It seems ridiculous that parents and children feel so completely opposite when this time of the year comes along. Parents are rapt with desire for all things ‘back to school’ and students are complacent, resigned and even moody (yes…moody!) at the thought  of sitting in a classroom again. Alas- the annual right of passage is [...]

Fortunately, all the awards will not go to Glee! Although I know that many people like the show- we here at YSP want to reconfirm our commitment and our passion for all things spoken…We like the English language and in fact using various dialects and Gibberish in our scene work BUT if we sang during  [...]

So sorry to hear about the elbow injury of young baseball phenom Strasberg in the papers today. He deserves kudos for taking it on the chin and being positive about his recovery. I wish him all the best in his career. Makes me think about the liabilities surrounding Improvisation, Comedy and Acting classes like ours….there [...]

The next time you’re watching a baseball clip on TSN or actually sitting at the ACC watching a real game…Think of the possibilities of catching a home run ball in mid air! AHA! That’s the feeling akin to pulling off a well – crafted improv scene. Yes. That’s what an 11 yr old boy told [...]

I’m not one to brag. Hence , when asked to print some of our testimonials I naturaly feel a sense of unabashed pride with a dose of humility. Pride because I love doing what I do and I’m happy that my teaching style resonates with both Pint size and teen Players…And humility because I never take the [...]

Drama, story theatre, puppets wrapped up in yards of cognitive challenges with both reciprocal and abstract thinking…designed to stimulate and excite any young child! Join Lisa in her specialty area of working with young children in area of drama and imagination and see how they grow ( not just ininches!) Self esteem and concrete learning [...]

Hard to believe that this September will be 23 years since I first started teaching at my own theatre school. The name originated from our first rental of the Old City Hall in North York On Yonge Street ( at Empress) . Mel Lastman allowed me to rent the space for a low fee if [...]

The countdown begins in earnest as parents and teachers and students figure out what wild and crazy things to accomplish before they enter the doors of their school. I asked one  8 yr old Player and she declared that she would climb 5 trees and have a picnic before she returned. I asked my advanced [...]

Is it in our water or in our  hospital birthing rooms or our cycle lanes that meander through the city with no real intent or….Is it in our slightly beautiful Lake Ontario devoid of any potential for ducking one’s head under the surface…or is it just coincidence that 90% of Toronto parents give birth to funny babies [...]

If you sample 25 individuals on the street today ( in spite of the 30 F heat) , yuou will get varied opinions as to why it is or isn’t great that school is on our heels again. I personally am not a huge fan of June ,July and August! I have many womwn friends [...]