Rise Musical Theatre
Rise Musical Theatre
Fall 2025 Offerings
Cabaret Musical Theatre Classes
RISE Cabaret was designed to take your artists’ gifts to the next level! In this 12 week workshop style course, students will develop their technical performance skills by studying musicals and musical songs selections from the contemporary canon of musical theater.
Each class will feature training in acting, dance, and voice by RISE instructors who specialize in each of these disciplines.
We will conclude our class with a cabaret style show featuring solos, duets, scenes, and dance numbers from some of our favorite Jazz musicals and songs! Some of our featured musicals The Addams Family, Annie, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Westside Story, Aladdin, and more!
RISE Cabaret Group | Class Day & Time | Dates | Class Link |
Foundation: Ages 7-9 | Mondays @ 4:30pm-6pm | August 18 - November 8 | |
Foundation: Ages 7-9 | Wednesdays @ 4pm-5:30pm | August 20 - November 8 | |
Emerging: Ages 10-14+ | Wednesdays @ 5:30pm-7pm | August 20 - November 8 |
Nutcracker Play
By adding splendid lyrics to a simplified version of Tchaikovsky’s famous score, this unique version of The Nutcracker tells the story of the ballet with all its magic and fantasy… without any dancers!
On Christmas Eve, the mysterious Godfather Drosselmeier presents Marie with an unusual Nutcracker. That night she is awakened by a band of renegade mice, led by the evil Mouse King. The Nutcracker, joined by a Ballerina, Feline Legation, and Mistress Clara, battle the rodents, and Marie defeats the Mouse King by hitting him with her slipper.
The heroes travel to the Land of Toys to rescue Princess Pirlipat from the wicked Mouse Queen. The Nutcracker and the princess are reunited, the curse is broken, and Marie returns home with her toys to celebrate Christmas with her family.
*Please Note*
This is an audition-based performance class. Auditions will be held on September 27th at 10am-1pm and October 5th at 3pm-5pm.
After enrolling in this class, students are required to attend one of the auditions; the audition is the designated time for the RISE Theatre team to meet the students and make casting decisions.
Instructions for reserving a spot for one of the audition dates will be sent out via email upon enrollment.
Audition Details:
- Saturday September 27th @ 10am-1pm OR October 5th @ 3pm-5pm; students must attend one of the auditions
Class Details:
- Ages
- 6-14+
- Rehearsal Times
- 6-8 year olds: 5pm-6:30pm
- 9-14+ year olds: 5pm-7:30pm
- Class Dates
- Thursday October 9th
- Thursday October 16th
- Thursday October 23rd
- Saturday October 25th
- Thursday October 30th
- Thursday November 6th
- Thursday November 13th
- Saturday November 15th
- Thursday November 20th
- Thursday December 4th
- Thursday December 11th
- Dress + Tech Rehearsal Dates
- Friday December 12th @ 5pm-8pm
- Please pack a hearty snack!
- Saturday December 13th @ 10am-1:30pm
- Class lunch included!
- Friday December 12th @ 5pm-8pm
- Performance Dates & Times
- Saturday December 13th @ 1:30pm-2:15pm
- Saturday December 13th @ 5:30pm-6:15pm
- Sunday December 14th @ 3pm-3:45pm
- *Please note: tickets are not included in enrollment & must be purchased separately*
- Tuition
- $400
- Production Fee (costumes, props, scripts, scenic elements)
- $150
Mini Play Series Theatre Class
This beginner-friendly class is designed to introduce the the fundamentals of theatre to students ages 7-12 years old while building confidence, creativity, and collaboration skills.
Over the course of the session, students will learn essential acting techniques including character creation, vocal projection, motivation in blocking, improvisation, and story structure. Students will become familiar with key theatre terminology and practices, developing a strong foundation in stage performance.
The class will culminate in a 15-20 minute mini play, giving students the opportunity to showcase their growth and new skills in front of an audience!
Click the button below to learn more about each of our Mini Play Series classes this semester.
Musical Theatre Dance Class
Students will not only learn the dance steps and movement vocabulary that appear in real musical theatre choreography, but also build stage presence, confidence, and storytelling skills through movement. Perfect for young performers, this class offers a supportive environment where students can shine, have fun, and develop the skills they’ll need for the stage.
Click the button below to learn more about this musical theatre dance class.
Imagine & Play Theatre Class
Specific skills & techniques include:
- Imagination exploration: Learn how to access your imagination through role playing and games.
- Imitation and Recreation: Explore and recreate physical behavior, and movement
- Sound imitation: Listen and reproduce sound to develop receptive communication skills.
- Body awareness: Learn how to use the body in relation to other people in space.
- Expressive Movement: Learn how to use your body to make shape, gestures, pictures and stories.
- Dramatic Play: Learn how to use movement, physical gestures and facial expressions to create a story.
