Classes and Workshops
Winter 2025 Courses
January to March
Class Schedule:
The Actors Course
Sharpen your skills in improv, ensemble building, and collaboration. This course is designed for students wanting to train at the conservatory level and have had some acting experience.
The Actor's Course pulls from the inspired techniques of Stanislavsky, Chekhov, Laban, Viewpoints, and other acting methods designed at cultivating creativity and spontaneity while providing practical tools of repeatability in performance.
Each class will build upon the lessons from the previous class. Consistent attendance is requested.
Jan. 23rd to March 14th
Thursdays, 6-8:30pm
Location: CounterPulse, SF
The Actors Gym
Acting requires endurance. The Actors Gym provides endurance training through application of physical acting technique, monologue drills and somatic training as well as exercises you need to perform at your best.
Get your afternoon workout and punch dancing through a series of sweaty exercises! We incorporate Laban and Chekhov techniques with basic cross-functional fitness training, helping you dive into your monologue in new ways. Gain the confidence and energy you need to respond quickly during auditions, and perform with ease in your next production!
Please wear comfortable clothing and appropriate footwear for some physical work.
Offered Spring 2025 (Check back here for upcoming schedule!)
Movement & Voice
To understand how we speak and how we move is to be able to act with conviction, to respond organically, and to transform physically.
This holistic course will blend the voice technique of Linklater with schools of physical acting methods: Viewpoints, Laban, Michael Chekhov. Learn how to build confidence in breath support and ease in playing.
Offered Spring 2025
(Stay tuned for updates for upcoming schedule!)
Activating Shakespeare
Break down the dynamics of speech, listen to the rhythm and musicality of the language, and activate the language of your creative heart. Students will delve into IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), as studied in conservatory programs, to learn the sound symbols of speech in the English language. Understanding IPA is fundamental in playing the music of Shakespeare's words, and even learning dialects!
All levels welcome. Be focused, prepared and ready to work and play. As this is a progressive series, continued attendance is requested.
Offered Spring 2025
(Check back here for more details on upcoming schedule!)
The Actors Sanctuary
Because we all need a place to commune, commiserate, and connect as artists, and human beings. These free one hour group sessions are free to students and Company members. Drop in and join whatever the conversation of the day may be.
Check back here for upcoming dates!
Speech & Dialects
Photograph by Hunter Prutch
Far more than just having a good ear for accents, transforming the way one speaks is one of the greatest tools an actor can have.
Understanding how you speak is the first lesson in discovering how to transform your speech patterns to create the appropriate dialect. Students will learn the International Phonetic Alphabet and acquire tools to apply sound changes to acquire a variety of dialects.
Jan. 22nd to Feb. 26th
Wednesdays, 6-8:30pm
Location: Zoom
Master Classes
Photograph by Scott Ragle
Recurring Master Class Workshops include:
The Art of Clowning
Go beyond the red nose and find what it means to truly connect to your "kid spirit" and how play and a dose of madness, can lend itself to an expanded repertoire in your toolkit as an Artist. This master class will provide students with tools many consider to be integral to an actor: spontaneity, play, and being present in the moment. It’s fun, it’s silly, and it’s also incredibly, deceptively useful for all acting and, life-affirming in its practice.
Upcoming Clowning Workshop
Sunday, January 5th
12:30-3:30pm
Location: CounterPulse, SF
The Audition Experience
Monologue selection, reading the space, navigating the two-minute audition, and cold reads. A practical skills course specifically tailored around the 2-minute format for generals (Workshop #1) and callback preparation (Workshop #2) will receive instruction in preparing monologues, gain practical skills to apply during the audition, learn how to read the space, and audition with ease and confidence.
Upcoming Audition Workshop:
Saturday, January 18th
1-5pm
Location: CounterPulse, SF