New, Rigorous Norwalk Arts Conservatory Preps Students For Stage And Screen: 'We Don't Walk, We Run'

NORWALK— When Nick Ryan entered Norwalk Conservatory of the Arts' summer program last year, he was a self-described “mess.”

“I was very shy, I didn’t want to get up and perform, I wasn’t confident in my ability to perform, I was comparing myself to everyone else,” said Ryan, 19.

A year later, Ryan is a leader in the summer arts program and will be part of the conservatory’s inaugural fall class of 48 students working toward their associate’s degrees in musical theater, musical theater/dance, or television/film.

Ahead of the start of fall semester, the conservatory is running its pre-college summer program for the second year.

Danny Loftus George, president of the conservatory, said he aims to create a wealth of opportunity and knowledge for students in the summer program.

Helping students grow is a big part of the pre-college program, George said.

“Obviously, improving their skills is huge,” he said. “[And so they] know that they have a place in the industry, to help build confidence and self worth, to have a better understanding of the industry and see if it’s something they want to be a part of.”

A Day In The Summer Program

The pre-college program consists of two separate two-week-long sessions. Last week marked the end of the first session, with 37 students.

Each day of the session, the students wake up in their dorms at the conservatory’s 102 East Ave. campus and walk to the 69 Wall St. campus for breakfast.

They do a community dance warmup, an active stretches, core and cardio, all led by the program’s three resident assistants.

After morning activities, the students head to classes and instruction, said Meredith Walker, director of admissions for the conservatory.

She said the conservatory’s course offerings accommodate different skills across three majors: musical theater, musical theater/dance, and television/film.

Students can take classes for acting in front of a camera, tumbling and stunt work, jazz and tap, voiceover for animation, commercials, and audiobooks, scene study, dancing and singing, among others.

After three to five hours of morning classes, students break for lunch, and return to another three to five hours of classes.

“The program is really designed to give them a taste of what conservatory training would be like, because it’s so different than a traditional liberal arts education,” Walker said. “It helps them decide…if this is the kind of daily rigorous training that they would want to pursue in higher education.”

At the end of the day, students eat dinner and return to the dorms — though they sometimes have extracurriculars scheduled in the evenings, like Broadway shows, bowling or other group activities in Norwalk.

She said the program is open to rising high school sophomores, but the “sweet spot” is rising juniors and seniors. The students come from all over the country, including Kansas, Texas, Florida and California.

Growing In The Program

Ryan is a resident assistant in the summer program and leads activities in TV/film, which will be his major in the fall. He said he loves being an RA in the program and getting to interact and grow closer with the students.

“I love being someone that they can look up to,” Ryan said. “They always feel comfortable coming to me if they have a problem with something or if they need help.”

Ryan said he understands the demanding nature of the program, which he said helped him grow as a performer and person.

“When I left, I had the tools to build myself up and grow into a person that I really didn’t know I could be,” he said. “Because just here I was constantly pushed out of my comfort zone.”

With the skills he developed in the program, Ryan decided he wanted to pursue a post-secondary education at the conservatory.

Pushing And Supporting Students

Ryan said that Danny Loftus George, the president of the conservatory, excels at pushing students out of their comfort zone and being honest with them.

“He’ll just tell it straight up, puts it on the table, what they need to work on and what they can do to make themselves better,” Ryan said.

George said it’s just a part of the job.

“I think you get to a point where you’re like, ‘This is what it is, if you want to do this,’” he said. “‘And if not, then that’s on you.’”

While George approaches his students with constructive criticism, he also recognizes the needs of different students, reflected in the school’s mascot, the tree.

“Artists are similar to trees,” he said. “They grow the same way. They start somewhere and some of them grow faster than others. Some have more longevity than others. But all of them are unique and interesting and require constant feeding to grow to their full potential.”

While he and his husband, Ricky Loftus George, the chair of the dance department, support the students’ growth, he said they also impart a strong work ethic, in line with the school’s motto.

“We don’t walk, we run,” Danny Loftus George said. “It means you can get to the same destination as anybody else. We’re all equal. But if you’re running, you’re gonna get there faster.”