THEATRE & PUBLIC SPEAKING
9th to12th
college audition monologue selection & coaching
You choose the focus of your session. You can use your session to find new monologues to add to your repertoire that suit who you are and what you bring to the table as an artist, that align with your goals in performing this, and which appeal to the institutions for which one is auditioning. You can use your session to stage or receive directorial feedback on your pieces. I can coach new or existing material for upcoming auditions or callbacks. Or we can also spend our time strengthening skills that you may have received feedback on from auditors or folks for whom you have auditioned already, such as being more vocally present, more “in your body”, more dynamic with the tactics you choose to play. As a script evaluator for Sundance Institute’s Theatre Lab, in addition to a familiarity with my 1000+ play library, I maintain a wide-reaching scholarship of published plays. After a pre-lesson consultation, I will bring at least three monologue options from my library to our first meeting, in addition to what you may be bringing in already. Multiple-session format recommended.
VOICE FOR ACTORS
An intensive workshop focusing on voice & speech for the actor, featuring such topics as the fundamentals of the vocal instrument, the vocal warmup, a personal sound inventory, a guided exploration inspired by Laban Movement Analysis, building the character through voice, and technical applications to text – the classic “you’ve been cast, now what?” step. Class available in abridged single-session form or in more comprehensive, cumulative multiple-session form.
laban movement analysis
Laban Movement Analysis is a framework to identify patterns and changes of movement, and how we perceive meaning from those. In this class we will learn to analyze the body in motion. Our objective will be to become a more dynamic actor, mover, and communicator by understanding your movement preferences and investigating the many ways the body shapes itself and projects into space. Class available in abridged single-session form or in more comprehensive, cumulative multiple-session form.
SHAKESPEARE VERSE & TEXT STUDY
This intensive is structured around principles key to performing Shakespeare: working with text, and a commitment to original staging practices. The quality of every production hinges on actors and directors understanding of the text and its devices and their ability to communicate that understanding with the audience. The words come first. Additionally, a working knowledge of early modern history and original staging practices not only enhances our appreciation of the text, but clarifies moments of tension and humor often lost in modern productions. After a series of text exercises to create a shared vocabulary, we will work through, stage, and rehearse some Shakespearean text on our feet. Also available for early modern monologue coaching sessions. Class available in abridged single-session form or in more comprehensive, cumulative multiple-session form.
kamishibai japanese theatre
Kami-shibai is a Japanese theatrical performance style in which illustrations are displayed on paper placards, and sometimes sketched live, by the performers to convey a story, occasionally with the help of other two-dimensional puppets. Kami-shibai, meaning “paper play,” was popular in Japan during the 1930s and the post-war period. A wandering storyteller would set up at a street corner, on a mini theatre attached to the back of their bicycle, as an assistant gathered a crowd and sold candy — which was how the performers made money. Kami-shibai’s popularity declined with the introduction of television, initially called the denki kamishibai — “electric kami-shibai” — in 1953. We will learn about the history of art form, investigate a short performance, then storyboard and create a kamishibai performance of our own. Single session class.
INTRO TO COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE
In this room we encourage you to be the class clown. Explore physical comedy and how to make an audience laugh through character-based movement and skillful timing. We will investigate physical storytelling, introduce commedia stock characters and classic rules of this performance style, explore lazzi, and, finally, craft our own lazzi-based scenes. We will then analyze & repeat “shtick” from various masters of slapstick, thus expanding our vocabulary, and edit our scenes accordingly, simultaneously reconfiguring them for a more modern setting. Single session class.
PLAYWRITING LAB
We will embark together on the playwriting process! Along the way, I will give you tools to communicate your ideas, develop characters, write dialogue, and shape your story, culminating in a reading of your work 10-minute work. Minimum three sessions. Also available for feedback and consultation for longer, completed works.
6th to 8th
VOICE FOR ACTORS
By learning basics such as breath control and sound placement, you can use your physical voice to the greatest effect — whether you’re performing eight shows a week, presenting a report in class, or speaking up when it matters. Class available in abridged single-session form or in more comprehensive, cumulative multiple-session form.
INTRO TO SHAKESPEARE
In this class you will be introduced to William Shakespeare’s poetry and themes, as we begin to discuss the text in context. Through highly physical staging and exercises that bridge classical text to modern meaning, students make direct connections to the universal themes of Shakespeare’s works. Single session class.
KAMISHIBAI JAPANESE THEATRE
Kami-shibai is a Japanese theatrical performance style in which illustrations are displayed on paper placards, and sometimes sketched live, by the performers to convey a story, occasionally with the help of other two-dimensional puppets. Kami-shibai, meaning “paper play,” was popular in Japan during the 1930s and the post-war period. A wandering storyteller would set up at a street corner, on a mini theatre attached to the back of their bicycle, as an assistant gathered a crowd and sold candy — which was how the performers made money. Kami-shibai’s popularity declined with the introduction of television, initially called the denki kamishibai — “electric kami-shibai” — in 1953. We will learn about the history of art form, investigate a short performance, then storyboard and create a kamishibai performance of our own. Single session class.
intro to commedia dell’arte
In this room we encourage you to be the class clown. Explore physical comedy and how to make an audience laugh through character-based movement and skillful timing. We will investigate physical storytelling, introduce commedia stock characters and classic rules of this performance style, explore lazzi, and, finally, craft our own lazzi-based scenes. We will then analyze & repeat “shtick” from various masters of slapstick, thus expanding our vocabulary, and edit our scenes accordingly, simultaneously reconfiguring them for a more modern setting. Single session class.
storytellers lab
Through autobiographical oral storytelling, students learn how to craft a short story for performance that reflects on personal experience and uses design thinking strategies to build empathy and understanding of the world around them. We engage with oral storytelling forms from various cultures around the world to arrive at a method by which we want to share a story of your own that is written, rehearsed, and finally presented in this class. Minimum three sessions.
3rd to 5th
fundamentals of voice for public speaking
By learning basics such as breath control and sound placement, you can use your physical voice to the greatest effect — whether you’re performing eight shows a week, presenting a report in class, or speaking up when it matters. Class available in abridged single-session form or in more comprehensive, cumulative multiple-session form.
FUNDAMENTALS OF ACTING
We will focus on creating sustainable and believable characters in truthful actions for the stage by looking at three primary tools: movement/physicality, voice, and the imagination (through improvisation). Students participate in a variety of fun exercises that work on physical control, human behavior observations, and realistic actions and reactions. We will create an environment of trust where they can effectively explore, make big choices, and take risks, then apply it to a monologue or scene! Class available in abridged single-session form or in more comprehensive, cumulative multiple-session form.
kamishibai japanese theatre
Kami-shibai is a Japanese theatrical performance style in which illustrations are displayed on paper placards, and sometimes sketched live, by the performers to convey a story, occasionally with the help of other two-dimensional puppets. Kami-shibai, meaning “paper play,” was popular in Japan during the 1930s and the post-war period. A wandering storyteller would set up at a street corner, on a mini theatre attached to the back of their bicycle, as an assistant gathered a crowd and sold candy — which was how the performers made money. Kami-shibai’s popularity declined with the introduction of television, initially called the denki kamishibai — “electric kami-shibai” — in 1953. We will learn about the history of art form, investigate a short performance, then storyboard and create a kamishibai performance of our own. Single session class.
Rates
Each session is 1 hour long. 1 session for $35, or mix-and-match 5 sessions for $125 — a $50 savings. Available in private one-on-one format and in private family format, for multiple-student households. In private family format, pay is per session, not per individual. Please note that Playwriting Lab & Storytellers Lab require multiple sessions.