Professional actress shares secrets of stage with Penn Manor students
December 6, 2018Penn Manor High School students recently got acting tips from a veteran actress who has appeared in several movies, including “Uncle Buck,” and the soap opera “Days of Our Lives.”
Elaine Bromka presented two student workshops at the high school campus Nov. 12 in an artist-in-residence project funded with a $1,050 grant from Penn Manor Education Foundation.
“Acting on Camera,” held in the school’s video production lab, challenged students to read lines on camera and react to critiques from Bromka.
An afternoon session on the high school auditorium stage included a workshop on effective audition techniques and “Making Your Monologue Hot,” during which Bromka coached individual students on improving their performances.
Colin Rost, a Penn Manor freshman, said he used the feedback just days later, when he appeared onstage in the fall play, “Noises Off,” presented Nov. 16 and 17.
“The monologue workshop was amazing,” Colin said. “She really helped me with the school play.”
Working with students, Bromka focused on skills such as posture, voice, confidence and intonations, said John Matusek, director of Penn Manor’s spring musical. “By her reinforcing these little skills, the students were able to deliver a much more polished final product.”
He said the students also benefitted from learning about the world of theater “from a professional’s perspective.”
Bromka has won an Emmy and is a veteran of Broadway, film and television. Her Penn Manor workshops coincided with her performance of a one-woman show, “Tea for Three,” presented Nov. 14 at Millersville University’s Ware Center.
A question-and-answer session was another highlight for students, Matusek said.
“It was fascinating to hear Mrs. Bromka share the stories from her beginning as an actress to becoming the accomplished actor that she is today,” he said.