SPRING 2010 ACTING CLASSES

Please see full Spring 2010 class descriptions and schedules below. Curriculum ranges from Scene Study - Tennessee Williams to Pilates for Actors to On-Camera Auditioning.

Courses offered in:
TELEVISION AND CAMERA WORK

SCENE STUDY

PERFORMANCE TECHNIQUES

MOVEMENT

WORKSHOPS

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TELEVISION AND CAMERA WORK

All courses require an audition unless otherwise noted.

Approaching Television Acting:

This twelve-week intensive program is geared toward developing your on-camera acting skills. Whether it’s single camera film style, multi camera sitcom, or live on tape shooting, the actor must become familiar with the techniques and principles to insure that the performance comes across effectively on screen and doesn’t end up “on the cutting room floor.” Team-taught by a host of television professionals, the class teaches both by example and experience. Actors memorize and perform scenes from scripts that have been broadcast on network television. They then view their performance and receive a constructive critique. “Live on tape” shooting makes it possible for the students to see and record their work, in finished form, with cutting and camera angles just as it would appear in an actual production.

Instructed by Linda and David Laundra (“Oz,” “Another World,” “All My Children”), Michael Laibson (“All My Children,” “Guiding Light,” “Another World,” “As the World Turns”) and Gary Donatelli (“One Life to Live," “Another World”)

Section A: Sundays from 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Begins Sunday, February 21
February 21, 28, March 7, 14, 21, 28, April 11, 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16

Section B: Tuesdays from 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Begins Tuesday, February 23
February 23, March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, April 13, 20, 27, May 4, 11, 18

On-Camera Acting 2

This in-depth television acting class focuses on orchestrating your performance as you work through consecutive scenes in a script. Students will learn how to approach a screen test with special attention on how to prepare and what to expect while in-depth character work and scene preparation for television and film is articulated. Team-taught by television and film professionals, the class teaches both by example and experience.

Prerequisite: Approaching Television Acting at PSST or previous classes with Casey Childs, Steven Williford, or Linda and David Laundra.

Section A: Sundays from 5:00pm – 8:00pm
Begins Sunday, February 21
February 21, 28, March 7, 14, 21, 28, April 11, 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16

Section B: Mondays from 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Begins Monday, February 22
February 22, March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, April 12, 19, 26, May 3, 10, 17

On-Camera Acting 3:

Prerequisite: On-Camera Acting 2 at PSST or previous classes with Casey Childs, Steven Williford, or Linda and David Laundra.

Instructor Michael Laibson (“All My Children,” “Guiding Light,” “Another World,” “As the World Turns”)
Sundays from 10:00am – 12:30pm
Begins Sunday, February 28
February 28, March 7, 14, 21, 28, April 11, 18, 25, May 2, 9

On-Camera Auditioning:

What's different about auditioning for TV and Film? What works in front of the camera? What is not so effective? In this ten-week seminar, you will learn how to prepare, what to expect, the questions to ask, how to follow up, and the all-important audition etiquette when in front of the camera. Time will be spent on cold readings, prepared auditions, call backs, and screen tests. Copy will include commercials, television, and film.

No audition required.

Instructors Linda and David Laundra (“Oz,” “Another World,” “All My Children”)
Mondays from 3:00pm – 6:00pm
Begins Monday, February 22
February 22, March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, April 12, 19, 26, May 3

SCENE STUDY

All courses require an audition.

Scene Study – Contemporary Texts:

In this ten-week intensive, you will focus on the work of contemporary playwrights through partnered scene study and monologues. You will look at the form and structure of these plays, the use of language and the particular challenges (and opportunities) they bring for an actor, preparing you to enter a rehearsal process with confidence, inspiration, and knowing the right questions to ask when approaching texts still in development. Possible playwrights include David Adjmi, Sarah Ruhl, Lynn Nottage, Young Jean Lee, Sheila Callaghan, Lucy Thurber, Jason Grote, Cusi Cram and Anne Washburn. Designed for actors who already have previous training and experience. Guest artists will be invited to a final presentation of scenes.

Section A: Instructor Betsy Aidem (Celebration and The Room)
Mondays 10:00am – 1:00pm
Begins Monday, February 22
February 22, March 8, 15, 22, 29, April 5, 12, 19, 26, May 3

Section B: Instructor Michelle Bossy (Associate Artistic Director, Primary Stages)
Mondays from 2:30pm - 5:30pm
Begins Monday, February 22
February 22, March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, April 5, 12, 19, 26

Section C: Instructor Jackson Gay (Scarcity, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow)
Saturdays from 3:00pm – 6:00pm
Begins Saturday, February 20
February 20, 27, March 6, 13, 20, 27, April 10, 17, 24, May 1

Advanced Scene Study – William Shakespeare:

Using Shakespeare's text, this ten-week class focuses on dramatic structure and character intentions through transformation of the self. We will explore the physical, vocal, and emotional skills necessary for this heightened text through games and improvisation. This is perfect for the classical actor or those who desire to become more comfortable with this style of performance.

