• Kevin offers the most comprehensive Musical Theatre training program in Southern Virginia.
• Kevin has worked professionally around the world as both an actor and a musical director. This knowledge gives Kevin a unique objectivity and insight when working with young actors.
• Kevin has coached dozens of actors into Broadway shows, National Touring companies, and regional theatres.
• Kevin's track record for helping kids get cast into local shows is outstanding. It is not unusual to discover that 75% or more of the child actors on stage at Mill Mountain Theatre were coached by Kevin.
• Kevin teaches with a nurturing, self-esteem building flair that makes learning exciting! Kevin is a working professional, not just a “teacher who took classes in college”. He is often employed in professional directing and musical directing positions, as well as professional acting jobs including print work, voice-overs and television commercials.

Training at the studio consists of a well-rounded program that prepares students for professional-level auditions. Your private lessons will include:

• Singing: proper vocal technique will be taught, including breath support, head tone development, and “belting” techniques that will protect your vocal chords.
• Acting: script and song analyses, acting beats, cold reading techniques for audition call-backs, and monologue study will all be interwoven into the lesson plan.
• Dancing: Theatre dance, tap, ballet, and jazz will be incorporated as necessary in the staging of audition and performance repertoire.
• Musicianship: Music theory, sight-singing, ear training, and musical theatre history will all be covered throughout the training process. I am committed to producing educated musical actors.
• Masterclasses and workshops: Two or three-hour masterclasses and workshops are offered every month as part of the training program. These mandatory classes bring together all of the students of the Kevin Jones Performing Arts Studio for a time of learning with, and from each other. Theatre professionals are often invited to the studio to lead coaching sessions and workshops.
• Performance opportunities: I teach a performance-based curriculum, and will create many opportunities for my students to display their skills. Performance opportunities will include our annual Holiday Cabaret, our annual production at the Jefferson Center, and the end of the year studio recital. Other opportunities may include local arts festivals and school tours.
• I arrange for professional headshots to be taken each year for all of my students, as well as the creation of a professional resume and biography. Students are prepared for all professional theatre opportunities!

STUDIO BENEFITS

• 500 square foot teaching studio with theatre lights, dance mirrors and hardwood tap floor. The studio is enhanced with acoustical tiles for soundproofing, and features its own private entrance along with central air and heat.
• Professional pictures and resumes are part of the curriculum, and are included with your tuition. Each student will receive professional 8 x 10 headshots each year.
• Yamaha U-3 piano.
• Home recording studio featuring a Bose system: allows for quality sound reproduction, including burning rehearsal CD's.
• Portable Fender Sound System with Beta SM57 wired microphones and a wireless lavaliere microphone. I also have a weighted 88-key Yamaha professional keyboard for taking on gigs.
• Video Camera equipment. I frequently video tape my students during lessons so that they can receive instant feedback on their performance.
• Digital Camera. I own a 7.2 mega-pixel camera with the ability to record mpeg movies. Everything can be uploaded to the computer and sent via e-mail to casting directors. Additionally, black and white 8x10 headshots (an actors business card) can be easily produced.
• Cakewalk Pro Audio musical sequencing software: assists in creating fully orchestrated accompaniment tracks for student performances.
• Yamaha and Ensoniq Synthesizers: With the transposing capabilities of the synthesizers, I can immediately determine the best key for your song.
• Finale Music notation software: allows me to transpose your music into the most suitable key for your voice, and print it out publisher quality. This means that all songs become available for you to work on, not just songs in those "overdone musical theatre anthologies".
• Music library: I have the most extensive musical theatre library in Southern Virginia (currently in excess of 10,000 songs). And through my connections with theatre professionals in New York, I can get my hands on almost any piece of music, including unpublished Broadway scores. I can arrange to have the music mailed or faxed to me and add it to your repertoire within a week!
• Photocopier: I can take music from my library, copy it, and send it home with you the same day.
• High-speed Internet access: If we need information on a song, composer or Broadway show, I can get it immediately.
• Studio field trips: Performing Arts trips such as New York City, The Stratford Festival in Canada, the North Carolina School of the Arts, the Barter Theatre, and the Blackfriars Theatre, culturally enrich and artistically educate students of the studio.

