Harand Academy to Launch at Starland in Deerfield in Jan. 2014

Harand Academy of the Arts, a new non-profit organization providing quality arts education programs in an environment that promotes positive self-esteem, will launch at Starland, 445 N Pine Street in Deerfield, IL, in January 2014.

Harand Academy of the Arts will provide quality arts training in acting, music, and dance, as well as technical theater and production. Classes and live performances will be presented at Starland's beautiful creative arts facility in Deerfield (445 N. Pine Street, Deerfield, IL 60015). The facility includes a 150-seat performance venue, theater classrooms, numerous dance studios, parent lounge, dedicated parking lot, and more.

The inaugural Harand Academy season begins January 6 and includes classes for students grades 7-12, including Acting 1, Fight Well with Others (Stage Combat 1), Book It! (Audition Intensive), and Broadway Rocks! (Musical Theater Intensive), as well as a full-length musical TBD. Additional classes, workshops, and talkbacks for a variety of ages will be offered during future sessions. Plus, a Teen Repertory Company (Name TBD), an advanced, audition-based troupe for grades 9-12, is set to launch in Fall 2014. For additional information and to register visit www.harandacademy.com.

Harand Academy of the Arts was inspired by the original Harand Studios of the Theatre Arts, founded by Sulie and Pearl Harand in Downtown Chicago in 1952. Pearl, a former member of the Chicago Repertory Theatre, taught drama, while Sulie, known for her one-woman interpretations of classic musicals, taught voice. Other staff members included Byrne and Joyce Piven (future founders of the Piven Theatre Workshop), and the future Chicago Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, Lois Weisberg. In 1955 the studio expanded to an overnight summer camp - Harand Camp of the Theatre Arts - which is now based in Evanston, IL and located at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI in the summer. Harand Camp is set to celebrate its 60th Anniversary Season in 2014 and recently received the Program Excellence Award from the American Camp Association.