Instructor Lisa Rothe (Interpreting William, Looking for the Pony, Penelope)
Wednesdays from 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Begins Wednesday, February 17
February 17, 24, March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, April 7, 28, May 5

Advanced Scene Study – Tennessee Williams:

In this ten-week intensive, you we will dive head first into the world of misfits and loners; a world full of beauty, desire (lots of desire) and destruction. Learn the tools and skills needed to tackle Williams' heightened theatricality and lyricism while at the same time honoring the simple human truthfulness of his work. You will apply the text analyses and deconstructions of Williams’ work to performance situations in classroom scene study and throughout your career. Plays explored may include A Streetcar Named Desire, Glass Menagerie, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and Suddenly Last Summer. Guest artists will be invited to a final presentation of scenes.

Instructor Jackson Gay (Scarcity, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow)
Saturdays from 11:00am – 2:00pm
Begins Saturday, February 20
February 20, 27, March 6, 13, 20, 27, April 10, 17, 24, May 1

Advanced Scene Study – Eugene O’Neill:

Considered among the greatest American plays, Eugene O’Neill’s work encompasses deeply personal truth, character driven humor, and nearly operatic emotion, all structurally contained in original, groundbreaking, nearly mythical stories. The challenge to the actor is to fill material of profound depth and daunting theatrical size on stage through detailed script analysis and dramaturgical research on O’Neill, the man. This ten-week advanced scene study class is a chance for daring students to take a terrifying leap into roles of epic proportions. Plays explored may include Anna Christie, The Emperor Jones, Desire Under the Elms, The Iceman Cometh, and Long Day’s Journey into Night. Guest artists will be invited to a final presentation of scenes.

Instructor Mark Blum (Twelve Angry Men, The Graduate)
Thursdays from 11:00am – 2:00pm
Begins Thursday, February 25
February 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25, April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

PERFORMANCE TECHNIQUES

Courses do NOT require an audition.

Auditioning – The Contemporary Monologue:

In this five-week workshop, you will polish three individually assigned pieces: two contrasting contemporary monologues and a third piece determined by the needs of the actor.

Instructor Andrew Leynse (Artistic Director, Primary Stages)
Wednesdays from 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Begins Wednesday, April 7
April 7, 14, 21, 28, May 5

Auditioning – Performance Technique:

This five-week class will focus on how to prepare for a theater audition. You will work on perfecting a contemporary audition monologue, preparing sides, and learning the do’s and don’t’s of an actual audition situation. This class will also concentrate on how to succeed at callbacks and provide ample insight into what exactly the industry is looking for by performing for professional casting directors and receiving instant feedback.

Instructor Andrew Leynse (Artistic Director, Primary Stages)
Thursdays from 11:00am – 2:00pm
Begins Thursday, April 8
April 8, 15, 22, 29, May 6

Auditioning – The Classical Monologue:

In this five-week workshop, we will work on two monologues for you to add to your classical repertoire. We will work together to find two contrasting pieces that will showcase your talent to its fullest.

Instructor Richard Topol (The Country Girl, Hamlet, Opus)
Tuesdays from 11:00am – 2:00pm
Begins Tuesday, February 16
February 16, 23, March 2, 9, 16

Character Acting:

Actors are generally required to play roles that are reminiscent of themselves. In this ten-week class, you will have the opportunity to stretch your acting muscles by working on a character that couldn’t be more different than you. We will discuss what we mean by character, how to embody a character (not a caricature), and the importance of emotional truth versus the words, using intuition rather than the brain to discover meaning. You will develop a character through basic exercises, improvisation, and monologue. You will also explore the physical life of the character, the body language and vocal patterns. You will work on sharpening your observational skills, exercising your imaginative powers and developing awareness of the untapped emotional resources within you.

Instructor Mary Louise Wilson (Grey Gardens, Cabaret)
Fridays from 3:00pm – 5:00pm
Begins Friday, February 19
February 19, 26, March 5, 12, 19, 26, April 2, 9, 16, 23

Clowning:

Based on a series of exercises designed by Christopher Bayes, this 10-week class aims to aid the actors in the pursuit of wonder, despair, joy, and tragedy. Through work with rhythm, kinesthetic response, and plain old silliness, actors learn to take a blind leap over the chasm of panic and failure into the world of gleeful stupidity. Not concerning the typical idea of funny or the actor's "good idea," the class core consists of the rediscovery of the impulse to play on stage -- and the ability to free oneself from the constructs of analysis and planning by concentrating purely on impulses gained directly from listening with one's whole body to an audience or another performer.

