Pre-Professional Actor Training

TRAIN

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. Through our yearlong, sequential program, 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 skillset, including monologues, dialects, audition skills, headshot/resume/reel, a vocal book, and a better understanding of themselves as artists.

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. They have been accepted to Governor's Schools, summer programs, and conservatory programs across the nation. 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.

Our program is built on the foundation of Stanislavski-based actor training, where students work on monologues, scenes, cold reads, script analysis, dialects, on-camera work, vocal, and physical techniques. We also emphasize rigor, preparation, consistency, discipline, accountability, responsibility, and audition techniques and materials for college, specialty centers, professional theater, and film & TV opportunities.

TRAIN offers a unique immersion experience with priority auditions, and working alongside professional artists, allowing students to build a network of relationships and contacts within the industry.

Technique: Stanislavski-based actor training, working with monologues, scenes, cold reads, script analysis, dialects, on-camera, vocal and physical

Rigor: Preparation, consistency, discipline, accountability, responsibility

Audition: Techniques and materials for college, specialty centers, professional theater, and film & TV opportunities

Immersion: Priority auditions and invitation to special events

Network: Building a network of relationships and contacts

Don't just take our word for it—here's what our students and parents have to say:

“TRAIN not only helped me get into my dream school but made me realize my own potential and worth as an artist and more importantly, a person. It really changed my life for the better, and I can’t thank you enough.”

- TRAIN College Prep student

“Your college prep course is invaluable. My daughter was invited to audition at each school to which she applied and felt confident during the process. The TRAIN experience has, no doubt, helped prepare my daughter for a career in musical theater.”

- TRAIN College Prep parent

We are honored to have been named Best Acting Studio in Richmond by DistinguishedTeaching.com in 2022!

Core Teaching Artists

Erica Arvold, Film / TV

Erica 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.

Paul Dandridge, Dance

Paul Dandridge 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 (Thursday)

Jana 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!