WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — The Wichita Theatre opened up enrollment to their new program, The Academy of Performing Arts.

The class starts with basic acting, vocals, and dancing, but owner Dwayne Jackson said he wants to expand to make the classes about much more.

According to Jackson, the classes are not tailored to those interested in just theatre. He said he believes anyone can learn from them.

“The training that we are giving is not just for the stage,” he said. “It is for life skills for individuals, no matter whether you’re wanting to learn [or] to learn to be more comfortable in your own skin.”

Jackson created the classes to be low maintenance and flexible to fit into anyone’s schedule.
The classes will meet once a week for anywhere between three and six weeks.

“We’ll have a first semester, a second semester, and then a summer semester,” he continued. “We will start fairly slow just to see really what all the needs are.”

The theatre wanted to start the program back in 2020, but the pandemic delayed the start to now.

Jackson and the theatre pushed to start the program to meet community demand.

“We started and cast our very first children’s show, which was ‘Aladdin’ in 2006,” said Jackson. “We had 13 kids audition. We just had 100 auditions between the ages of eight and 15 for ‘Snow White’ just a week ago, and we are constantly getting questions from parents ‘How can my kids get involved?'”

To learn how to get involved in Wichita Theatre and The Academy of Performing Arts, visit their website. Enrollment for the Academy opens Wednesday, September 6, 2023.