Instructor Lucas Caleb Rooney (Orphan’s Home Cycle at The Signature Theatre, The Country Girl)
Fridays from 11:00am – 2:00pm
Begins Friday, February 19
February 19, 26, March 5, 12, 19, 26, April 2, 9, 16, 23

Improvisation:

Improvisation: the actor’s workout. Though it can be daunting at first, improvisational acting is a sure-fire way to strengthen your character development skills, relaxation technique, being in the moment, and building trust in your scene partner. This class will throw you into action before your nerves have a chance to react, energizing your imagination and empowering you with endless possibilities. Before you know it, you’ll be addicted to the rush of the unknown, and you’ll certainly never look at a script the same way again. Join “Saturday Night Live” alumna, Denny Dillon, in this thrilling journey of spontaneous self-discovery.

Instructor Denny Dillon ("Saturday Night Live," Gypsy)
Tuesdays from 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Begins Tuesday, February 16
February 16, 23, March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, April 6, 13, 2

Unarmed Stage Combat:

This stage combat class is unlike any other being offered today. Actors will learn not only the principles of unarmed stage combat, but also how to apply and improve their acting skills to deepen the meaning and story of any fight scene they are performing. This class will emphasize creating story and character driven fights. Actors will also learn to expand their physical vocabulary by pushing their personal envelope and creating a fearless and positive self-image.

Instructor Brad Lemons (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Evil Dead: The Musical)
Mondays from 10:00am – 11:30am
Begins Monday, February 22
February 22, March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, April 5, 12, 19, 26, May 3, 10

Musical Theater Auditioning – Your Best 16 Bars:

Singing’s only one piece of the equation in an audition situation – how do you demonstrate your dramatic chops in under a minute? This course is designed to help you to turn that 16 bar road-block into an opportunity. By mastering the emotional arc and context of your song, you can create cuts that have a beginning, middle, and end… transforming every audition into what you do best – a complete performance. Covering traditional musical theater, rock and pop, Broadway’s Randy Graff and Michael Larsen will prepare you for any musical audition situation.

Prerequisite: Resume submission

Instructors Randy Graff (Fiddler on the Roof, City of Angels, Les Misérables) and Michael Larsen (Annie, Nine, Little Shop…)
Thursdays from 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Begins Thursday, March 25
March 25, April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, May 6, 13

The Voiceover:

This five-week workshop introduces you to the many facets of the world of the Voice-Over; Radio and TV commercials, promos, interactive games, and books on tape. You will learn the basics of microphone technique, finding your own individual voice, exploring your vocal range, and responding to direction. Your in-class recordings will be made available to you online for personal use at the completion of the class.

Instructor Mark Blum (Twelve Angry Men, The Graduate)
Thursdays from 3:00pm – 5:00pm
Begins Thursday, February 25
February 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25

Voice and Speech:

Voice training can accomplish two important goals for the actor. It develops the voice as an expressive instrument. You can train your voice to be more resonant, stronger, more flexible, more personal, and more open. And it puts the actor in direct contact with his or her emotional center – that is, the actor learns to allow the voice to express the full range of his or her emotional life. This ten-week class is structured as a progression of exercises/experiences designed to liberate the individual’s natural voice from habitual psychophysical tensions, to connect breath and sound to image and emotion, to expand the actor’s capacity for both play and precision, and to promote vocal ease, clarity, power, stamina, and sensitivity to impulse.

Instructor Walton Wilson (Head of Voice and Speech, Yale School of Drama)
Fridays from 11:30am – 2:30pm
Begins Friday, February 19
February 19, 26, March 5, 19, 26, April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30

Script Analysis:

Theater starts with the words on the page. From there, it is up to the actors, directors, dramaturgs and designers to breathe life into a dramatic text based on their interpretations of structure, subtext, dialogue, and action. Learning the process of text analysis will enable you to make informed artistic choices and best execute your job as interpreter. This five-week class will take you from basic analysis to scene work so you can see for yourself the benefits of doing your homework.

Instructor Jackson Gay (Scarcity, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow)
Wednesdays from 7pm – 10pm
Begins Wednesday, February 24
February 24, March 3, 10, 17, 24

Dramaturgy:

Life may imitate art, but it also inspires it. Great theater is inevitably a product of its greater context within society, politics, and the very personal world of the writer. This class will focus on the dramaturgical process, allowing each student to work with an individual play and explore the world in which it was written and the world yet to be discovered in performance. You will learn how to ask the right questions to then create a library of socio, political, and artistic influences necessary for production. You will then put your skills to practical use by working with the writers in Cusi Cram’s Advanced Playwriting class.

