Workshops
Hone your skills or learn something new!
We offer workshops in acting, directing, improv and other stagecraft throughout the year.
​
Note: If registering through PayPal isn't your thing, you can always pay at the first class. However, you do need to contact us to sign up in advance, so we can manage the numbers. Thanks!
​
​Chekov & Meisner Techniques
with Bruce Avery & Lana Palmer​
September 30 & October 1, 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.
Minimum of 10 and 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.
​
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.
Pre-pay to ensure your spot!
Radio Acting / Audio Theater
with Bill Peters​
Mondays, October 16 through December 4
6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
​
Audio Theater is an art form with a long, mostly invisible history. This course will investigate that art form. The skills of creating a “theater of the mind,” as radio drama has been described, are not traditionally taught in acting schools. This course will give the workshop participants the opportunity to explore ways in which they can enhance the suppleness of their vocal instruments and broaden their theatrical imaginations to create compelling audio performances.
A vast area of performance opportunities has opened up for the voice actor, including podcasts, audio books, animation, narration, and commercials. Various practical exercises and assignments will allow each student to discover their own unique story-telling voice. We will also be examining writing for voice theater, including creating original material and adaptations of work in the public domain.
​
Maximum of 16 participants. Price is $120 for the 8-week workshop.
Email sccactorstheatre@gmail.com use the PayPal button below to sign up.
​
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.
"Part detective, part explorer, part director only begins to describe Bill's approach... He has a wealth of knowledge and wisdom about the theatre which he gladly shares with his students. He's a treasure to the craft and to our community. I highly recommend taking a class from him. "
--Steve Capasso
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.