Workshops
Hone your skills or learn something new!
We offer workshops in acting, directing, improv and other stagecraft throughout the year.
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​Chekhov & Meisner Techniques
with Bruce Avery & Lana Palmer​
Sept 21 & 22, 10 am to 5 pm (with lunch break)
The paradox of acting well is this: how does one tell the truth by lying? This workshop addresses that question by exploring two different acting approaches: the Michael Chekhov Method and the Meisner Technique.
Day One of this two-day workshop will be a crash course in Meisner, to begin the process of learning to avoid self-consciousness so that one can respond honestly to each moment as one encounters it.
Day Two will introduce the methods of Michael Chekhov, whom Konstantin Stanislavski declared his most brilliant student. Chekhov’s ideas help one to achieve what he called “inspired acting.” Inspired acting requires one to respond to the moment authentically while embodying someone else. To “embody” a character requires a symbiosis of external and internal elements, which Chekhov’s work combines and develops.
Each day will feature two 150 minute sessions, with a two-hour break for lunch and rest. Wear loose, physically comfortable clothing that will allow you to move briskly. Each day will start with a lively, thirty-minute warmup to bring us physically and vocally into the space, followed by exercises developed by Meisner and Chekhov.
Maximum of 16 participants. Price is $125 for the two-day workshop.
Actors of all levels and experience are welcome to attend.
Email sccactorstheatre@gmail.com or use the PayPal button below to sign up.
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Bruce Avery is the Artistic Director of Bread & Butter Theatre, and a professor of Theatre Arts at SF State University. His PhD is from UC Santa Cruz, where he also worked as dramaturg for Shakespeare Santa Cruz
Recent directing credits include Marisol, Learning Alone, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Much Ado About Nothing, and Venus in Fur at SFSU, along with Funeral Game, As You Like It, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Bread & Butter Theatre.
Lana Palmer is a Canadian-born, San Francisco-based film and theatre maker. Her plays have had staged readings and productions at Playwrights’ Centre of San Francisco and PianoFight, and Bread & Butter Theatre.
As a sound designer and composer, she is proud to have designed over 40 productions with leading companies in the Bay Area and throughout North America. Lana is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, AEA, and the Dramatists Guild.
"It’s rare to find instructors in possession of the right mix of technical skills,
teaching skills, and playfulness to be able to pull off a quality weekend workshop.
Bruce Avery and Lana Palmer have put together a program that offers a great introduction to both schools of acting in a way that enables the actor to find the best places to use each or both of these approaches. Their workshop is an exceptional learning experience."
--David Leach
Chekhov & Meisner workshop
Pre-pay to ensure your spot!
Sunday Oct 6 improv workshop just added!
Improv Workshops with Patti Stiles
from Good Enough! Improv
Patti Stiles is coming from the land down under to teach some incredible improv workshops!
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Gifts to Inspire Your Scene Partner
Saturday, October 5, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm SOLD OUT
Improvisers who inspire, surprise and delight their partners are the most fun to play with. How do they do this magic? This workshop explores exercises and techniques to help you delight, surprise and inspire your scene partner: How to change them, affect them, and watch them light up.
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NO Isn't Always a Block: Sometimes the Best YES Is a NO
Saturday, October 5, 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm SOLD OUT
Learning to accept each other’s offers is vital in improvisation. However, many improvisers end up being trained in a ‘Pavlovian’ response to create improvisation through saying yes! to everything without understanding the offer or the story. This workshop will show you that sometimes the best Yes is a NO!​
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Scenes That Matter
Sunday, October 6, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Done sensitively, improv can provoke the audience to question their beliefs and grow. Join us as we explore improvising with challenging subject material.
NOTE: Challenging subject material and language some may find confronting.
Maximum of 16 participants per workshop. Price is $60.60 + fees for each.
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Email casey.robinson@gmail.com for more information.
Sign up HERE
Patti Stiles has been called the "queen of improvisation" by the Canadia press. She cut her teeth in an improv apprenticeship under Keith Johnstone at Loose Moose Theatre. With over 40 years of theatre experience, she
is an incredible teacher, as well as co-Artistic Director of Impro Melbourne, Australia. Her book "Improvise Freely: Throw away the rulebook and unleash your creativity" has been received with critical acclaim and marked her as a next generation legend.
"Patti Stiles was one of my mentors."
—Nathan Fillion
Good Enough! Improv consists of one part Casey Robinson and one part Lauren Owen, and one dash of love. They teach improv theater in Santa Cruz and host improv workshops like this one! They have been trained by UCB, Second City, Comedy Sportz, Will Hines (Brooklyn 99, Community), BATS, American Improv Theatre and even Laura Hall from Who's Line is it Anyways! They appeared in The World's Greatest Improv Festival, and have performed at venues like Piano Fight and American Improv Theatre. Check them out at Meetup.com/goodenoughimprov
Words, Words, Words: A Workshop in Understanding and Performing Shakespeare
with Bill Peters​
October 21 through December 9, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm​
Paul Robinson, an English director, recently said, “English is the only language that you can’t translate Shakespeare into.” Many actors and directors come to rely on substituting subtext for Shakespeare’s actual language as they work through the plays in rehearsal. The result of which is the creation of vague, watered-down performances that are confusing to audiences.
This workshop is designed to help actors and directors master the intricacies of Shakespearian text. It is designed to serve actors and directors who have experience performing Shakespeare, as well as those who don’t. Over the course of 8 sessions, we will explore the nature of Shakespeare’s theatrical imagination, and the linguistic tools he used to create his themes, plots and characters. The work will consist of studying and performing various monologues and scenes from his collected works. This workshop will also serve to enhance the participants' responses to other styles of playwriting.
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People who are Shakespeare-phobic are particularly welcome.
Maximum of 16 participants. Bill is generously donating his time so that all proceeds will benefit Actors' Theatre, allowing us to offer a special price of only $120 for the 8-week workshop.
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Email sccactorstheatre@gmail.com use the PayPal button below to sign up.
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Pre-pay to ensure your spot!
Bill Peters is a professor emeritus at San Francisco State University where he taught playwriting, acting, directing and Shakespeare performance for many years.
His directing credits include projects at the Manhattan Theatre Club, The Denver Center, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Jewel Theater in Santa Cruz, and the Magic Theatre in San Francisco. He has directed many times for Actors' Theatre's 8 Tens @ 8 Festival.
"What a privilege to be able to take a six-week directing class with Bill Peters. It was utterly fascinating to watch Bill dissect a performance, pulling it apart, thread by thread, to show how there is no right or wrong way to say something, only a way unique to that director.
A memorable six weeks."
--Sally Bookman
Directing for Actors workshop
Bill Peters is a professor emeritus at San Francisco State University where he taught playwriting, acting, directing and Shakespeare performance for many years.
​His directing credits include projects at the Manhattan Theatre Club, The Denver Center, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Jewel Theater in Santa Cruz, and the Magic Theatre in San Francisco. He has directed many times for Actors' Theatre's 8 Tens @ 8 Festival.