The Improv Club: Sketch Comedy Class
Click the button below to learn more about our Sketch Comedy Class.
Private Acting Lessons
For students looking to truly hone their acting skills, we provide one-on-one acting lessons with our Theatre Program Director, Shenyse Harris, and our Assistant Theatre Program Director, Emmy Harkay.
Private acting lessons allow students to further develop their technique and see much quicker improvement, especially when focusing on specific areas of their craft. Lessons are offered on a semester-basis and meet weekly. Private acting lessons are open to students age 9+.
RISE Musical Theatre Company
The RISE Musical Theatre Company is a distinguished training program within our theatre curriculum, designed for students who exhibit exceptional talent, commitment, and a deep passion for the performing arts.
The program is structured into two tiers: the Foundation Company for students ages 7–9, and the Emerging Company for students ages 10 and older. Both groups receive elevated instruction from experienced teaching artists and guest professionals, participate in exclusive workshops, and engage in a rigorous yet supportive rehearsal environment.
Click the button below to learn more about the company and auditioning.
Our Instructors
Shenyse LeAnna Harris
Shenyse LeAnna Harris is the Director of Theatre at RISE. She is a Houston, New York-based actress, acting coach, and producer. She holds a master’s degree in Acting from Brown University and has been working professionally in New York, and Atlanta since 2018. Shenyse’s acting journey began in Alief ISD. There she learned how vital it is to have art education and equity in black and brown communities. This ignited her passion/mission for theatre education, talent cultivation, and the creation of SLProductions LLC; a multifaceted production company that serves its community through the ministry of theater, film/television, and arts education.
Some of her credits include CBS Blue Bloods, Verizon, Dallas Theatre Center, Trinity Repertory, Virginia Stage Company. Shenyse is very excited to work with the RISE family and is excited to see what we can create together as a community.
Emmy Carys Harkay
Emmy is the Assistant Director of Theatre at RISE. After discovering her love for performing at a very young age, Emmy started performing in fully produced musicals at 9 years old with various theaters all over Houston and started in pre-professional training at Theatre Under the Stars soon after. For the majority of her high school years, Emmy committed full-time to her musical theatre training and completed academic schooling through a homeschool Dual Credit program, obtaining her Associate’s of Arts degree at 17 years old. She then went on to pursue and obtain her BFA in Musical Theatre at Sam Houston State University.
Over the years, Emmy developed an appreciation and passion for directing and teaching, leading her down a path of passing her training and experiences on to the next generation of talent. She is so thrilled that this path led her to the RISE family and is so excited to continue making magic onstage!
Emily Buesing
Since graduating in 2020 with a degree in Theatre and Dance from Lamar University, Emily Buesing has had the opportunity to work in theatre in multiple capacities. Primarily an actress, some of her favorite performance credits include The Importance of Being Earnest (Cecily), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Judy), Luna Gale (Cindy), The Birds (Julia), and most recently, her role as Frau Hilda in The Garden Theatre’s workshop production of While Childhood Slept.
Emily has also had the pleasure of working as choreographer, assistant director, and teaching artist with multiple children’s theatre companies including LiFT, Beaumont Community Players Kidmunity, and AD Players education department.
In the classroom Emily is a compassionate and dedicated teacher that aids in bringing the creative ideas of students to life!
Lauren Orsak
Lauren Orsak is twenty years into a deep love connection with story telling and the stage! Lauren started her work at the age of six, and continued to grow her craft through high school as a student performer with the A.D. Players Academy. Lauren attended and received her BFA in Theatre with an emphasis on Acting/Directing from Sam Houston State, and has had the privilege of working as an arts instructor and actor for the A.D. Players since graduating. A few of her most valued credits include Cinderella (R&H Cinderella), Alice Beineke (The Addams Family), and Judy Hanes (White Christmas).
Lauren draws on her lifelong love of theatre and on-stage experience to teach the next generation of theatre students!
Our Facilities
We offer 3 spacious studios for our musical theatre students to learn and prepare for productions:
- Studio A is 1,500 sq. ft.
- Studio B is 1,200 sq. ft.
- Studio C is 600 sq. ft.
All of our studios feature high ceilings, mirrored walls, and in-wall speaker systems. Studios A & B are separated by a floor-to-ceiling acoustical floating partition that allows the studios to open up into one large performance space for in-house productions complete with theatre curtains and premier theatre lighting.
Studio C is a smaller, fully-mirrored space ideal for our acting classes.
Teaching Methodology
We offer introductory Musical Theatre classes for beginners that teach the foundations of Musical Theatre and beginner terminology. We also offer production classes that give students valuable experience performing on the stage.
Additionally, RISE offers various levels of Acting classes from beginner-level to advanced for students looking to learn practical skills that can immediately improve their performance techniques.