TRAIN

TRAIN College Prep Intensive 

Inquiries for the TRAIN College Prep Intensive are now being accepted for Spring 2025. Please contact lainesatterfeld7@gmail.com.

Ages: Rising Juniors and Seniors
Schedule: Wednesdays 5-7pm: April 9, 16, 23, 30, May 7, 14, 21, 28
Location: RPAA inside the Dominion Energy Arts Center on downtown Richmond, VA
Cost: $950

Program Details: Early preparation is essential when auditioning for college. Doing your research and knowing what to expect will give you the inside edge. This course will include:

• Individualized interviews

• Audition requirements for your selected colleges

• Monologue / Song selections

• Interview preparation

• Personalized coaching

• Audition techniques

• Mock auditions

Our students have matriculated to prestigious programs at Carnegie Mellon, NYU, Columbia, Ithaca, Northwestern, Elon, Point Park, SUNY Purchase, Marymount NY,  Montclair State, Florida State, SCAD, JMU, UNCSA, Emerson, and Boston University. This course is designed for rising high school juniors and seniors who plan to audition for both Acting and Musical Theatre programs. 

TRAIN Pre-Professional Program

Auditions for the TRAIN Pre-Professional Program have concluded for 24-25 school year. Please contact lainesatterfield7@gmail.com to be put on the list for next year. 

Ages: 12 - 18
Schedule: Tuesdays 5-7pm September 10th-February 25th
Location: Classes at RPAA and Performances at Libby S. Gottwald Playhouse inside Dominion Energy Arts Center

Program Details: TRAIN is Virginia's premier pre-professional actor training program designed to provide the serious acting student with the practical skills needed to succeed in the business. Students work with top industry professionals, including arvold, an award-winning organization that provides casting, production, and education.

Our students leave the program with a well-rounded skill set, including monologues, scenes, cold reads, script analysis, on-camera work, audition skills, acting the song, vocal, and physical techniques and a better understanding of themselves as artists. We also emphasize rigor, preparation, consistency, discipline, accountability, responsibility, and materials for college, specialty centers, professional theater, and film & TV opportunities.

Our students have gone on to work with top theaters in the area, as well as in TV, commercials, films, web series, and voice-overs. As a testament to their exceptional guidance, Cadence students have achieved acceptance into prestigious institutions, including Carnegie Mellon University, Northwestern University, New York University, Missouri State University, North Carolina School of the Arts, Syracuse University, Shenandoah University, Montclair State University, JMU, and VCU, among many others.

The Show: Spring Break by Joe Calarco

March 1-2, 2025 at the Libby S. Gottwald Playhouse 

In Joe Calarco's play, as spring break begins, 19 teenagers navigate a night of celebration, friendship, heartache, and self-discovery. Through moments of empathy and humor, this candid dramedy explores pivotal decisions and the quest for individual identity. Each character grapples with defining who they truly aspire to be, amidst the seemingly ordinary yet transformative events that shape their futures. Will include live music by student vocalists and musicians.

Erica Arvold
Film / TV Instructor

Erica (she/her) has been an educator, guest instructor, and speaker for over 20 years, sharing insights from a career as a casting director and producer that spans major studio films, television shows, and multimedia projects. She has had the honor of collaborating with and serving students and faculty at universities, schools and acting studios across the country including UVA, UNC, George Mason, Longwood, TRAIN at Virginia Repertory, and many others. Her multiple festival and conference appearances over the years include serving as a panelist, moderator, mentor, and host; recent festivals include Austin, Virginia, Richmond, and the Independent Television Festival. She has been the keynote speaker for several organizations outside of the filmmaking industry as well. In 2010, Erica founded arvold.education with the goal of raising the bar for all film artists through training and collaboration. arvold.education develops and offers master classes for actors and also sponsors events, panels, and discussions on all aspects of the industry. As the daughter of a professor, Erica believes that we are and will always be students of one another, a belief that was shaped and molded by her years at The Theatre School, DePaul University (formerly The Goodman School of Drama), which has manifested into a deep love of craft and a belief in formal training as a means to consistent, constant artistic growth.

Anne Chapman
Film / TV / Casting Instructor

Anne's (she/her) casting credits include Lincoln, Loving, Big Stone Gap, Harriet, Juanita, over 200 short films, commercials, PSAs, and museum films. She holds a BA in Theatre/Film and a Master's in Cinema, and she was a 2018-2019 visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge. Nominated for the CSA’s Artios Awards three times, Anne is a member of the Casting Society, BAFTA, the BIFA Performance Nominations Subgroup, and the Television Academy. She has been an adjunct instructor in the VCUarts Cinema program since 2007, teaching casting. She believes wholeheartedly in illuminating the path for upcoming actors and casting directors, and delights in watching their careers progress.

