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Under the auspices of the Beaumont Recreation Department Jeanette Knight and husband Michael Seneca are bringing dance and theater to the Pass. Jeanette teaches tap dancing. Michael conducts an actor's workshop. Together, they have created a theatrical repertory company, the Beaumont Actor's Studio. The theatrical company and both the dance and acting classes are operated out of the Beaumont Women's Club.
Jeanette is a professional dancer/choreographer with national credits. She last danced in a Reno production of "Mulon Rogue" and most recently choreographed "A funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" in the same city. She will be directing a senior follies show in Carson City this fall. She has danced in and choreographed shows from New York to Chicago to Vegas and she literally wrote the book on getting work as a dancer, "Auditioning In Vegas." Jeanette is also working with the MacCallum Theater in a program which brings the performing arts into Coachella Valley schools.
Michael is a product of Chicago's famous Second City, the same group that produced John and Jim Baluchi, Dan Ackroyd and Gilda Radner. He has performed in some 50-60 plays in New York and Chicago and has taught acting at various high profile schools nationwide.
We are fortunate to have this talented couple in our midst but their arrival in the Pass came under difficult circumstances--the passing of Jeanette's father two years ago.
"We were both working on the two-director play, "The Woolgatherer," at the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago when we got word," said Michael. "Initially, we just came out here to get Jeanette's dad's place up in Poppet Flats fixed up for sale. But we found it to be really nice here, especially the people, so we ended up staying."
"After the hustle and bustle of the Chicago suburbs we really liked the quiet," says Jeanette. "I especially like having the wildlife around. And we had plenty of room for our two Airedales. We still sometimes miss the conveniences of the city but we're pretty well settled-in now"
Once having decided to stay the obvious question was how to make a living here. The dance and acting classes and the theater group are a natural outgrowth of the pair's life in the performing arts. They had done this sort of thing in other parts of the country and saw no reason it couldn't be done here.
"It was slow at first," says Michael. "I only had one student the first few months. But when the Rec. Dept. asked us to become part of their program and we moved into the Women's Club things really picked up. The community's support of the classes has been terrific."
Jeanette's tap class meets on Tuesday nights from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM. It is open to all ages but children too young to maintain their attention for the hour long classes are not recommended. The classes are on-going rather than in a specific series so you can start anytime. Jeanette teaches each student at their own level starting with the basic steps and working up to the more sophisticated combinations. The instruction costs only $25 a month. You can sign-up through the Rec. Dept. (845-9555) or by calling Jeanette directly 849-1385).
"Tap is about rhythm," says Jeanette. "I think we all have a primal urge to make rhythms. And rhythm is what all the hot shows on Broadway are about these days. Shows like Savion Glover's "Bring in the Noise, Bring in the Funk," or "Stomp" and, of course, "Tap Dogs."
Tap has become contemporary again, even hip. It is currently undergoing another resurgence just as it did in the '30s and again in the '50s. The intricate hard-shoe rhythms of the Celtic smash hit "Riverdance" have propelled lead dancers Michael Flatley and Jean Butler to international stardom and the two have carried the popularity of tap around the world with them. Today's Rap music is also all about rhythm.
“Once kids make that connection they really get into it,” says Jeanette. "I have a twelve-year-old boy in the class who's really enjoying it. He's quite good. I even have a step I teach called a Rap Time Step. And we're working an a Paula Abdul number for the presentation the class is doing for the Women's Club meeting in October. But it's not all contemporary stuff, we dance to some of the old standards, too."
Michael's actors workshop also meets on Tuesday nights, from 6:00 PM until the night's work is done. Like the dance classes, the acting classes are on-going so you can join anytime. The cost is also the same, $25 a month. All levels of experience are welcome from beginner to accomplished actor. Michael mentors each at their own level and at their own pace. You can sign-up at either of the phone numbers mentioned above.
"It always amazes me how much talent you find even in a small community like ours," Michael says. "We have students with serious aspirations in the class and some of them have the talent and the discipline to go on to bigger things, but most just have a little flair for it and participate just for the opportunity to perform."
"Acting isn't magic," adds Michael," it's a craft. It has to be worked at the same as you would any other trade or skill. Talent is the least of it. It's developing the discipline to hone the craft that makes an actor. Look at your greats, they all either started out on the stage or went back to it before they achieved that greatness."
Michael and Jeanette's classes, combined with the repertory company, are the perfect combination for developing those disciplines and honing the skills of the trade. In the classes you learn the basic techniques and do the exercises required to perfect them. In the repertory company you do the actual performing that provides the experience to continue to grow as an artist.
"It's wonderful recreation," says Michael, "very stimulating. And you get exposed to great works of art. It also gives you a great sense of accomplishment once you get up on that stage and actually perform."
Once you've developed the basic skills in the classes you can audition for the repertory company which Michael and Jeanette operate together. The company has just wrapped up production on "Adaptations" which concluded its two-weekend run on the 25th.
"Our goal is to create a real repertory company here in Beaumont," says Michael, "the only one in the area. And one that will survive even after we're gone. For the near future we're considering producing Death of Sowkowsky, a comedy called Division Street and several others. We'd very much like to do a Shakespeare-in-the-park series at Noble Creek next summer."
Jeanette Knight and Michael Seneca are dedicated people. They have every intention of making a go of community theater here. They and the Beaumont Actor's Studio are a wonderful new resource for this community and one that should be taken advantage of while the opportunity exists.
"This little theater right here in Beaumont, right here in the Women's Club, belongs to the community," says Michael. "If the people take advantage of it I guarantee you they will have a viable theater. One that will compare with anything west of the Rockies. But the community has to support it. It's not just here for the actors, people have to come to the performances. You might not like every play you see, but if it stimulates your mind, gets you to talk about it, if it exposes you to things you might not otherwise think about, then it's a good thing."
© Gary M. Pinkston, 1998.
