Learn how to find and shape the emotional heart of any script! In this class, students will investigate major themes within a script, analyze characters by defining their relationships, conflicts, and behavior in response to obstacles, and identify the stakes that drive the motor of the play.
Students will be assigned two-character scenes from a classic American play and may cast either from members of the class who volunteer to act, or students from other Berkeley Rep classes. Class sessions will include scene sharing, open discussions, and an exploration of staging and style.
No acting experience necessary — just a passion for storytelling and a curiosity for what makes a great play tick.
Instructor: Elinor Renfield has been directing professionally in New York City for over forty years. She is the winner of the Boston Theater Award, a nominee for the Helen Hayes Award, and has received two grants from the NEA. She served at the Guthrie Theater as Associate Director, The American Place Theatre as Associate Artistic Director, and was one of the founders of the Women’s Project Theater. Additionally, she was chair of the MFA Directing Program at the New School for Drama, where she taught from 1999 to 2020, as well as teaching at Yale and Princeton University through 2005.
- Mon 7–9:30pm
6/29, 7/6, 7/13, 7/20, 7/27, 8/3
$295