Paul Dandridge
Dance Instructor

Paul Dandridge (he/him) is a faculty member at Richmond Ballet and a full time Teaching Artist with its Community Engagement program, Minds In Motion. Paul received his dance training from the School of Richmond Ballet as well as Indiana University’s Ballet Theatre program and has performed works by some of the dance world’s greatest choreographers; George Balanchine (The Four Temperaments, Serenade, Who Cares?), Twyla Tharp (Noir), Paul Taylor (Cloven Kingdom), Fredrick Ashton (Les Patineurs), Agnes de Mille (Rodeo), among many others. Recently, Paul has performed more on the musical theater stage as Nelius, the dancing statue in Mary Poppins, and as A-Rab, in West Side Story, both with Virginia Repertory Theatre. He is thrilled to be on the TRAIN team.

Jana Farrell
Musical Theatre Acting Instructor

Jana (she/her) is thrilled to join the TRAIN teaching family. She has a BFA in Musical Theatre from Boston Conservatory, with an emphasis in Speech, and an MFA in Acting Performance from VCU. While a Graduate Student at VCU, Jana performed several roles at the former Theatre Virginia including Arcadia (Chloe), Much Ado About Nothing (Margaret), Picasso at the Lapine Agile (Suzanne/Countess/Female Admirer), Hay Fever (Jackie Coryton), and The Heiress (Marian). Most recently, Jana appeared as Miss Lynch in the TRAIN Summer Showcase production of GREASE: School Version. While she has fond memories of her New York City days, touring and acting in regional theatre, Jana now enjoys directing and teaching Speech & Drama where her journey began, in Chesterfield County Public Schools. She has been teaching middle- and high-school students since 2009, directing and choreographing many musicals and plays, including Hairspray, High School Musical, Zombie Prom, and John Lennon & Me. Over the course of her teaching career Jana has developed a strong working relationship with NYC/LA-based, award-winning playwright Brian Hampton (Jungle Fun Room, Gossip, Checking In), directing his plays and arranging for students to engage with the playwright throughout the rehearsal process. In 2018 Jana and Brian collaborated on the world premiere of USERNAME, scheduled for publication in 2019. She can’t wait to get started with the wonderfully talented TRAIN students!

Daniel Kunkel
Stage Combat Instructor

Daniel (he/him) is a director, writer, fight director, and educator based in Charlottesville, VA. He currently serves as the Education Director at Live Arts. He recently graduated from VCU with a Master's in Social Work and works as an in-home and outpatient clinician in Charlottesville. His previous directing credits include The Lightning Thief, Heathers, and You Don't Know Jacksh#t about the Mothman. He brings his love of mental health awareness, trauma-informed acting training, and self-respect into every artistic space.

Jason Marks
Musical Theatre Instructor

Jason (he/him) is a mainstay of the Richmond theater scene, having performed on local stages as well as across the country in musicals and stage productions. New York credits include Broadway Gypsy of the Year (with Carol Channing), Bound for Broadway, and Young Edgar. Regional credits include Mill Mountain Theatre, New Stage Theatre, Park Playhouse, Oregon Cabaret Theatre, Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre, Riverside Center, and Virginia Repertory Theatre. Mr. Marks is an award-winning actor, singer, and cabaret artist. He received an Artsie Award in 2008 for his performance in Guys & Dolls, and the 2012 Theresa Pollak Prize for Excellence in the Arts from Richmond Magazine for his contributions to local theater. Additionally, he won the 2010 Your Big Broadway Break contest, hosted by Staybridge Suites Times Square NYC, and is a three-time NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) competition winner in the men's classical and musical theatre divisions. He has performed solo concert work with the Richmond Symphony and the Washington National Symphony and Chorus. For a decade, he served as the resident music director for the children's touring department of Virginia Rep and has been commissioned to write several new stage works for VA Rep, including Hiawatha, Ellis Island: Gateway of Dreams, The Little Engine That Could, Have You Filled a Bucket Today? The Musical, and Newton's Apple. An experienced educator, Jason has taught for local youth arts organizations for almost 20 years, including SPARC (School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community), as well as education programs at the Weinstein JCC, Virginia Rep, and Cadence.

Laine Satterfield
Acting Instructor / Program Director

Laine (she/her) is an award-winning theatre artist who has performed in, taught, choreographed, directed, and devised theatre both nationally and internationally. She holds a BFA from TSOA at NYU and has trained at the University of Eurasian Theatre, Stella Adler, Carnegie Mellon, and University College London. She has taught at NYU, Stella Adler, Aquila University, VCU, VA Governor’s School, Company of Fools, Center for the Arts, and various workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Laine founded the NYC-based theatre group World 3, where she was Artistic & Founding Director. She also toured Europe extensively with the international theatre group, Linea Trasversale. Recent acting roles include Cadence’s Native Gardens, Cadence/VaRep's The Thanksgiving Play, Gloria, Sight Unseen, In the Next Room, and Detroit; VaRep's Pipeline, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time; RTP’s Cloud 9. Other favorite roles include Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Elena in Uncle Vanya, Paulina in Death and the Maiden, and Ariel in The Tempest. Recent directing credits include VaRep’s Cinderella and Airline Highway, and Cadence’s Small Mouth Sounds and The Mountaintop. She believes theatre has the power to hold a mirror up to ourselves and our place in society.