ENROLLMENT
Enrollment will be considered after a personal audition with the student and a conference with the student and his/her parent(s). Enrollment is understood to apply for the entire year (May 15, 2008-May 30, 2009). Once accepted, the student shall be known as an ENSEMBLE MEMBER of the Kevin Jones Performing Arts Studio. Acceptance into the studio comes with certain obligations. All students must arrive on time, and be present for all scheduled lessons and rehearsals. A yearly calendar will be provided at the May Studio Meeting so that each student may fully commit to the studio program. If a conflict arises regarding studio rehearsals or performance, each situation will be treated as a unique entity and taken into consideration. However, the student must be prepared for the possibility that the conflict will need to be resolved in favor of the studio program. If this agreement is broken, the student may be cut from certain numbers in the performances. If absences, tardiness, lack of effort, or poor attitude become excessive, the student will be asked to leave the studio program. To help avoid conflicts, each student must agree to present KJPAS with a rehearsal and performance schedule prior to accepting any role at Mill Mountain Theatre, Showtimers, Attic Productions, Virginia Western, or your high school. Only after Kevin Jones has approved the schedule may the student commit to the project. This clause exists to benefit you, the student. This is a performance-based studio, and I encourage my students to audition for all area productions. I simply want to help you keep from double-booking yourself and ending up in an unfavorable situation. It is my recommendation that you speak to me in advance of an upcoming audition so that I can ward off a potential conflict before it arises.

Your July tuition payment will go towards the operating costs of the studio (headshots, sheet music, plays, printing expenses, guest directors, etc.). Your August tuition payment will go towards the costs involved with our many performance opportunities. Additionally, each family will be responsible for seeking, and securing, $750 for the Opening Doors Foundation (which produces our annual Jefferson Center Production). This may be in the form of 501 (C)(3) donations, or purchased advertisements in the show program. You may choose to make this tax-deductible donation yourself, or you may secure it from several sources. This fee will be paid in monthly installments along with your first six tuition payments. If/when you secure the funds from outside sources to cover the $750, you will be able to cease making these payments (and receive a refund for the amount that you have contributed thus far).

TUITION
I charge a yearly tuition, which covers 32 weeks of instruction (with a minimum of 130 hours of training), including all rehearsals for the studio performances. Also included in the tuition are professional headshots, résumé's, and biographies for each student, all costs incurred from shipping published and unpublished scores and plays from my sources in New York, all photocopies (sheet music, theory, ear-training, sight-singing, musical theatre history assignments), all vocal warm-up and accompaniment CD's, and a durable binder to store all music and assignments. The first payment is required at contract signing to ensure enrollment in the studio. Subsequent payments shall be due on the fifteenth of each month thru April, 2009. Any payment received after the twentieth of the month will be subject to a twenty-five dollar late fee. Tuition for the 2008-2009 studio Ensemble program will remain unchanged: $250 per month.

MISSED LESSONS
No deduction will be made for missed lessons and no lessons will be made up. Students are therefore encouraged to use the “Lesson Exchange List” (provided at your first lesson) and exchange lesson times with other students when conflicts arise. Please call or e-mail me with as much advance notice as possible when exchanging a lesson, or if you have to miss a lesson. All lessons missed by the instructor will be rescheduled. Please note that I am only available to teach during the regular posted lesson schedule.

INCLEMENT WEATHER
I am always available to teach during lesson times, so the studio will never be closed due to inclement weather. However, the safety of my students is of utmost importance to me. Please call with as much advance notice as possible if you will be unable to attend your lesson due to the weather. In such cases I will make every attempt to reschedule your lesson. I have a four-wheel drive vehicle, and I am willing to safely transport any student to and from rehearsals. Additionally, in the event of inclement weather after a rehearsal has begun, I am willing to feed and house any and all students until the weather is safe enough to drive in.