Acting I (Meisner I)
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This class introduces the Meisner Technique; an actor training technique developed by Sanford Meisner, one of the founding members of the instrumental Group Theater, and is aimed at honing the actor’s listening and responding skills. The first semester begins with foundational exercises to train the actor's attention toward behavioral truth within imaginary circumstances. Once this foundation has been established, the students begin to apply themselves to scripted text.
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Performance Lab I
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This is a performance-based class that approaches musical theater the same way an actor explores text in a play. During the course, each student will develop necessary skills to thoughtfully investigate material in order to combine organic choices in movement, acting and singing. Students will explore the fundamentals of text analysis and research in order to provide intentions, stakes and conflict for each character in a variety of contrasting musical theater genres.
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Voice and Speech I
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In this class, students work with basic elements of speech, such as auditory awareness, and the creation of sound. Students also learn the value of dialect and the context and history of General American Speech. They deepen the study of consonants, vowels and diphthongs in order to more precisely control their articulators and attain more resonant speech. Teachers may make exercise substitutions while maintaining learning goals.
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Ballet I
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This class provides a highly disciplined and developmentally appropriate sequence of ballet training. In class training focuses upon building strength, flexibility, musicality, and coordination. The class will cover the basics of placement/alignment, turnout, line of positions, port a bras, quality of movement, class etiquette, ballet terminology, and the knowledge base necessary to move forward in the dance sequence.
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Jazz and Theatre Dance I
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This class is designed to teach each student the correct alignment and specific techniques necessary for advancement within this and all dance genres. Class is aimed at increasing strength, flexibility, endurance, and the ability to learn and retain choreography. In additional to practical application of technique in class, students will also be introduced to the history and the major choreographers of Jazz and Musical Theatre Dance.
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Voice Studio Lab
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This course is designed to introduce students to the theory and practice that forms the basic functional skills of vocal production and singing. Topics include: breathing, muscular and air support, diction, the vocal anatomy, tone production, vowel and consonant modification, resonance and vocal health. Students will also develop a greater self-awareness, confidence, and the tools of expression that are essential in singing.
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History of Musical Theatre
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This course teaches students to identify prominent figures in both early and modern theatre; including composers, lyricists, performers, directors, choreographers, and producers. Students study the effects of the great historical events and trends that affected the art form from turn of the last century to today.
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Song Interpretation
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This course introduces students to the techniques and comprehensive disciplines required for interpreting the musical theatre song repertoire. It is designed to provide exposure to script, score, and character analysis necessary for successful song interpretation by the actor in musical theatre.
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Showcase Practicum I
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This course is designed to help students increase knowledge of rehearsal techniques, professional behavior, and musical skills. Students will receive practice in ensemble singing in large groups, duets, trios, and small group numbers. In addition to the pedagogical instruction, the class is the practicum studio for assembling showcase events.
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Music Theory
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This class teaches students to be literate in the written language of music. Actors who have the ability to read music fluently have a much easier time learning songs and can do so without the help of a coach or musical director. Actors who read music are acknowledged in the industry as a valuable commodity. A professional musical theatre actor known to be a good music reader is much more likely to be hired than one who is illiterate. Sight singing is the ability to sing what is notated at a glance, the equivalent of a "cold read" in scene work. It requires the ability to identify intervals immediately and sing them correctly, and in time.
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Pop Rock
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This class is designed to introduce musical theatre students to basic concepts of Pop Rock singing. Students will learn a brief history of Pop Rock and its place in the Musical Theatre Repertoire. Special emphasis will be placed on finding material that is successful for each individual voice and sung in a healthy manner that aligns with the acting demands of the song.
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Comedy
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This course is designed to help students identify their own brand of humor and to guide the discoveries made in class to the comic demands within the art of musical theatre. The class will also expose the students to the various types of comedy that exist, further helping the student to find ways to comically engage with a wide array of material.
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Performance Lab II
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This class is a playground to gain confidence in performance and solidify the process of character development and analysis learned in Performance Lab I. The foundation of work in the class will originate from the interpretive choices, given circumstances, and style of the chosen material. From this foundation we will explore various techniques to activate performance physically, vocally and emotionally. Attention is given to activating choices, exploring transformational characters, and acting within an ensemble.
