://solunastudiony.eventbrite.com/" target="_blank"&gt;http://solunastudiony.eventbrite.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;-Karen&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/18625096465</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/18625096465</guid><pubDate>Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:35:24 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title>Teaching Body Lang. </title><description>&lt;p&gt;The past few months have been amazing because I&amp;#8217;ve actually been able to be an acting/dance teacher and teach students. SoLuna studio might have opened in September but it took a little while to have students. Now that I am teaching/directing teens and adults on a 6-7day a week schedule life is completely crazy but I&amp;#8217;m loving every moment of it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Let me start with saying how proud I am of my &amp;#8220;Spelling Bee&amp;#8221; cast. The musical went up in the month of January and it went over with amazing success. It was our first teen/adult musical that we tried at the studio and there were a TON of up&amp;#8217;s and down&amp;#8217;s but in the end I was so happy with the end result. During the process I got to watch my teens grow into their characters and adapt to change/chaos and become professionals. It truly was a night and difference from when they walked through my door to the final curtain call. I miss the laughter that filled the auditorium on weekly basis.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Now I am currently working with Louis Hobson on our Musical Theater Workshop Class (Company Class) and it has truly been a learning experience. First off, working side by side with one of Broadway&amp;#8217;s most wanted men is really exciting for me. I am seeing his process and how he approaches different theatrical material. We work very well together and off each other. We both bring different skills to the table. He is great with working them vocally and really finding characters WAY beyond themselves. (Sometimes its hard to get teens age 12-16 to get out of their own head and be bigger than they are). I approach material from a body language stand point since I am a choreographer.  We are working together to have the kids grow as performers. Theater is more than just standing and singing pretty, and that is the hardest thing to get them to understand.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My goal, whether I&amp;#8217;m teaching or directing to get my cast (esp teens) to commit to not &amp;#8216;being cool&amp;#8217;. To really step out of the box and try something new and risk looking &amp;#8216;silly&amp;#8217; or &amp;#8216;stupid&amp;#8217;.  Every other theater on Long Island prides themselves of telling their kids that they are &amp;#8216;perfect&amp;#8217; and &amp;#8216;magic on a cupcake&amp;#8217; - I, however do not teach this way. If you want to study at SoLuna Studio you will work hard every day and you will told what you need to improve and you will overcome fears and weaknesses. I&amp;#8217;d rather loose a few kids who dont want to be told they have to improve than compromise on my mission statement and tell them all they are perfect.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This doesnt even always apply to just my teens, I am finding that even adults have the same problems that a lot of teens have. I never knew how many people dont know their own bodies and how they work and move. When working on Sweet Charity with my adults I spend so much time on body language and character development through dance.  I truly love being a choreographer and helping people grown within their own bodies.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I know that both my teens and adults with grow and strive beyond themselves. One of my biggest joys is watching the final result when you truly see how much everyone grows from the beginning of rehearsals to the end. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Until next time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Karen&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/17669403265</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/17669403265</guid><pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:33:22 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title>SoLuna Studio NEW IndieGoGo.com Campaign to raise $ for light and sound equiptment </title><description>&lt;a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/solunastudiospring2012"&gt;SoLuna Studio NEW IndieGoGo.com Campaign to raise $ for light and sound equiptment &lt;/a&gt;: &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;We are putting on two large spring musical productions and we need your help this winter to help us make our productions look professional and as amazing as they should be!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Putting on productions properly takes a lot of funding and we need your help to help us reach our goal! Our auditorium currently has very limited lighting (only 8 lights) and sound equiptment and we are looking to raise $2000 by the end of Feb 2012 so that we can expand our productions to make them more professional. By raising $2000 by the end of Feb will allow the musical productions of “Company” &amp; “Sweet Charity” to have the finishing touches they need! We have amazing casts in both productions but we need you to help us reach the level that we want to achive! Please donate what you can, every dollar helps! Please visit our website for more information about us and what we do! &lt;a href="http://www.SoLunaStudioNY.com/" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.SoLunaStudioNY.com" target="_blank"&gt;www.SoLunaStudioNY.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Please donate what you can - every dollar counts - we only have until Feb 29th to reach our goal! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Spread the word! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/16237436043</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/16237436043</guid><pubDate>Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:38:09 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title>I stand on a precipice