Instructor Jackson Gay (Scarcity, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow)
Wednesdays from 7pm -10pm
Begins Wednesday, March 29
March 31, April 7, 14, 21, 28

Directing for Actors:

As an actor, you’re praised for your ability to take direction. The idea of turning the tables and taking charge can be daunting, to say the least. Directing is in equal parts academic and abstract, fluid and process-driven, and almost devoid of rules. In this class, we’ll take you through the entire journey, using a ten-minute play as your artistic playground. You’ll learn about script analysis, groundplan, casting, rehearsal process and performance, as well as develop rehearsal room skills and techniques guaranteed to help you achieve your vision. Understanding the director’s perspective will not only enhance your experience as a working actor, it may also awaken your newest passion.

Instructor Carl Forsman (Love Child, The Bald Soprano & The Lesson)
Mondays from 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Begins Monday, February 22
February 22, March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, April 5, 12, 19, 26

MOVEMENT

Viewpoints:

Let’s get physical and discover what it truly means to be an actor through the popular Viewpoints technique. In this 10-week movement based workshop, participants will engage in each of the nine Viewpoints - a technique that delves into the two dominant issues theater artists deal with: Time and Space. Students will discover how this practice can open up any theater artist to a whole new way of thinking, seeing, making and experiencing theater through ensemble training. The Viewpoints was first articulated by Mary Overlie and further developed and expanded by Anne Bogart, Tina Landau and the SITI Co.

Instructor Kim Weild (Blithe Spirit, Deuce, Is He Dead?)
Tuesdays from 9:00am – 10:30am
Begins Tuesday, February 16
February 16, 23, March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, April 6, 13, 20

Alexander Technique For Performers:

The Alexander Technique is a gentle hands-on practice that increases awareness, releases habitual tension and redirects energy. In this 10-week course actors learn how to cultivate balance, poise and presence for increased physical, vocal and emotional freedom. Through body mapping, experiential anatomy, movement studies and vocal warm-ups, actors explore the principles that govern performance. We will practice Alexander's principles with monologues, songs or scenes. Please come prepared to move - no jeans please!

Instructor K aren Braga (“A Prairie Home Companion”)
Thursdays from 9:00am – 11:00am
Begins Thursday, February 18
February 18, 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25, April 1, 8, 15, 22

Pilates for Actors:

Acting is an athletic event. The practical rigors of being a working actor in New York City entail daily auditions, holding one or more survival jobs, all to ultimately get the acting job that requires nothing less than a total commitment of one’s whole physical, emotional, mental, and creative being. It is incredibly stressful and nothing short of exhausting. As you continue your training in voice, breath and alignment work, what will pull these elements together and sustain you for eight shows a week? Pilates. Pilates is a system of exercise designed to strengthen the core of the body in order to find optimal function, alignment, and tone in the body as a whole. The mind-body approach encourages you to work intelligently, creatively, and specifically from your own unique center, greatly enhancing your endurance, awareness, agility, flexibility and overall health. This class will help the working actor prepare, maintain, and restore the body and spirit.

Instructor Sarah Elliott (Master Trainer at Core Pilates NYC)
Wednesdays from 9:00am – 10:00am
Begins Wednesday, February 24
February 24, March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, April 7, 14, 21, 28, May 5, 12

WORKSHOPS

Auditioning Workshop
with Stephanie Klapper
March 11 and 18 from 7PM – 9PM

Get the feedback on your monologue that is essential to crafting the perfect audition. This two-night seminar led by Stephanie Klapper of Klapper Casting, will give you a no holds barred breakdown of your skills, your weaknesses and what you can do to make an impact on your next audition.

Acting the Song
with Joanna Gleason
Section A: Saturday, March 20 from 11AM – 2PM
Section B: Saturday, April 24 from 11AM – 2PM

This is an acting class with music. If you fear singing, it's for you. If you sing and are stiff on stage, it's for you. The goal of the workshop is not to refine your smile as a chorus boy or girl - it's about acting. Period. Text, context, subtext. Each student needs to have memorized two ballads from musical theater or old standards. No jazz, no rock. Bring sheet music for those songs. The accompanist can adjust keys etc. No recording devices will be permitted. Students are encouraged to attend multiple sessions.

Directing Intensive:

This intensive weekend will offer two full days geared towards gaining significant directing experience and confidence. There will be challenging class work and personalized feedback from 16 hours of hard work, group participation, focus and learning.

Instructor Leigh Silverman (Well, Hunting and Gathering)
Saturday and Sunday, April 17 - 18 from 10:00am – 6:00pm

Private Coaching:

Having problems with a monologue? Nervous about a big upcoming audition? Let’s schedule a private session for you to bolster your confidence! These private, one-on-one acting sessions are geared to meet your individual acting needs whether they be for film, television, stage, or audition preparation.

Coaches: Andrew Leynse (Artistic Director, Primary Stages)
Call to book an appointment.

For more information or to register, contact
Tessa LaNeve at 212.840.9705 x212 or school@primarystages.org