Studio Playground was formed in July 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lack of access to critical resources for social development during a period of frequent lockdowns created challenges and significant stress for children and families. Our initial goal was to provide a source of connection and empowerment for youth in isolation with virtual classes integrating social-emotional learning with physical acting. At that time, we connected with many students and families all over the country and provided access to meaningful arts education programs.

Studio founders, Matthew Bretschneider and Stefanie Resnick, trained together extensively as actors and teachers with master clown teacher and founder of the Pandemonium Studio, Christopher Bayes. Their collective experience included working as professional actors in film, theater, and television, teaching as adjunct professors for undergraduate theater programs, and extensive experience working with children of all ages. As teachers and theater artists, they were determined to apply concepts based in clown and physical acting to create developmentally appropriate curriculum for children of all ages. Additionally, they sought to develop a training program for actors and performers, approaching movement and physical acting as a holistic and sustainable practice.

In 2021, Studio Playground was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our flagship program, our annual summer camp in Lincoln Woods State Park, provides a unique outdoor theater camp for children in Northern Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts.

Studio Playground now serves over 500 students annually. Our programs include weekly classes for children in Rhode Island, workshops for actors and performers in Boston and Providence, after-school programs across New England, and classes with partnerships which include schools, theater companies, and other nonprofit organizations.

In 2024, Studio Playground expanded its Board of Directors to include experts in child development, social work, arts administration, and financial planning.

Studio Playground has received grant awards from the Rhode Island State Council for the Arts (RISCA) and the Rhode Island Foundation to fund our Craft & Create program and our Performing Arts in Libraries (PAL) program in partnership with Community Libraries of Providence (CLPVD). Our organization is dedicated to fostering community and individual growth for children in Northern Rhode Island by using the performing arts as a mechanism for social change. To read more about our mission statement, goals, and values, please follow the link below: Mission Statement.

To make a donation to our scholarship fund, please visit the link below:Donate.

Matthew Bretschneider, MSW (he/him) is the Artistic Director of Studio Playground. He is an Adjunct Professor at Boston University and has performed with the Huntington Theatre Company, The Flea Theater, Theatre Row, The New Ohio, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Kitchen Theatre Company, and Boston Playwrights’ Theatre. Television Credits include Law & Order: SVU and The Path. Matthew received his MSW from Rhode Island College School of Social Work and has extensive experience teaching theater in clinical spaces, focusing on self-care, empowerment, and ensemble development. Matthew received a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with additional training from The Pandemonium Studio, Movement Theater Studio, and The Clown School. He has trained extensively with Christopher Bayes and has studied physical acting with Norman Taylor, Mary Overlie, Orlando Pabotoy, David Bridel, Gabriel Levey and many more. Matthew has taught physical theater for Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Trinity Repertory Company, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Rhode Island College, University of Rhode Island, and Suffolk University.

matthewbretschneider.com

Education: MSW, Rhode Island College School of Social Work; BFA, Tisch School for the Arts, New York University

“When you’re working on clown as a professional actor, it’s good for flexibility, for range, for emotional intelligence, physical intelligence, and when we offer it to children, one of the concepts we start with is the gift of laughter. Essentially, we’re trying to teach students to be generous with their work. We talk about the health benefits of laughter - the release of endorphins and serotonin, relief from stress. We’re trying to teach them that if they make someone laugh, they’re going to make that person feel better, which in turn may help them live a little longer, and therefore make the world a more compassionate place to live in. If a child is nervous about going onstage, one of the concepts we reiterate to them is that if they make someone laugh, they they’re doing something good for someone else. That’s why we risk it.”

-Matthew Bretschneider, Founding Artistic Director (Providence Monthly, 2023)

Matthew Bretschneider, MSW, LCSW, Chairperson

Elizabeth Henderson, Secretary

Kevin Kelly, Treasurer

Christopher Bayes

Karin Capobianco, MSW, LICSW, PhD

Kimberly Hickey, JD

Stefanie Resnick

Sagree Sharma

Gardner Stratton

Professional Development for Actors & Performers

Description: Get ready to laugh, sing, and make a beautiful ruckus! Studio Playground classes for actors and performers explore the benefits of laughter through movement, performance, and playful improvisation. This class begins with a warm-up as students get out of their heads and into their bodies. The workshop includes physical acting games and performance projects designed to elicit range and flexibility. Students explore ensemble development, kinesthetic response, audition techniques, self-care, and the benefits of laughter, vulnerability, and play.

