WICKED
What if the villain was never really the villain at all? We’ll dive into the concept of character transformation, discovering how Elphaba’s journey from outcast to icon became one of Broadway’s most beloved stories. You’lll learn a section of Defying Gravity with blocking and emotion, then tackle an irresistible improv exercise — taking a familiar fairy tale character and reimagining them as completely misunderstood. Then its onto crafts, pizza, and the movie. Everyone deserves the chance to fly at PopArts!
What to expect
It’s a night of singing and improv! The night’s craft ties it all together beautifully: a mask with one side Elphaba, one side Glinda, two faces of the same unforgettable story. Then pizza arrives, Wicked plays, and the only thing left to do is fly.
Why you'll love it
Dancing, Singing, Improv, and one of the top movie musicals of all time.. what’s not to love? This event goes deeper than most, sparking real creative thinking about storytelling and perspective. (Plus our mask craft is just really cool.)
Class details
PopArts happens on the second Friday of every month, 5–9pm. This month we’re defying gravity for a full Wicked experience — theatre, improv, crafting, pizza, and the movie. Something wicked this way comes and it’s going to be… wonderful!
What’s included
$40 gets you the full PopArts experience — arts event, pizza dinner (gluten free option available), and movie included. Be sure to bring a refillable water bottle.
Prefer to skip dinner or bring your own? Grab a $30 ticket and still enjoy the arts portion and the movie.
Marissa Hertzfeld
Musical Theatre & Acting Teacher
As a Charlotte native, Marissa grew up performing in local community theatres. She decided to pursue her love of theatre at Appalachian State University where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Education. Since then, Marissa has taught elementary, middle, and high school students around the state. She has experience directing and choreographing a variety of ages. Marissa has directed productions at The Academy including Willy Wonka Jr, Aladdin KIDS, Annie Jr, Beauty and the Beast Jr, Matilda Jr, The Wizard of Oz (RSC), and our next production, Shrek Jr. She also leads workshops at The Academy as well as our fall musical theatre classes: Rising Stars and Shining Stars. Marissa recently led our 2026 Jr Theatre Festival troupe to the Atlanta festival where they performed before Broadway professionals and earned the Excellence in Acting award. Marissa believes that arts education is central to our humanity. Theatre teaches a plethora of essential lifelong abilities, such as strong communication skills, collaboration, creative problem solving, empathy and compassion, self-confidence, and so many more. These are skills she places at the forefront of her teaching, while also placing a huge emphasis on self-discovery and enjoyment of the creative process. Marissa lives in South Charlotte with her husband and fur baby. When she is not teaching, you can find her traveling and spending time outdoors. We are so excited to have Marissa on faculty at The Academy teaching musical theatre classes and directing productions!Let’s be honest...
PopArts is for the kids. But it’s also a little bit for you.
From 5 to 9pm on the second Friday of every month, your child is in great hands creating, moving, singing, making friends, and experiencing the arts in a way that’s genuinely fun, not forced. No phones or iPads. No scrolling. Just real connection, real creativity, and a really good time.
We built PopArts because kids deserve more evenings like this where they’re engaged, inspired, and surrounded by other kids. Because the arts are best experienced together, not alone on a couch.
Grab your tickets. Drop them off. Go enjoy your Friday!