Workshops & Classes
THE PRE-PROFESSIONAL ENSEMBLE!
ACTING CLASSES
for KIDS AND TEENS
STC's Pre-Professional Ensemble program allows students to tap into their imagination by starting a lifelong relationship with theatre. In a nurturing, non-competitive atmosphere, students, gain self-confidence, increase skills in public speaking and cooperation. With concentration on character development, improvisation, and the rehearsal process, ensemble classes incorporate theatre games, scene study and audition techniques for students with all levels of experience. Sessions culminate in a presentation of an original play and/or monologues for family and friends.
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
SATURDAY MORNING Acting Class
January 28th-March 17th
Grades 1-3..............9:00am-10:15am
Grades 4-6................10:30am-12:00pm
MONDAY AFTERNOON Acting Class
January 30th-March 19th
Grades 7-9..............4:30pm-6:15pm
For more information, and to register, visit STC's website at
www.sactheatre.org or call (916) 446-7501.
At the Thistle Dew:
Sacramento's original playwrights Workshop Theatre The workshop members and the owners of The Thistle Dew, Tom and Ellie, are dedicated to support playwrights and making the Thistle Dew Theatre available for production of their original works.
Therefore:
"Calling all playwrights and wanna-bees!"
Beginning January 30th, on alternating Monday evenings at 7pm, jump into the critique fray or listen quietly....until your passions rise and you feel compelled to join the mêlée. Several people have joined the group, experienced the process and returned with their own play and had it produced here at 'the Dew' or published.
"Do you have a play you'd like critiqued?"
Workshopping a play is not an easy process. By one definition it is a factory. By another it is a discussion group. According to most lexicons it is a process by which a dramatic work is read and then by means of improvisation or intensive group discussion, aspects of the production, before formal rehearsals and final staging begin, are explored.
After we have fully workshopped their plays we offer local playwrights the opportunity to have their plays performed on the Thistle Dew stage at no cost to the playwright.
At the Thistle Dew it is a combination of all of the above except we take this process one step further when the play is set for production: The director conducts hours of 'table talk' with the cast in order to bring out every attribute of each character: their 'back stories', their favorite colors, why they chose their lifestyle, etc. This is the last step in the 'growing process' of the plays development in which the director forces the play to undergo before it is ready for rehearsals and production.
The Production Experience at the Thistle Dew
by Tim Cahill
You've written a play. Whether with pencil and paper or on a computer screen, you have found your plot, shaped your characters and created your scenes. You've work-shopped it once, or twice, or forty times. You've basked in the praise of your cohorts and cringed at their criticisms, but they made the play better.
Then the Artistic Director tells you your play will "go up". It will be produced. You suddenly feel like a real playwright.
The Artistic Director controls the show. He picks the director and oversees the auditions. You go to the rehearsals, not because you have to but because you need to. When the cast is formed and starts to rehearse, you're amazed at how hard they work. They learn your lines and they create your characters. Each actor's unique talent reveals to you who your characters are for the first time, even though you wrote the words.
That is, if they don't change the words. Any changes have to be approved by the playwright. It's your play. Failure to control its content can lead to disaster and a miserable experience; acceptance of suggested changes may make it better. It's your call.
And then, opening night.
Wow!
You pray the audience will love your play or, at least, like it. You look at their faces for any sign, any signal of acceptance or disapproval. And when the run is over you thank the actors and the director and you're thrilled. The next day you write another play.
Local Playwrights Published from the Thistle Dew Playwrights Workshop: Timothy Cahill (JAC), Julie Greene (JAC), Paul Hauck (JAC), Thomas M. Kelly (JAC, Kindle, Barnes & Noble NOOK, SmashWords, CreateSpace), Charles McIntosh (JAC) and Laura Sheperd (JAC).
Local Playwrights Produced At The Thistle Dew Theatre:
(Full-Length Plays) Timothy Cahill, Julie Greene, Paul Hauck, Thomas M. Kelly, Leo McElroy, Charles McIntosh, Laura Sheperd, Donya Wicken.
Local Playwrights Produced At The Thistle Dew Theatre: (Monologues) Gladys Acosta, Timothy Cahill, Charley Cross, Theresa Elliot, Mark Fejta, Bernie Goldberg, Julie Greene, Eugene Griffith, Cindi Bennett, Frank Ingram, Gloria Jones, Thomas M. Kelly, Charles Kelso, Roger Linder, Laura Sheperd, Donya Wicken, Susan Webster and Jeff Webster.
McLaughlin Studios and McLaughlin Theatre Company present
MTC 360 & MTC Playhouse
MTC 360
Where & When:
3415 Swetzer Road
Loomis, California 95650
Thursday 3:45 Dance, 4:45 Sing 5:45 Act
Gain Confidence, stretch imagination, learn skills and HAVE FUN!
An hour to sing, an hour to dance, and hour to act, a lifetime to perform.
MTC360 is a great place to learn and have fun. Students gain confidence, self-esteem while learning to express themselves creatively and effectively. Students learn team work, problem solving and communication skills for life.
