The mission of the Warner Theatre Center for Arts Education is to provide high-quality and affordable training in theatre arts for all members of the community. The Center is committed to making the arts an integral part of every student’s life and accomplishes this by offering a wide variety of courses,

all taught by a professional faculty. Whether a student is exploring an area of artistic interest for the first time or is seeking more comprehensive training, the Warner Theatre Center for Arts Education is Northwest Connecticut’s premier resource for arts education.

The Warner Theatre Center for Arts Education (WTCAE) was created in 1993 as a means of bringing the world of performing arts to children in the community. The WTCAE began as a small, two-room facility offering after-school enrichment classes in movement and dramatic arts, and has since blossomed into a full-fledged arts education institute for children and adults of all ages. Students of the WTCAE come from all over Connecticut and beyond to explore their creative talents and to discover their artistic potential.

As part of our performing arts classes, we offer a high-caliber dramatic arts curriculum that takes students on a wonderful, hands-on journey through improvisation, character development, movement and scene study. More advanced levels of acting classes explore the various master teachers of the craft, such as Meisner, Stanislavsky, Strasberg, Adler and Suzuki. Branching out from our dramatic arts courses, we also now have a highly-acclaimed dance program which includes Jazz Dance and Hip Hop Dance. In addition to these exciting and fun-filled courses, we also offer Private voice, piano, violin, woodwinds and brass instruments lessons and a Technical Theatre course that teaches students the practical and artistic elements of stage lighting, sound, set design and stage management.

As part of our mission, we are continuously expanding and improving our programs to suit all members of the community, whether they are studying the arts for the very first time or continuing their artistic education to hone their talents. Our programs are led by a stellar faculty who possess local, national and international teaching and performing experience and are trained in communicating their diverse knowledge to children and adults of all ages and levels.

Being a student of the WTCAE opens the door to many fantastic opportunities, including participating in our renowned Young Actors Program, which gives our students the unique privilege of performing on our magnificent Main Stage and beautiful Nancy Marine Studio stage. The Young Actors Program is open only to students of the WTCAE, which makes the experience that much more special.

The WTCAE, Connecticut’s premier performing arts education center, is housed in a brand new, state of the art performing arts education facility, which includes a dance studio, multiple private music studio rooms, and a 300-seat Studio Theatre.  We look forward to sharing our beautiful new Center with you – come see what we’re all about!