Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassie Watson.
Cassie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started Performer’s Edge Dallas eight years ago with 3 voice students, my best friend, Stephen Brodie, who happened to be a great business consultant and talented web designer, and one goal. That goal was to provide inexpensive, private voice lessons that focus not only on sounding pretty but strengthening the student’s voice and really telling the story behind the songs they sing.
During the first year of offering voice lessons, PED grew to seven students, and I decided it was time for us to focus on performing. So we started doing recitals. I also began writing short plays to go along with the recital music in order to challenge my students to not only sing but to be the characters and tell the stories they were singing about. THAT is when PED started to take off, and I realized that I needed to offer more than voice. Fast forward to present day. Performer’s Edge Dallas now provides private voice and acting lessons, a group on-camera class, and has an average roster of 30-40 active students.
The PED team now consists of three members – Stephen Brodie, Christa Watson, and myself. Guest instructors, including talent agents, working actors, and other industry professionals, are regularly invited to come work with our students. PED performs at least one original play and two recitals a year. Performances are produced by a team of volunteers consisting of students, parents, and friends of PED, with everyone contributing their time and talents to provide quality theatre to our community. Taking one’s entire family to see a theatrical performance can be very expensive. This is why all of our shows are free of charge, and we only accept donations at the door. We do not want anyone to miss an opportunity to be inspired by the shows we produce at PED.
Now, we couldn’t do any of this without a facility. That’s where Redeemer Covenant Church has been so gracious. I work as the worship leader at Redeemer, and they have, from the beginning of this journey, allowed PED to use their space. They have supported us completely, even when kids are screaming in halls during prayer meetings or we accidentally cover the church in glitter. Through it all, they have shown grace and abundant kindness to us. Reaching out to the community is very important to the church, so they’ve been supportive of our goal to offer family-friendly theatre to our community.
To understand my passion for teaching, I should go ahead and give a little of my background. I grew up in a small town in East Texas with three sisters. We grew up spending the summers working on our dad’s farm, so we were no strangers to hard work. We were always involved in music and theatre programs offered at church and school. Though my parents didn’t have much money, they paid for me to take three years of piano lessons. When I decided I wanted to be an actor, they encouraged me, and when I realized I could sing, my entire family and church encouraged me. I attended college and majored in theatre, where I also took voice lessons and began singing in musicals, as well as professionally.
After college, I began acting professionally. I have also written, produced, and directed multiple films and plays. When I was young I was very shy, until I was introduced to theatre. Through performing, I broke out of my shell and developed a confidence that, to this day, enriches my life. Confidence gives one the freedom to aspire to be anything and to push oneself to achieve goals no matter how big, but it also allows one to fail without feeling like a failure. People, no matter what age, need that.
That is why I started teaching eight years ago. I speak for all of the Performer’s Edge Dallas team when I say we continue to teach and devote so much of ourselves to PED today because we see that we are making a difference in the lives of the children, teens, and adults within our program. You can’t teach confidence, but you can provide a safe, encouraging space for one to discover confidence within him or herself. And, I have to say, it is always cool when you get to watch students become really great actors and singers. That’s icing on the cake.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Writing, producing and directing plays, no matter how much help you have, can be tedious. You learn how to handle people along the way and not take things personally. That’s been hard. People don’t know how many hours you and those helping you volunteer to make a show a success.
But I’ve never felt like I was alone in the process. I have had some amazing help. Private and group classes… that has been a learning process on the business side of things. Contracts and upholding them sometimes make you feel mean, but I’ve learned it’s business and people respect you for it. Other than that, the road has been pretty smooth. Very hard work, but exciting.
Please tell us about Performer’s Edge Dallas.
Performer’s Edge Dallas offers voice and acting classes in the North Dallas area. We specialize in performance. For instance, Spring recitals are not your normal recitals. Voice student chooses songs, write skits to go along with them and perform them in front of a panel of judges. Any student can opt out of the competition, but they usually do not. Competing is part of the entertainment business. We want our students to have a healthy outlook on competing and to understand that not winning is not the same as failing. You keep working hard and be proud of what you create!
We also produce one play and two recitals a year along with short films for our film class. We are set apart from other theatre companies because of the fact that all of our shows are free of charge, and we only accept donations at the door. We do not want anyone to miss an opportunity to be inspired by the shows we produce at PED.
We are proud of many things, but recently that one of PED’s short films made it into two film festivals last year. That was exciting for the students involved and for our team.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would dare to say nothing. The journey, the discoveries and all the ups and downs along the way have been good for me. I wasn’t really sure, when I started, what I wanted to accomplish other than teach voice. If I’m being honest, I had to learn how to be a good teacher. I had to discover what I was capable of and I don’t think I was prepared then for what PED is now. Because of that bumpy journey, I have a vision now. So I wish me, ten years from now, could give me some advice on what I need to be doing differently. That would be helpful!
Pricing:
- Voice and acting private lessons: $100 per Month (4 x 30 Minute Sessions)
- Teen on-camera group film class: $60 per Month (2 classes per month – classes are 2.5 hours long)
Contact Info:
- Address: 1518 E Frankford Rd Carrollton, Tx 75007
- Website: www.performersedgedallas.com
- Phone: 903-736-2211
- Email: info@performersedgedallas.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performers_edgedallas/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PerformersEdgeDallas/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/PerformersEdgeD
Image Credit:
Christa Watson Photography, Stephen Brodie
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