The 2012
Summer Acting
Institute
for Teens

Washington's Comprehensive Acting Conservatory
for Young Adults

An intensive four-week training program for 13-19 year olds
culminating in a full production of

Off a Broken Road
by Stephen Spotswood

at Theater J

Monday-Friday, 9am-2pm
July 16 - August 10
with evening performance on August 10

 

ABOUT THE SUMMER ACTING INSTITUTE

The Theatre Lab’s Summer Acting Institute for Teens is designed to immerse young adults in the art of acting—from mastering the essential principles of the craft to participating in a public performance of The Caucasian Chalk Circle at the end of the four weeks.

The curriculum includes audition seminars, improvisational workshops, voice and speech training, movement training, and scene study, as well as special programs designed to give interested students insight into the workings of the professional theatre community.  In addition to the daily training, students will present a full production of Off a Broken Road.

Off a Broken Road is a powerful new play about the devestation of war and the meaning of courage. Set in an undefined place and time, the play features a large cast and meaningful acting opportunities for students of all types. Playwright Stephen Spotswood will be involved in the rehearsal process, continuing to refine and revise the play in response to his work with the student actors and director Jessica Burgess. This is a unique opportunity to work with a professional playwright and director on the development of an exciting new work. The final production will be performed at Theater J, one of Washington's most acclaimed professional theatres.

All institute classes are taught by professional actors and directors.  The summer program is directed by actor Deb Gottesman, a founder and co-director of The Theatre Lab, and includes a staff of highly trained instructors and specialists including Inkwell Theater Company founder Jessica Burgess, who will direct the final production.

 

ACTING CLASSES

Summer Acting Institute participants take all of the following courses:

The Drama Workshop: An improvisational workshop designed to explore core acting skills, including: creating a character, activating needs, developing spontaneity and focus, and communicating effectively with others on stage.  Students will be challenged to discover new ways of thinking, expressing themselves, and creating.

Auditioning:  An intensive seminar designed to prepare students to perform monologues in an audition setting, this course focuses on developing confidence, rechanneling nervous energy into creative energy, and using the body and voice effectively to tell a story.  At the conclusion of the seminar, students use their monologues to audition for Ghetto. All students are guaranteed substantial and interesting roles.

Stage Movement:  Designed to increase the actor’s range of movement and physical expressiveness, this course incorporates elements of mime, dance, and improvisation, as well as training in relaxation and posture development, in order to maximize the potential of the body on stage.

Voice and Speech:  Designed to give students the skills they need for clear, effective speech on stage, this course focuses on developing proper breath control, improving diction and projection, dialect, and maximizing the flexibility and range of the voice.

Scene Study:  An intensive exploration of scripted work, this course focuses on developing the actor’s process through the introduction of powerful rehearsal techniques.  Course culminates in a public performance of Off a Broken Road.

 

In addition to the above classes, students participate in a variety of special workshops—such as acting for film and TV, mask work, and stage combat—led by guest artists from the Washington theatre community.

 

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DIRECTORS

Deb Gottesman (Program Director) is a founder and Co-Director of The Theatre Lab.  She is also a professional actress who has performed frequently at Woolly Mammoth Theatre (where she recently appeared in Current Nobody), Arena Stage, Signature Theatre, Source Theatre, Theatre Alliance, and with the Washington Shakespeare Company, among many others. She has directed more than fifteen productions at The Theatre Lab, including Ragtime, The Crucible, Grapes of Wrath and Once on This Island, as well as productions for National Geographic. Deb received her M.F.A. from Catholic University and has taught drama at the Round House Theatre, Woolly Mammoth and American University.  She is a 2003 recipient of the prestigious Linowes Leadership Award for her contributions to arts education and has also served as Director of Afterschool Activities for the Sidwell Friends Lower School. Along with Buzz Mauro, she has co-authored three books on applied acting, all published by Penguin Putnam.

Jessica Burgess (Production Director) is the founding Artistic Director of The Inkwell, Washington DC’s resource for new plays by emerging artists (www.inkwelltheatre. org) and is Round House Theatre’s Artistic Associate. Her directing credits include productions, workshops and staged readings at Active Cultures, Actors Theatre of Louisville (Humana Festival & Apprentice Company), Adventure Theatre, Texas State University’s Black & Latino Playwrights Conference, Catalyst Theater Company, the DC Beckett Centenary Festival, eXtreme eXchange, Forum Theatre, Hatchery Festival, The Hub, Imagination Stage, Woolly Mammoth’s PlayGround, Rorschach Theatre, Round House Theatre Silver Spring Series, Solas Nua, Theater Alliance, and The Inkwell. At Imagination Stage, where she is a faculty member, she devises with and directs the teen New Works Performing Ensemble (formerly, Speak Out On Stage Senior) and Project X, as well as directing the teen Acting Conservatory’s production of The Realm. She has worked with numerous talented teenage playwrights at Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Young Playwrights Theatre. She is a proud alumna of Middlebury College and the 2005 Lincoln Center Directors’ Lab, a member of the Round House Kitchen and Round House Artists’ Council, on the Board of Directors of Active Cultures, on Forum Theatre’s Artists’ Council, a co-producer of the DC Non-Equity/EMC Open Call, and a three-time recipient of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Young Emerging Artist grant.

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ADMISSION

The Theatre Lab is dedicated to providing affordable, accessible training forstudents seriously interested in learning about the acting process. 

All applicants must complete a written essay expressing their interest in the program. Applicants must also prepare a 90-second monologue for an audition that will be scheduled upon receipt of completed application.

Please note: Due to the limited nature of our enrollment, admission is competitive. After we receive your application, you will be contacted to schedule an interview.

 

TUITION

Tuition for the Summer Acting Institute is $650. Partial financial aid is available through our Work Study program. In addition, two full scholarships will be awarded annually. (Criteria: exceptional community involvement and financial need.)

Auditions will be scheduled upon receipt of completed application.

Apply Online

or

Download Application to Mail

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COMMENTS FROM THEATRE LAB PARTICIPANTS

"The Theatre Lab pushed me to greater heights. I needed motivation and it gave it to me."

“The program is amazing! I have grown as an actor in ways I never could have imagined and I was able to more personally connect to the characters I portrayed.”

"The people were incredible. I made friends I'll never forget."

"This was what I was looking for. The program challenged me and gave me upgraded acting techniques along with less self-consciousness.”

"I can honestly say that this is the most fun I have had in anything I have done."

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WHAT MAKES THE SUMMER ACTING INSTITUTE UNIQUE?

The Summer Acting Institute was founded by people who believe that acting is the most FUN thing you could ever do. We therefore create an atmosphere that encourages students to have a great time and develop strong friendships with others who share this special interest.

We not only offer young actors the opportunity to study with working theatre PROFESSIONALS, but we also treat our students like the serious artists we know they are.

Our focus is on TRAINING, not performance. Our classes are designed to give students an exciting, intensive acting experience that will prepare them to work in any theatre setting—not just ours.

We believe that every student who has a committed interest in learning to act should be given a chance to do so. We guarantee that everyone who participates in the program will have CHALLENGING ROLES to play. In other words, no one will be "third person from the left in the chorus"!

We also care about our students as people—not merely as actors. We understand that theatre is a means through which individuals make DISCOVERIES about themselves and their lives, and we look forward to seeing our students take this creative journey.