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Improvisation
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Students will explore the fundamental principles of improvisation and how it enhances and applies to all of their performance work. Working in pairs and groups, the students will create improvised scenes and environments, explore character, learn to trust instincts, and practice making honest, fully committed choices. With the introduction of music and lyrical components, students will apply all the same principles, but with an emphasis on genre, ensemble support, and fully invested song improvisation.
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Stage and Film Combat
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This course covers the fundamental principals of unarmed stage and film combat. With emphasis on safety, students will learn a basic vocabulary of slaps, punches, kicks, hair pulls, rolls, and other fight related illusions. Angles for stage masking and camera viability are learned, allowing each student to know how best to enact a safe and effective moment of physical violence for stage and screen.
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Voice and Speech II
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In this class, students work with intermediate elements of speech, such as obstruent and diphthong differentiation. Students also learn the value of dialect and the context and history of General American Speech. They deepen the study of phonemes in order to more precisely control their articulators and attain more resonant speech. Teachers may make exercise substitutions while maintaining learning goals.
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Audition Technique
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The study of musical and non-musical based audition techniques aimed at mastering monologues, cold readings, prepared “sides”, and the overall presentation of the audition itself and all the peripheral elements that contribute to a successful audition.
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Musical Theatre Scene Study
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This course is taught using musical theatre dialogue, music, and lyric in an active, tangible scene study format. Partners are used in the scene study portion, as well as group assignments. The course builds upon the work in the other Acting classes and applies those and other methods to musical theatre performance.
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Acting II (Meisner II)
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This class continues the work that began in the Meisner I studio. Building upon the use of repetition and activities as building blocks, the class will provide a reliable methodology for creating strong but imaginary circumstances that will allow an actor to fully prepare emotionally for any scene. Students will learn how to craft relationships based on the text to their partners to deepen their connection to the circumstances. Students will then learn to incorporate their new-found emotional connections back into the context of a scripted play, audition monologues, and into song interpretation and scene work in musical theatre.
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Showcase Practicum II
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This course continues building upon the work of the first semester. Showcase materials are considered and selected. The end of year showcase event, in whatever form, is often shaped and developed in this class.
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Professional Preparation I (The Business of Acting)
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A career in the professional theater takes more than talent, it takes an understanding of how to brand and market one’s talent in a competitive field. This course builds a thorough introduction to the business aspects of show business; covering topics related to casting, audition prep, head shots and resumes, personal style, awareness of type, and current trends in the profession.
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Ballet II
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This class provides a more advanced level of ballet training. In class training builds upon the work of the first semester with continued emphasis on strength, flexibility, musicality, and coordination. This class will review and expand upon the French terminology and introduce some Russian terms as well. There will be opportunities to learn about the history of dance, current trends, and masters of the art form. Dance audition technique will be introduced and appropriate performance opportunities will be provided.
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Jazz and Theatre Dance II
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This class is designed to build upon all the work introduced in the first semester. More advanced work is incorporated including greater challenges in the warm up, across the floor work, centering, and combinations. An emphasis this semester is placed upon audition decorum, preparation, and conduct; incorporating mini-auditions and call backs. Students are guided to employ the acting and storytelling elements of dance.
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Tap I
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This class is an introduction to the basic Tap dance principles and techniques. Tap is style of American theatrical dance, distinguished by percussive foot work, which marks out precise rhythmic patterns on the floor. This class will focus on Broadway style Tap dancing, incorporating warm up, drills, standard Tap steps, terminology, and performance combinations.
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Ballroom Dance
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Ballroom dance is the art of partnering. In this course, students will explore two International Standard Ballroom Dances, the Slow Waltz and the Quickstep following The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing Syllabus outlined in the text The Revised Technique by Alex Moore. This text is used by students and teachers all over the world who want to take medal examinations, obtain teaching credentials, or dance competitively or perform professionally. Students will also explore Foxtrot and Tango using The American Syllabus. Ballroom dance helps actors to develop a more powerful presence and increase their physical, emotional and rhythmic sensitivity. Many of the requisite skills can be applied directly to scene work. In this course, each dancer will lead as well as follow.
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