Mill Race Theatre Company Master Classes

Mill Race Theatre Company Master Classes offers focused sessions in Mastering Music Direction, Audition Techniques, Special Effects Makeup, and Intro to Stage Combat. In Mastering Music Direction, participants work with professional music directors and teachers. In the Special Effects Makeup class, students use provided materials and may also bring their own eyeshadow palettes and brushes to try recreating techniques with their own makeup.

• Ages: 8–18 years old
• Schedule: Single-session master classes ranging from 1.5 to 2 hours
• Price: Mastering Music Direction: $20; Audition Techniques: free; Special Effects Makeup: $20

For Mastering Music Direction, it is recommended that participants bring a notebook, pencil, and highlighter, and a waiver must be signed by each participant or by a parent or guardian for minors. For Audition Techniques, participants bring a 16–32 bar cut of a song they might like to sing, remove shoes to enter the dance studio room, may choose to wear or bring socks, and must have a waiver signed by each participant or by a parent or guardian for minors. For Special Effects Makeup, materials are provided for students to practice, and students may bring their own eyeshadow palettes and brushes if they want to try recreating things with their own makeup.

Mill Race Theatre Company states that, through the power of the theatrical arts, it expands minds, develops character, and instills confidence, and that it nourishes collaborative possibilities to entertain, imagine, and explore. The organization is the oldest community theatre organization in Columbus, Indiana and has produced more than 100 shows since performances in Mill Race Park began with “Bye Bye Birdie” in the summer of 1969. Mill Race Theatre Company has been determined by the IRS to be a non-profit business as defined in Section 501(c)3 of the United States Internal Revenue Code, and its bylaws dated 2/15/2024 are the most recent and were adopted on that date.

Program Manager Brittany Davis (also referred to as Brittany Marie Davis and Brittany Michelle Davis) is an actor, singer, and dancer based in Indianapolis, has been dancing since the age of four, specializes in tap and musical theatre dance styles, and holds a Bachelor’s of Music in Musical Theatre from Anderson University (graduated 2021). Master class instructors include Jenny Gafron, a professional music director and teacher with 20+ years of theatre experience and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education (vocal emphasis) from Millikin University, who currently teaches middle school music and choir in the Chicago suburbs and directs and music directs their annual musical. Another instructor, Riley Carter, is a band director at Geneva High School and Fabyan/Harrison Elementary School in Geneva, Illinois, has seven years of teaching experience, previously served as director of bands at Dixon High School and music department head of Dixon Public Schools, holds undergraduate degrees in Music Education and saxophone performance from Illinois State University (2018), and completed a Master’s Degree in Music Education at Vandercook College of Music in Chicago in summer 2023. Advanced EMT and Primary Instructor Johna Wilson teaches EMT classes and uses moulage (make-up) in EMT instruction to make skills more realistic, and has been teaching EMT classes for about eight years.

Last updated May 14, 2026.