I struggle to keep my balance
I open myself one stitch at a time
Finally...</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;I stand on a precipice&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;I struggle to keep my balance&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;I open myself one stitch at a time&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Finally yes&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Finally now&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Finally something takes me away&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Finally free&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Finally he can cut through these strings&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;And open my wings&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;- &amp;#8220;Goodbye Until Tomorrow&amp;#8221; from &lt;em&gt;The Last Five Years&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;   I&amp;#8217;m sure many of you know that our very first shows are coming up in the very near future!  We couldn&amp;#8217;t be any more excited!  Our first show ever is going to be &lt;em&gt;The Odd Couple: Female Version&lt;/em&gt; by Neil Simon, which premieres December 2.  It is a HILARIOUS show about two young women, one divorced and one going through a painful and new separation who find themselves rooming together and dealing with their incredibly different personalities.  Florence, (tidy, neurotic, and newly single) moves in with Olive (messy, sarcastic, her ex-husband still has her wrapped around his finger) and the two quickly find that, though they are long-time friends, they may not remain so if they stay living together for much longer!  We have a great cast of eight young local actors!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;   Also coming up is our very first MUSICAL production &lt;em&gt;The Last Five Years&lt;/em&gt;, which was written by Jason Robert Brown, the composer of the hit Broadway musical &lt;em&gt;Parade&lt;/em&gt;.  &lt;em&gt;The Last Five Years&lt;/em&gt; premieres December 9 and closes December 18.  &lt;em&gt;The Last Five Years&lt;/em&gt; is a show featuring one female lead, Cathy, and one male lead, Jamie.  The show follows the couple&amp;#8217;s relationship, starting at the end of the relationship from Cathy&amp;#8217;s point of view and ending at the beginning, and starting at the beginning of the relationship from Jamie&amp;#8217;s point of view and ending at their break-up.  The show explores the progression of love and loss.  The audience sees their relationship bloom into love, through marriage, and gradually fall apart as both of their careers take the forefront. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;   I have the great honor of having been cast as Cathy in &lt;em&gt;The Last Five Years&lt;/em&gt;, playing opposite the incredibly talented Greg Buckheit, a student at Adelphi University, as Jamie.  Greg is not only a Broadway-quality singer, but has amazing stage presence that will keep your tush glued to the seat, your eyes glued to his expressions, and your ears glued to the music.  We&amp;#8217;ve only had one full rehearsal, and we have our next tonight, but I&amp;#8217;m so in love with this show, I can barely even explain.  Anyone who has been through a rough relationship can relate to this show.  Though the time lines advance opposite for the two characters, our lovely director Karen Braun has decided to have us both begin from the top of the relationship and progress to the end together during rehearsal so we can really explore how we feel about each other and why everything gradually begins to unravel.  Our first rehearsal consisted of the first date, songs about growing infatuation, and ended with a wedding&amp;#8230;I felt like Britney Spears.  Our second rehearsal tonight will be the real toughy.  This is where the heartbreak begins, and I have my box of tissues ready. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;   If you want to laugh till you cry, come see &lt;em&gt;The Odd Couple&lt;/em&gt;!  If you want to just plain cry and feel your heart swell (and there&amp;#8217;s a little bit of laughter in there as well) come see &lt;em&gt;The Last Five Years&lt;/em&gt;!  Tickets are available for purchase on our website (as well as tickets for our next upcoming musical, &lt;em&gt;The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee&lt;/em&gt;)  We can&amp;#8217;t wait to see you here!&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/12565062100</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/12565062100</guid><pubDate>Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:06:46 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title>Aly and Jonathan grooving to ROCK OF AGES at the studio one...