3 month Session runs Feb. - April. All participants will be invited to audition for our fall and summer musical production workshops as well as mini musical workshops throughout the year. Ages 8+
MTC Playhouse
Where & When
3415 Swetzer Road
Loomis, California 95650
Friday 3:30 - 4:30
Building Skills and Confidence for a lifetime
MTC playhouse is not just for performers, it is for everyone who loves to act, sing and dance for the fun of it. MTC helps children to grow, at their own speed, into effective and productive young adults.
3 month Session runs Feb. - April. All participants will be invited to audition for our fall and summer musical production workshops as well as mini musical workshops throughout the year. AGES 4-8
20 min. to sing, 20 min. to dance, 20 min. to act
FREE FAMILY CIRCUS ARTS WORKSHOPS
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5 VANDERHOEF STUDIO THEATRE MONDAVI CENTER
If you've ever dreamed of running off to join the circus, now's your chance with two family-friendly circus arts workshops offered by the UC Davis Institute for Exploration in Theatre, Dance and Performance. The ninety-minute workshops are free and open to the public at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Sunday Feb. 5 at Mondavi Center's Vanderhoef Studio Theatre. Reservations are encouraged as participation is limited.
The workshops are open to all ages including families with youngsters and grandparents. Instruction will be in climbing and swinging on aerial rope, juggling, creating pyramids and other acro-partnering skills, basic acrobatic moves and group improvisation games. Platforms will be no more than one foot off the ground.
The circus arts workshops are led by Department of Theatre & Dance Master of Fine Arts candidate Kevin O'Connor. Please email your desired session time with number of participants to ucdavisdance@gmail.com. You will receive a confirmation email in return. No more than seven participants per family/request.
Robin Migdol
Publicity Assistant
UC Davis Department of Theatre & Dance
210 Wright Hall, One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616
http://theatredance.ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-5863 (phone)
(530) 752-8818 (fax)
Next at Minimoon Productions...
Due to the success of our recent private classes, we have put together a series of intimate group classes that will benefit the skills and needs of our current students. Our company, Minimoon Productions, will offer a series of eight classes on Monday evenings from 7-9pm beginning February 6th. This series will include musical and textual interpretation, character analysis for both song and monologues, audition material development and an insider's perspective into the business of the business. The entire class series will be $500. This payment could be made in installments.
As a reminder, private classes are always available and we continue to welcome new students. However, we have also found in the group classes that our students are enhanced by working and watching others in their process. In the interest of time and limited slots available, please get back to us ASAP. We look forward to indepth work, enlightenment and many life changing explosions!!!
The next Master Class is on February 19 from 7-9 pm
at the at the Jean Runyon Theater inside the Memorial Auditorium.
This class is on the "Business of the Business" and some key points of discussion are:
*finding the right agent
*strategies for finding the right school to train at
*longevity in the industry
*how to get on the 'inside' of the business
*keeping your perspective while making a career in the industry
*how to take risks within a role and at auditions
*how to cultivate a career in the industry at all ages
The cost is $60 per family. For more information or to pre-register,
please contact Natasha or Faith at minimoonproductions@gmail.com.
All performers are welcome- actors, dancers, singers, storytellers!
Private and semi-private vocal coaching and acting lessons are now available
with Faith and Natasha. Please email or visit minimoonproductions.com for more information.
Shakespeare Teading Group
Let us broaden your knowledge of Shakespeare as we read and discuss a different play every month! No prior knowledge of Shakespeare is necessary, just your willingness to read, learn, and play! To find out more information click here!
THIS MONTH:
The Taming of the Shrew
7:00-8:30 PM
Pence Gallery
212 D St. ,Davis - "Learning Center" Upstairs
Please RSVP! E-mail davis.shakespeare@gmail.com or call 530-802-0998
Can't make it to this month's Shakespeare Reading Group? Attend the next Reading Group on the first Wednesday of every month:
March 7
April 4
May 2
FEBRUARY 19 PLAYWRIGHTS COLLABORATIVE MEETING AT THE CALIFORNIA STAGE THEATRE:
At the Sunday, February 19, Playwrights Collaborative Meeting (7:00 PM) we will read and discuss Jamaal Johnson's "Beverly: An Urban Tragedy." Beverly has had it up to here with her boyfriend's so-called friend Dominique. When she issues him an ultimatum, his decision may prove costly.
This workshop is at the California Stage Theatre, 2509 "R" Street (on "R" Street between 25th and 26th Streets), Sacramento.
The Playwrights Collaborative thanks the California Stage Theater Company for the use of its theater.
For further information or if you have a play you would like workshopped, contact Gary Agid, chairman, at gary@agid.com (916-383-9267) . Please let me know if you would like to be removed from this list.
Camp Shakespeare 2012: The Tempest!
WHEN AND WHERE:
9am-3pm
UC Davis Arboretum
Davis, CA
Camp Shakespeare! is back for its second year! Join the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble in the UC Davis Arboretum for two weeks of exciting theater games, camp activities, acting workshops, and a special camp production.
This year, campers will get a chance to be everything from monsters to magicians in one of Shakespeare's most exciting plays: The Tempest!
Session I: July 16-27
Session II: July 30-Aug 10
Age Range: 7-16*
*Based on enrollment totals, campers will spend time divided by age group for acting workshops and scene work. All experience levels are welcome!
Camp will run Monday-Friday from 9am-3pm with options for early drop off and late pick up.
TO ENROLL or ask additional questions, e-mail us at davis.shakespeare@gmail.com
