youth / teen classes
Our summer session of classes will begin the week of July 7, 2008. Course descriptions available below.
youth classes
superheroes workshop
entering grades k–1
Instructor: Erica Blue
Look up in the sky! It’s you! Let’s explore your inner Superhero! Are you ready to save the world? Well, put on your cape and let’s go! We will create Superhero costumes and masks, and invent worlds where your hero saves helpless creatures and entire planets from menacing forces. We will invite family and friends to watch our great feats of strength and bravery.
Erica Blue has a B.A. in Dance / Theater and Child Development from Sarah Lawrence College. She founded The Raw Material Performance Ensemble in Amsterdam. For the last 10 years, she has taught and performed around the US. Her solo work has been performed at La MaMa in New York and the Cleveland Performance Art Festival, and has won Best of the Fringe in San Francisco and Seattle. Now a mother of two boys, she has redoubled her enthusiasm for teaching young people to explore their imaginations.
Saturdays, 9AM–NOON • 7/12, 7/19, 7/26 • $135 (includes costumes and masks)
acting up
entering grades 2–4
Instructor: Nancy Gold
Develop your skills of imagination, expression, spontaneity and storytelling. Become an actor! Explore character creation with masks, mime and movement. Develop your storytelling with improvisation and comedy. Use published scripts for scene study or write your own—and most of all, become your best Drama Queen or King. Create a unique performance for friends and family.
Nancy Gold is the author of Finding Your Funny Bone! The Actor’s Guide to Physical Comedy and Characters, published by Smith and Kraus. She has taught at Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, A.C.T. Young Conservatory, UCLA, Foothill College and throughout the Bay Area in public and private schools. She has studied with Jacques LeCoq and Ctibor Turba, and has a Masters Equivalency degree and B.F.A. from the University of Illinois.
Saturdays, 9AM–NOON • 7/12, 7/19, 7/26 • $125
dueling duos: private stage combat for two
entering grades 5 and up
Instructor: Michael Storm
Stage combat for you and a friend! Learn how your favorite film and stage fights are made to look real. Learn the same stage combat techniques that the pros use: John Wayne punches, roundhouse punches, stomach punches, jabs, slaps, choke holds, vocals and falls. We will cover how to safely choreograph realistic and exciting stage combat fights—and how to make it look dangerous with vocal and acting techniques. Classes will be adjusted to personal interests and can include broadsword work, depending on the number of sessions scheduled. Couples, family members and best friends are all welcome. Suggested five-week commitment—each session is individually scheduled.
Michael Storm has been working as an actor in the Bay Area for the past 15 years. He has appeared with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Cal Shakes, Napa Valley Repertory, San Jose Stage Company, the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival and Shakespeare at Stinson. He received degrees in drama and economics from UC Irvine, and is a certified Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors who has taught for A.C.T., Berkeley Rep School of Theatre and San Francisco Shakespeare Festival.
Dates/Times to be schedules with the instructor • $80/hour for two people
teen classes
The Berkeley Rep School of Theatre aims to provide committed high school students with the opportunity to study with professional theatre artists. Students will learn the fundamentals of professionalism, the rigors of the rehearsal process and the art of performance.
We offer summer training for middle- and high-school students in the Summer Theatre Intensive, a four week program that includes core technique classes, specialized electives and seminars and an ensemble-driven play creation curriculum. Click here for more information.
scholarships
Berkeley Rep School of Theatre offers need-based scholarships for students enrolling in our youth and teen classes. For a financial aid application, please click here or call the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre at 510.647.2972.