</title><description>&lt;iframe width="400" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rLcqu96svV4?wmode=transparent&amp;autohide=1&amp;egm=0&amp;hd=1&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;rel=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;showsearch=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;p&gt;Aly and Jonathan grooving to ROCK OF AGES at the studio one night before Halloween!&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/12564568735</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/12564568735</guid><pubDate>Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:52:14 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title>It was so refreshing and awesome working with all different kids of artistic people at theater...</title><description>&lt;p&gt;It was so refreshing and awesome working with all different kids of artistic people at theater company!!  Awesome first meeting!!&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/12351386120</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/12351386120</guid><pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:58:58 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title>Trick or Treat!</title><description>&lt;p&gt;Hey guys!  Halloween is right around the corner!  It&amp;#8217;s this Monday coming up!  Guess what else?  SoLuna Studio is having not one, but TWO Halloween parties!  Here&amp;#8217;s the low down:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Saturday, October 29: ADULT Halloween Party. &lt;/strong&gt; That means 18+.  Come in costume because we&amp;#8217;re going to have some sweet costume contest prizes.  We&amp;#8217;ll have Halloween-themed food and drinks and our dance floor is haunted, for this weekend only (if you haven&amp;#8217;t heard about the SoLuna ghost, check out the latest episode of The Jonathan Chiaramonte Show by scrolling down on the NEWS page)  We&amp;#8217;ll have the return of our ever-popular 50/50 Raffle and the party will include a sweeeet Halloween surprise (no pun intended).  Tickets are $15 at the door and include all the food, drinks, and dancing you can handle.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sunday, October 30: YOUTH Halloween Party. &lt;/strong&gt; Geared towards kids 13 and under, this party allows for a fun and safe environment to celebrate the spookiest holiday of the year.  We&amp;#8217;ll have Halloween-themed food and drinks, a tutorial of the Thriller dance by Michael Jackson, spooky campfire stories, games, arts and crafts, AND trick-or-treating!  Tickets are $10 at the door and include ALL of these things.  Kids 5 and under get in for FREE.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I want to talk for a moment about our auditions for our first production ever, &lt;em&gt;The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee&lt;/em&gt;.  We had an AMAZING turnout! Karen, Jonathan and I were so pleased at the end of auditions that we were jumping up and down with excitement!  I love working with Jonathan and Karen.  We have so much fun together, and we think you guys would have fun working with us, too.  That&amp;#8217;s why I think you should audition for our shows in January.  We&amp;#8217;re doing &lt;em&gt;Seussical, Jr.&lt;/em&gt; (which is for kids aged 7-13), &lt;em&gt;Company&lt;/em&gt; (for adults 18+), &lt;em&gt;Sweet Charity &lt;/em&gt;(for teens and adults 15+) and a teen show that we&amp;#8217;re still in the process of securing, which will be for teens 11-16.  Needless to say, there&amp;#8217;s a chance for EVERYONE to be the star of a show here at SoLuna!  Check our website in December for audition information, but go ahead and start preparing now!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;To wrap things up, don&amp;#8217;t forget to come to one of SoLuna&amp;#8217;s Halloween parties!  They&amp;#8217;re going to be ghoulish fun mwahahahaha!&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/11950259922</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/11950259922</guid><pubDate>Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:53:00 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title>BOO Box</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;On Halloween, the parents sent their kids out looking like me.  - RODNEY DANGERFIELD&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Holy cow!  It&amp;#8217;s almost November!  Time sure flies.  And the end of October means one thing: HALLOWEEN. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays.  I think this is because I was born in October.  I&amp;#8217;m an October baby, through and through.  I love the chance to dress up as someone else and pretend you aren&amp;#8217;t yourself for the night.  I think I like this because I&amp;#8217;m an actor.  That&amp;#8217;s really the main allure of the stage for actors, that they get a chance to be someone different for a while and do things they would never normally do in their own lives.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This, I think, is a reason why theatre is a productive outlet for kids who don&amp;#8217;t feel like they fit in.  I was one of those kids.  I was picked on, like many of us were.  But I could lose myself on the stage and forget about all those mean kids I would have to face the next day at school. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It was about the third show I was in that I really started relating my experiences on the stage to my life.  