Professional Development for Non-Performers

Class Description: Get ready to laugh, sing, and make a beautiful ruckus! Studio Playground classes foster skills for teamwork and communication as participants explore the benefits of laughter through movement and playful improvisation. This workshop begins with a warm-up and includes physical acting games and group projects designed to elicit spontaneity and enthusiasm. Participants explore qualities of movement, learn skills for public speaking, and explore strategies for teamwork, communication, and collaboration.

Social-Emotional Workshops for Elementary and Middle School

Description: Studio Playground classes explore the benefits of laughter through movement, performance, and playful improvisation. Our social-emotional workshops program is designed to foster individual growth and community for children in the core areas of self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship skills. Students learn strategies for self-regulation, ensemble support, and self-care through games and activities based in movement, improvisation, and physical acting. Workshops explore themes to support teamwork, empathy, communication, and self-care. Our Social-Emotional Workshops are designed to be implemented as school-based programs to support school-wide efforts to promote skills for self-care, self-regulation, social awareness, and forming positive relationships.

Creating Characters for Ages 5-10

Class Description: Does your little one like to create stories and characters at home? Let’s give them an opportunity to share their imagination with friends! Join Studio Playground for an acting class that invites students ages 5-7 to create a short play using their original characters. All classes begin with a group warm up and physical acting game as students learn the fundamental concepts of voice, body, and imagination. Students explore elements of improvisation, crafting, and group storytelling to bring their characters to live. Each session culminates in a brief performance for friends and family.

Storytelling & Play for Ages 5-10

Class Description: Let’s laugh, sing, and make a beautiful ruckus! Join Studio Playground for an acting class that empowers students to develop confidence and find their voice within an ensemble. All classes begin with a group warm up and physical acting game as students learn the fundamental concepts of voice, body, and imagination. Students explore elements of song, storytelling, clowning, and performance projects. Let’s find that delightful little sparkle of joy and learn to share it with an audience! Each session culminates in a brief performance for friends and family.

Circus Arts for Ages 5-10

Class Description: This class explores multiple aspects of circus arts, including juggling, clowning, hula-hooping, improv, and tumbling. Students learn skills for teamwork, communication, performance, and self-awareness. Please note that aerial acrobatics will not be used. Studio Playground camps explore the health benefits of laughter through movement, performance, and playful improvisation. Our Circus Arts class concludes with a brief performance for friends and family.

Improv Company for Ages 8-12

Class Description: Join Studio Playground for an acting class that empowers students to be adventurous and find their voice within an ensemble. Students learn foundational concepts for improvisation, teamwork, and collaboration. Classes begin with a group warm-up and physical acting game as students apply the actor’s tools of voice, body, and imagination to engage an audience and tell a story. Each session culminates in a brief performance for friends & family.

Page to Stage for Ages 8-12

Class Description: Modeled after Performing Arts in Libraries (PAL), our Page to Stage class applies skills for performance, scripting, and improvisation as students turn a book into a performance. Students bring the words on the page to life through dramatic storytelling and physical acting. Students will learn teamwork and collaboration as they apply the actor’s tools of voice, body, and imagination to engage an audience and tell a story. Classes begin with a group warm-up and movement game. Each session ends with a performance for friends and family.

Play Creation for Ages 8-12

Class Description: This class combines visual arts and performance letting students experience multiple steps of creating a play. Design elements include crafting, prop making, and painting projects as students work together using improvisation and physical acting to bring their show to life. Students perform in an original play with hands-on projects to create props, costumes, and set pieces. Classes begin with a group warm up and movement-based game. Students explore crafting and learn skills for collaboration and problem solving. Each session ends with a performance for friends and family.

Shakespeare & Play for Ages 8-12

Class Description: This class introduces students to fundamental concepts for acting Shakespeare. Using scenes from Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, students explore character development and poetic language while learning skills for collaboration. Each class begins with a warmup, movement, and improvisation game. The session ends with a showcase for friends and family. Please note there is no class on May 12. Happy Mother’s Day! There are a total of 6 classes in the spring session.

