APPLIED ARTS COURSES FOR ACTING PRIMES
Artists hone their foundation by employing the technical skills of a particular art or field of endeavor. These courses are Prime specific, or recommended for your prime and are designed to strengthen your skillset and/or build your portfolio. Students should focus their Applied Arts choices in their prime arts area, but may explore outside of their prime in some cases.
CHOOSING COURSES
Applied Arts courses are offered one day per week on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays. Be mindful of the length of the courses you are interested in. Most courses are scheduled for the full trimester, however, there are some that meet for only half of the trimester. In those cases, it's recommended you sign up for both half-trimester courses. You are welcome to sign up for classes on Tuesdays or Thursdays, but be mindful of the dates courses are offered so you do not choose classes that are offered at the same time.
TUESDAY OFFERINGS
🟡 Fall A : September 14 - October 12 (5 sessions/10 hours)
🟫 Fall B: October 19 - November 16 (5 sessions/10 hours)
🔺 Fall AB: September 14 - November 16 (10 sessions/20 hours)
THURSDAY OFFERINGS
Fall A : N/A
Fall B: N/A
🔶 Fall AB: September 23 - November 18 (7 sessions/14 hours)
TUESDAY OFFERINGS
The Actor's Voice
VoiceMentor: Emily Karol
Contact: ekgerbasi@aacps.orgTuesdays at Studio 39
🟡 Fall A : Sept 14 - Oct 12
(5 sessions/10 hours)
Acting Primes only.
Through a series of exercises and led meditations, actors will discover a learn to release the strains on their body and voice that keep them from being truthful on stage. They will learn an effective warm-up for rehearsal and performances and discover ways to release tension that affect our voices daily.
"If you're holding your breath in any way, part of you is absent" - Kristin Linklater
Fashion & Costume: Historical & Contemporary
Theatrical DesignMentor: Emily McCort
Contact: emccort@aacps.orgTuesdays at Studio 39
Students can sign up for the full trimester offering:
🔺 Fall AB: Sept 14 - Nov 16
(10 sessions/20 hours)
Or students can sign up for a half-trimester offering:
🟡 Fall A : Sept 14 - Oct 12
(5 sessions/10 hours) Historical Fashion & Costume
🟫 Fall B: Oct 19 - Nov 16
(5 sessions/10 hours) Contemporary Fashion & Costume
Theater, Dance and Visual Art primes welcome and encouraged.
A design-focused class where students learn about different time periods to create fashion/costume designs for today.
Directing for the Camera
Acting on FilmMentor: John Posner
Contact: jjposner@aacps.orgTuesdays at Studio 39
🔺 Fall AB: Sept 14 - Nov 16
(10 sessions/20 hours)
Acting and Film & New Media Primes.
Explores the basic techniques of blocking and staging action for the camera, with emphasis on the practical problems and aesthetic questions that arise. Students work alone and in groups to develop solutions to dramatic and practical problems.
Slapstick Through the Ages
Acting on FilmMentor: Francesca Chilcote
Contact: fchilcote@aacps.orgTuesdays at Studio 39
🔺 Fall AB: Sept 14 - Nov 16
(10 sessions/20 hours)
Theater and Film & New Media Primes.
Slapstick Comedy is an ancient, highly physical popular theatrical tradition. With the advent of silent film, this style of comedy exploded. It was perfect: all action, no dialogue required. Performers from the vaudeville stage, such as Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Charplin, Lucille Ball, and the Marx Brothers, all became famous writing, producing, directing, and acting in their own movies. When sound was developed, stories became more intricate, and as the art form became more “sophisticated,” slapstick became an important tool for comic filmmakers, especially those creating for young audiences.
Over the course of this class, students will watch slapstick films, or examples of slapstick in scenes, starting from the first films ever made, to modern times. By the final class, each student will conceive their own short slapstick scene and storyboard this idea.
Fall Writing Collection
Creative Writing Collection Mentors: Maggie Heemstra & Lynn Schwartz
Contact: mbenshaw@aacps.org, lschwartz@aacps.orgTuesdays at Studio 39
🔺 Fall AB: Sept 14 - Nov 16
(10 sessions/20 hours)
All primes welcome and encouraged.
The Creative Habit (3 sessions) Sept 14, 21, and 28
We’ll identify the creative self in each of us and explore how to establish the most effective process for our ongoing artistic work. Learn to create a healthy and powerful working practice, an inspirational workspace, and techniques to combat barriers to creativity such as writer’s block, procrastination, and the inner critic.
The Professional Writer (3 sessions) Oct 5, 12, and 19
If you hope to have your work taken seriously, you will need to behave professionally. Let’s examine professional etiquette, how to edit and revise, and understand what is expected in the publishing process, including proper email style and the agent query letter. We will also explore effective book promotion and how to best pitch your ideas in an interview or email. We’ll learn to use a variety of creative exercises designed to help you develop and maintain a positive and professional attitude toward your work.
Narrative Voice (4 sessions) Oct 26, Nov 2, 9, and 16
Who should be telling your story and how should they tell it? Let’s examine Voice, Style, Tone, and Point of View — the elements that create the overall feeling of a work. In addition, beginning writers are often instructed to Show, not Tell — to create dramatic scenes and cut exposition, but this is not always appropriate advice. Skilled writers know that a good read results from a thoughtful balance of scene and summary. We’ll examine different scene types, the uses of summary, and how to craft transitions. The goal is to have a reader fully engaged with your narrator and your story.
THURSDAY OFFERINGS
Stage Presence and Movement
Acting on StageMentor: Francesca Chilcote
Contact: fchilcote@aacps.orgThursdays at Studio 39
🔶 Fall AB: Sept 23 - Nov 18
(7 sessions/14 hours)
Acting Primes.
Can you stand on stage and feel comfortable and present in your body? Stage Presence is everything: body language is 55% of how we communicate as humans. The actor's body then, is an incredibly important storytelling tool. This class will work on the actor's mind body connection, specificity in the control of their own bodies, spatial awareness, and how their bodies shape the space around them to create interesting and dynamic character and acting choices.
Stage to Screen | Musicals Film Study
Acting on FilmMentor: Emily Karol
Contact: ekgerbasi@aacps.orgThursdays at Studio 39
🔶 Fall AB: Sept 23 - Nov 18
(7 sessions/14 hours)
Theater, Dance, Music and Film & New Media Primes.
A class for film students who want to study a unique genre and for actors/singers/dancers who want to see how storytelling shifts in the intimate medium of film. We will watch production numbers and segments from films produced during The Golden Age of Hollywood to the bold color/large scale productions of the recent years. Students will discuss topics of technology, production value, story telling, performance elements, etc.