I began to speak with confidence (as one must do on stage so the audience can understand them); it became easier to memorize spelling words for vocabulary (as I had to memorize lines and lyrics in the musical I was in); and I began to see those bullies for what they really were: actors.  I kind of hate to compare these people to my profession, but that&amp;#8217;s what they are.  Bullies put on a mean facade because they don&amp;#8217;t want to show any vulnerability.  Sometimes, they&amp;#8217;re having trouble at home.  Other times, they lack confidence and must put other people down to bring themselves up.  They act mean because they don&amp;#8217;t know how to act like themselves. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I wish I could tell my fourth grade self this: fifteen years down the road, you won&amp;#8217;t remember the names or faces of those bullies.  Sure, the words will remain, but know that those words came from some root of pain.  In the end, IT GETS BETTER.  &lt;a href="http://www.itgetsbetter.org" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.itgetsbetter.org" target="_blank"&gt;www.itgetsbetter.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A part of me is grateful for those experiences, because they made me into the person I am today.  Cruel words are something I condemn.  I try my best to make everyone feel included in a group.  I&amp;#8217;m definitely not perfect; nobody is.  But I think those experiences I had as a child made me think twice about the way I conduct myself around others today. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I want to tell you all about an organization I truly believe in: Operation Beautiful.  It&amp;#8217;s all about empowering people around you.  Members are encouraged to leave little notes of love for strangers: on bathroom mirrors, in dressing rooms, on door handles, anywhere a little surprise of loving words might make a positive turn in someone&amp;#8217;s day.  Please check out the website, &lt;a href="http://www.operationbeautiful.org" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.operationbeautiful.org" target="_blank"&gt;www.operationbeautiful.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/a&gt; for more information. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Think your child could benefit from theatre as much as I did?  We have classes for youth started in January AND a production of &lt;em&gt;Seussical&lt;/em&gt; (Jr.)!  Check out the information on our YOUTH CLASSES tab for more info.  See you on the flip side!&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/11875137028</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/11875137028</guid><pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:28:01 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title>During our Murder Mystery Dinner the following events...</title><description>&lt;iframe width="400" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bLu1wr8e6dY?wmode=transparent&amp;autohide=1&amp;egm=0&amp;hd=1&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;rel=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;showsearch=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;p&gt;During our Murder Mystery Dinner the following events occurred….. This video camera was found in the office of SoLuna Studio - the actors have yet to be found…..&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/11849229569</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/11849229569</guid><pubDate>Sun, 23 Oct 2011 22:33:24 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title>SOLUNA SPOTLIGHT - Aly Shidlofsky</title><description>&lt;p&gt;Today I am interviewing the lovely Aly Shidlofsky!  Aly is a recent graduate of Adelphi University.  If you came to the opening, you may remember her performing a monologue from Neil Labute&amp;#8217;s &lt;em&gt;Fat Pig&lt;/em&gt;.  She is one of our acting teachers and will be starring in &lt;em&gt;The Odd Couple: Female Version&lt;/em&gt; as Florence and our Murder Mystery Dinner Theater as the over-bearing Mother Of The Groom! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KELLY: &lt;/strong&gt;What made you want to become a teacher?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ALY: &lt;/strong&gt;I was taught by several fantastic teachers in my life who inspired me and molded me into the person I am today.  I want to continue that with the next generation.  I want to inspire them and share my love of the arts with them.  It&amp;#8217;s all about learning and growing!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KELLY: &lt;/strong&gt;When did your love of theatre really begin?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ALY: &lt;/strong&gt;I caught the bug at the age of 3.  My preschool teachers told my mother to get me into acting classes because I was dramatically re-enacting the Power Rangers on the playground.  I began at my local community theater in Plano, TX and haven&amp;#8217;t stopped since!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KELLY: &lt;/strong&gt;What do you think makes SoLuna different than other performing arts studios on Long Island?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ALY: &lt;/strong&gt;SoLuna is giving everyone involved artistic freedom and the chance to learn and grow as actors.  We&amp;#8217;re really starting a family here.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KELLY:  &lt;/strong&gt;That&amp;#8217;s so funny, I said that in my first blog!  Get out of my head!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ALY: &lt;/strong&gt;I&amp;#8217;m always in your head.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KELLY: &lt;/strong&gt;Clearly!  