Film Project for Ages 8-12

Class Description: In this class, students learn the basics of acting for the camera while building skills for confidence, collaboration, and vocal expression. Each class begins with a vocal warm up and game based in movement and improvisation. Students discover their unique screen presence using physical acting exercises to invent characters, improvise scenes, and create their own short film project. There is an invited screening for friends and family in the last class.

Shakespeare & Physical Acting for Ages 13-17

Class Description: This class introduces actors in middle and high school to concepts for Shakespeare and physical acting. Using scenes and monologues from Shakespeare’s plays, students explore character development, heightened language, and given circumstances while learning skills for collaboration and ensemble development. Each class begins with a vocal warm up and game based in movement and improvisation. Students are assigned material and characters as they work in small groups and receive generous feedback from our teaching artists.

Summer Workshop Series for Ages 13-17

Description: Our summer workshop series provide an opportunity for middle and high school students to explore specific elements of actor training in a series of one-day workshops. Students take a deep dive into monologues, scene study, stage combat, audition techniques, and Shakespeare. Each class includes a vocal and physical warm-up, movement, and theater games. There is an invited showcase for friends and family at the end of each workshop for students to share their work.

Teen Ensemble Class for Ages 13-17

Class Description: This class forms an ensemble for teen actors with weekly classes designed to enhance skills for performance and collaboration. Each 8-week module creates a unique experience, in which students explore audition techniques, contemporary scene study, and monologues. Specialty classes will focus on subjects including Shakespeare, clowning, stage combat, set design, and musical theatre performance. There is a combination of group work and individual instruction as teachers work generously with each student. Students are assigned material and spend time preparing outside of class. Additionally, students are invited to participate in special events, including group trips to see professional theater productions. There is an invited showcase for friends and family at the of each session giving students the opportunity to share their work.

Physical Acting and Audition Techniques for Ages 13-17

This class introduces advanced concepts for audition techniques through movement and physical acting. Class includes a vocal and physical warm-up, games, and performance projects designed to elicit vocal and physical freedom. Physical acting invites students to explore the benefits of laughter through movement, performance, and playful improvisation. In this class, actors learn valuable skills for auditioning and participate in group exercises to build range, flexibility, and self-care.

Summer Camp in Lincoln Woods State Park for Ages 6-12

Camp Description: Studio Playground teaches classes for all ages based in clown and physical acting. Join us for our summer theater camp in Lincoln Woods State Park! Our classes invite students to explore the benefits of laughter through movement, performance, and playful improvisation. Our summer camp embodies the same principles! Students ages 6-12 have a fun-filled week of theater games, arts and crafts, and outdoor activities. Our Create and Perform Program provides hands-on crafting projects as students create costumes and props to bring their original show to life. Each week culminates in an outdoor performance for friends and family. All of this takes place in the picturesque environment of Lincoln Woods State Park in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

Mini Camp in Lincoln Woods for Ages 5-6

Camp Description: Join Studio Playground for our Mini Theater Camp in Lincoln Woods State Park for ages 5-6! Our summer camp embodies the same principles! Studio Playground classes explore the benefits of laughter through performance and playful improvisation. Our Mini Theater Camp in Lincoln Woods State Park introduces children ages 5-6 to performance as they play theater games, enjoy arts and crafts, and learn to collaborate with classmates. Students explore the benefits of laughter through movement and playful improvisation. Each week ends with a brief performance with an exhibition of games and Studio Playground concepts.

Our Performing Arts in Libraries Program (PAL) was established in partnership with Community Libraries of Providence (CLPVD) in 2024. The program integrates theater in the core academic subject of reading to promote skills for literacy and social-emotional development. Using criteria for multicultural children’s literature, Studio Playground teaching artists collaborate with the resident children’s librarian to select a book, which students adapt into a play using movement and physical theater. The program promotes cultural equity and access to arts education for children in Rhode Island by providing free theater programming in public spaces. Children participate in an artistically and academically enriching experience as they bring the words on the page to life through dramatic storytelling and physical acting. The pilot program for Performing Arts in Libraries (PAL) was funded in part by the Rhode Island Foundation Arts in Academics Grant. Performing Arts in Libraries (PAL) is currently offered for Community Libraries of Providence: Wanskuck Library and is funded in part by The City of Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism (ACT).