For LIVE THEATRE to persist in a culture of Youtube and iTunes, and for skills and craftsmanship to remain as part of the very fabric of storytelling, we need students who feel compelled to look for something more; something different. The acting world needs students of the craft who are willing to explore their feelings and impulses, to encourage their thoughts and actions, and to help transform human relationships.
The Theatre Program at ACE offers the POSSIBILITY of such individual and group transformation through an eclectic array of courses and disciplines that will allow each and every student to grow and shine. We feel that through a playfully intense collection of ideas, concepts, and lessons the truth about live performance will reveal itself.
In the TWIN WORLDS of plays and musicals, success relies on a common ingredient: great stories. This summer those stories will come from The Brothers’ Grimm and the World of Fairytales! We will produce three shows: an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods; the Tony and Drama Desk Award-Winning play Story Theater by Paul Sills with music by Bob Dylan and George Harrison; and student-generated work we’re calling Fairytales in Black and White with Film Noir as the centerpiece. All students will participate in all three productions! Sondheim’s masterpiece features an evil witch, a scheming wolf, a lost princess, and a boy selling his cow for magic beans. Paul Sills, one of the founders of The Second City in Chicago, in Story Theatre sets the fables of fairytales of the Grimm Brothers against that backdrop of a world at war. And the Film Noir piece will explore the dark and angular world of Grimm fairytales through the lens of the 1940’s camera!
Study the Play
“Is there no play, to ease the anguish of a torturing hour?” -A Midsummer Night’s Dream
In this class you will study and discuss what makes a great play. How do you decide on a plot? What should the main character be like? Who is the antagonist and what do they want? How many characters should there be? What’s the BIG PROBLEM and how does it get resolved. By exploring the multiple layers of meaning and EXPRESSION in the scripts, your teacher’s will guide you through the beginnings of writing your own plays.
Speak and Sing the Play
“Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue…” -Hamlet
A director once said “if you can’t hear it or you can’t understand it, it didn’t happen!” Diction and enunciation are usually considered as interesting as broccoli, but they are absolutely necessary in order to express what you mean. Through singing and monologue study consonants have emotions in this class, and vowels have souls!
Play the Play
“An actor is a sculptor, who carves in snow.” –Lawrence Barrett
Working with a Technical Theater and Stage Craft specialist, you will learn how to sculpt an idea into a prop or set piece; you will create designs for scenes, sketching out your ideas to help express what you think the playwright intended the set to look like. Some of the work you do in this class COULD end up in our production!
Move the Play
“Let wantons, light of heart, tickle the senseless rushes of their heels.” –Romeo and Juliet
You will move, you will groove, you will smooth out the textures and techniques that will allow you to become any animal, creature, or being you can imagine. Since the summer is about making animals come to life, you will learn that it is possible to create a character without using words – by just using the body! This class is designed to FREE the BODY, so you can free your MIND, so you can free your body, so you can…
Rehearsal
“Practice is nine-tenths!” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
During this rehearsal time you will put into practice everything you are learning during the day. You will rehearse some of the larger ensemble scenes and musical numbers with the whole group, and help us create the look and feel of the show. From costumes, sets, and props, to lights, staging and directing, we want you to feel ownership of this class and learn to collaborate on a whole new level.
Master Class
“The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands.” –Benjamin Franklin
There is no substitute for watching truly excellent performances by artisans fully committed to their craft. Several times during the summer we will take an hour and revel in the acting and singing prowess of some truly gifted guest performers. There is power in observation: to SEE is to DO, but to truly DO you must SEE. These classes will open your eyes!
In the mornings, each student will participate in four different classes: Study the Play, Speak and Sing the Play, Play the Play and Move the Play. After lunch students will participate in a chosen Elective (including innovative Playwriting, Acting for the Camera, Advanced Stage Combat, and Dancing for the Musical Stage), work on the show in a Group or Individual Rehearsal, and attend a Master Class given by a local professional.