We just had our first read-through of our Murder Mystery Dinner Theater &amp;#8220;Marriage Can Be Murder&amp;#8221; earlier today.  What do you think of the show and the cast?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ALY: &lt;/strong&gt;The cast is obviously fantastic, and so talented and funny-&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KELLY: &lt;/strong&gt;Oh stooop!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ALY: &lt;/strong&gt;The show is going to be very different and entertaining.  You get to see a very talented group of people and eat some yummy food at the SAME TIME!  So why NOT come, right? &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KELLY: &lt;/strong&gt;Right!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ALY: &lt;/strong&gt;It&amp;#8217;s the best of both worlds!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KELLY: &lt;/strong&gt;Dinner AND a show for $45?  That&amp;#8217;s pretty cheap.  And it&amp;#8217;s going to be SO funny AND have audience participation!  Before we go, just tell me one thing you think people should know about Aly Shidlofsky!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ALY: &lt;/strong&gt;I like long walks on the beach and Pina Coladas and men named Eduardo.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KELLY: &lt;/strong&gt;I&amp;#8217;ll keep that in mind.  Want to work with Aly?  Try out for &lt;em&gt;Sweet Charity&lt;/em&gt; and/or &lt;em&gt;Company&lt;/em&gt;, which Aly will be directing in the spring!&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/11544913007</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/11544913007</guid><pubDate>Sun, 16 Oct 2011 18:29:53 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title>Strictly Ballroom</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The erotic forces, the bonds of love and   the communing selves, the freedom from gravity, this is which enthusiastic ballroom dancers   experience.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Copeland and Cohen&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Are you a fan of Dancing With The Stars?  Have you ever sat there and watched Kelly Osbourne twirling around the dance floor in a flashy silk, sparkle-embroidered gown and thought &amp;#8216;I could totally do that&amp;#8217;.  Guess what?  You CAN (BYOBG - Bring Your Own Ball Gown) That&amp;#8217;s because SoLuna Studio is offering weekly Ballroom Dance classes for $10 a person!  That&amp;#8217;s $20 a couple.  Which is basically a steal, because many Ballroom Dancing classes charge upwards of $50 an hour.  It&amp;#8217;s not surprising that Ballroom Dance is one of our most popular classes, currently with six couples and growing.  We also have a wide array of people taking the class, from a group of young adults who are members of a super hip band called Aqua Cherry to middle-aged adults who own their own businesses and come straight from the office.  Will you fit in?  Easily.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I started watching Dancing With The Stars about four seasons ago, and all the forms of this type of dance totally fascinate me.  From the difficult Quickstep to the sexy Samba to the graceful waltz to the Ch-Ch-Ch-Cha-Cha-Cha, there are SO many different dances within the genre of Ballroom Dance.  Each one requires poise, collaboration, and a healthy dose of pizzazz.  YOU can learn all of these things from our Ballroom Dance instructor, Miss Tonimarie.  Toni is spunky, funky, and fun.  Tonight, she is dressed up in a long black dress with a black wool sweater and a gorgeous silver hairband that all us girls in the office were drooling over.  Toni has an infectious energy and a great taste in music, a soundtrack I get to listen to as I man the office.  Tunes by Sinatra and Michael Buble fill the studio, and we love it!  Did I mention we have such a high demand for ballroom dance that we&amp;#8217;re adding an extra class next semester, so we will have TWO classes on Fridays next semester?  So, you think you could spin circles around Lacey Schwimmer and Maksim Chmerkovskiy? Sign-up NOW so you can get a spot!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I also want to mention that we are super excited here in the SoLuna office because we have officially decided to produce &lt;em&gt;Sweet Charity&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Company&lt;/em&gt;, and &lt;em&gt;Seussical The Musical: Junior&lt;/em&gt; in the spring semester!  The awesome thing about SoLuna is we&amp;#8217;re not only giving people the chance to come see these shows, but BE IN THEM!!!  All levels of experience are welcome to participate in the show, by audition only.  Stay tuned for audition info on our page!&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/11455092258</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/11455092258</guid><pubDate>Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:53:12 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title>The Beginning Is The Most Important Part Of The Work</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span class="body"&gt;I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class="body"&gt;Oscar Wilde&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Classes officially began at SoLuna Studio last week!  We&amp;#8217;re now running adult dance and fitness classes, from Hip Hop to Musical Theatre to Ballroom Dancing to Zumba to Yoga.  Basically, any dance form you can think of, we offer it here at SoLuna.  