DEVELOPING DRAMATIC SKILLS

This class is designed for a cross section of skill levels; whether students are currently developing their acting abilities or have come to it for the first time. Students will be encouraged to learn about themselves and their own instrument (body, voice and experience) and expand their creative expression through theatre. The goal is to meet each individual at his or her specific level of confidence and development.

Students can take part in both sections of the course or register for just one.

Part One – Building Skills and Confidence:
Part one will focus on learning basic theatre skills, stage awareness, and versatility in body, movement, and voice. Students will be coached to take risks where they are comfortable, focusing on having fun and building confidence. A variety of exercises and techniques are designed to help students relax, play, and create freely. These are theatrical techniques derived from teachers such as Viola Spolin, Augusto Boal, Sanford Meisner and Keith Johnstone, as well as what the actor/teacher brings from their own backgrounds. There will be simple text work with scenes extracted from plays. This course can be taken more than once. The course content varies depending on the needs of the group.

WINTER SESSION:
Jan. 11–March 8 (8 weeks). Mondays 7:00–9:30pm
Instructor: Gina McIntosh. $280 (incl. GST)

Part Two – Building a Character:
One of the many challenges for an actor is how to create and build a character when they are cast in a play or film. The character can sometimes be quite different from the person playing them, and sometimes they can be very similar. There can be challenges along this spectrum of how an actor works with this, physically, vocally, intellectually, emotionally and intuitively. Through movement, vocal work, improvisation and other theatre techniques, students will be guided in their understanding of how to approach and develop a fully dimensional character.

SPRING SESSION:
March 29–June 14 (10 weeks). Mondays 7:00–9:30pm
Holidays: April 5 and May 24
Instructor: Gina McIntosh. $350 (incl. GST)