Give us time and maybe we&amp;#8217;ll add Irish Folk Dance, Disco, and A Wedding Reception Survival Class. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#8217;ve spent my whole life taking performing arts classes.  I&amp;#8217;ve also moved around quite a bit, so I know what it&amp;#8217;s like to start at a new school, with new teachers, hoping for the best.  You want to know that your teachers are friendly, qualified, and, most importantly, sane.  Good news: I can assure you totally and honestly that the first two apply to each and every one of our teachers.  Number three&amp;#8230;well, we all have our moments of pure, unadulturated goofiness, but that&amp;#8217;s an added bonus that you get when you pay for classes at SoLuna.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As I said, I&amp;#8217;ve moved around a lot, especially since graduation.  Since completing my college education at James Madison University in Virginia, I&amp;#8217;ve lived in NYC, Washington, D.C., Michigan, West Virginia, and various areas of Virginia.  As exciting as that all is, moving around so much begins to wear on one after a while.  I found myself at the beginning of this year wishing I could find some place where I could get a job that I love and stay in one place for a while.  During the summer, I was working at Camp Chipinaw @ Silver Lake in the Catskills and looking for a job for once camp ended.  I found the ad for teachers at SoLuna on Playbill.com and immediately applied.  I had so much faith in SoLuna that I pretty much moved up to NYC a week before my interview in the hope that I would be hired by them.  Lucky for me, I was hired! &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here&amp;#8217;s what I can tell you about SoLuna (and I know I probably seem bias because I work here, but this is the total and utter truth):  It&amp;#8217;s a home.  It really is.  That&amp;#8217;s what we&amp;#8217;re trying to offer to anyone who wants to be a part of the Studio.  Each and every one of the teachers here is friendly, funny, and SO excited to be starting such a potentially amazing place.  After spending so long wishing I could find some place to settle down, I truly believe I&amp;#8217;ve found it in SoLuna.  And that&amp;#8217;s what we&amp;#8217;re hoping to give to other people.  I can honestly tell you that the teachers here will be happy to be able to pay the rent with their positions here, but money is not the most important thing to them. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I think what I&amp;#8217;m trying to say (insert cheesy violin music here) is that we&amp;#8217;ve already become a family, and we&amp;#8217;ve only just begun.  We want you to join our family, not only because we want to share our love for theatre, dance, fitness, and maybe Irish Folk Dance.  We all have so much fun here, and we think you will, too.  (Dramatic sunset)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Anyway, that&amp;#8217;s all for now.  If you&amp;#8217;re looking for a place to have fun, come to SoLuna!  If you&amp;#8217;re looking for a place to make new friends, come to SoLuna!  If you&amp;#8217;re looking for a place where you can finally express yourself creatively, gosh darn it, come to SoLuna!  I will keep you updated on everything that&amp;#8217;s going on at SoLuna and will have occasional guest blogs from other SoLuna teachers, so check back regularly! &lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/11409406990</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/11409406990</guid><pubDate>Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:04:20 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title>SoLuna Studio is starting a THEATER COMPANY! </title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;SoLuna&lt;/span&gt; Studio is Long Islands NEWEST Performing Ar&lt;/span&gt;ts Studio!&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; We are looking to start a theater company this fall/winter for adults  (18+) and are looking for the best artists Long Island as to offer.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; We are looking for actors, dancers, musicians, writers, directors etc to be a part of our theatrical family.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; Date/Time: Fridays starting in November from 7-9pm.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; We are creating a safe space for all creative types to come and work  together. We will work on our own skills, learn new skills, work on both  new and old material, etc.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.SoLunaStudioNY.com" target="_blank"&gt;www.SoLunaStudioNY.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; 631-708-9681&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; *Auditions will be held on Oct 28th from 4:30-8pm.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;strong&gt;YOU MUST SCHEDULE YOUR AUDITION TIME!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;span&gt; Please send head-shot/resume/cover letter (&lt;span&gt;att&lt;/span&gt;: Karen &lt;span&gt;Braun&lt;/span&gt;) to SoLunaStudioNY@&lt;span&gt;gmail&lt;/span&gt;.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/10777264140</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/10777264140</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:49:37 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title>Dont forget: SoLuna Studio’s Grand Opening Event is THIS...</title><description>&lt;img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrtvfwME5L1qc0pmro1_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dont forget: SoLuna Studio’s Grand Opening Event is THIS SAT SEPT 24th from 3pm-8pm!!!!! &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/10443609610</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/10443609610</guid><pubDate>Tue, 20 Sep 2011 11:38:20 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title>This is just a quick update with the construction. All of the...</title><description>&lt;img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqifxb4fka1qc0pmro1_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; Stage right before floors get done &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqifxb4fka1qc0pmro2_400.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; Large Dance rm with wooden subfloor&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqifxb4fka1qc0pmro3_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; Childrens Room &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqifxb4fka1qc0pmro4_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; Kitchen area &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;p&gt;This is just a quick update with the construction. All of the walls are painted and most of the actual construction is done. Currently this week all of the floors are being put down so its coming along quite nicely!&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/9396623359</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/9396623359</guid><pubDate>Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:55:58 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title>We have a sound booth &amp; stage!!! progress is being made!</title><description>&lt;img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgg76QYrz1qc0pmro1_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; Sound Booth!&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgg76QYrz1qc0pmro2_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; Stage being built!!!! &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgg76QYrz1qc0pmro3_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; STAGE BUILT! &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;p&gt;We have a sound booth &amp; stage!!! progress is being made!&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/9351247498</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/9351247498</guid><pubDate>Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:06:00 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title>MORE construction photos!</title><description>&lt;img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgg3dUQXE1qc0pmro1_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; theater &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgg3dUQXE1qc0pmro2_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; framing for dance rm 3&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgg3dUQXE1qc0pmro3_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;br/&gt;&lt;img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgg3dUQXE1qc0pmro4_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; framing for children rm &amp; dance rm&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgg3dUQXE1qc0pmro5_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; reception area&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgg3dUQXE1qc0pmro6_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; reception desk &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;p&gt;MORE construction photos!&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/9351155511</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/9351155511</guid><pubDate>Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:04:23 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title>Check out the studio prior to construction!!! </title><description>&lt;img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgexknV6m1qc0pmro1_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; Our front door&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgexknV6m1qc0pmro2_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; reception area &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgexknV6m1qc0pmro3_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; what will become 2 rehearsal rooms &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgexknV6m1qc0pmro4_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; what will become the theater &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgexknV6m1qc0pmro5_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;br/&gt;&lt;img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgexknV6m1qc0pmro6_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; handicap bathrooms!&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqgexknV6m1qc0pmro7_500.jpg"/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; entrance way to the theater &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Check out the studio prior to construction!!! &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/9350093110</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/9350093110</guid><pubDate>Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:39:17 -0400</pubDate></item><item><title>SoLuna Website! </title><description>&lt;a href="http://www.solunastudiony.com"&gt;SoLuna Website! &lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/6801170723</link><guid>http://solunastudiony.tumblr.com/post/6801170723</guid><pubDate>Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:37:31 -0400</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
