** 8 yr old students can register for this class only if:

• the student has taken class and/or attended camp with Wisconsin Theater Arts in the past
• the student has taken acting classes and/or attended theater camps in the past through another organization (must provide this information prior to registration)

Once above pre-requisites have been met and accepted by the instructor the student will be allowed to register for the class.

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The Acting Techniques class for ages 9-11 uses scripts written specifically for this age group. These scripts come from classic children's stories such as fairy tales and folk tales as well as more modern stories. Scripts may also be original works. No matter what script is chosen, students will love jumping into their characters and have fun bringing the story to life onstage!

Students will:

• audition & be cast in a roles(s) for the selected play,

• hone their acting skills through character analysis       and development, activities that work on voice projection,   nonverbal communication, improvisation, and much more,

• learn techniques for line memorization,

• practice and implement stage directions/blocking,

• learn how to work as an ensemble,

• have fun and bring the show to life!

This class will strengthen their ability to cooperate with others, focus on a task, and gain self-confidence.

All students who register for the class are cast in the chosen play through the audition process that happens on the first day of class. Every role in a production is different and requires different line loads and abilities. Students in this production will have lines to memorize. This means they will require practice time at home. Parents must be available to assist their child at home with line memorization.

Students will apply all the skills they've learned in their final class day performance showcase of a 25-35 minute play.

The play chosen for this class will be based on the total number of students enrolled.

Instructor: Patti Punzi

Class location: 

Honey Creek Community Church Hall

35512 Washington Ave

Honey Creek, WI 53138

Class Time:  Saturdays - 10:30am - 12:00pm

Class Dates:

 September 7, 14, 21, & 28 and October 5, 12, & 19,  2024

The final day of class (Oct. 19th) will include a dress rehearsal and their performance. [We may add additional time on the final day to ensure we have time for the dress rehearsal and the performance.] More details regarding this will be emailed out prior to the final day of class.

NOTE: Attendance is very important as the entire class will be working together on a play script to perform on the final day. It is very difficult to have meaningful rehearsals when a cast member is absent often. This is a 7-week class so please plan accordingly.  

Please make every effort to ensure your child is in attendance Oct 5 & 12 as well as the final day of class so that proper rehearsal can be done with the entire cast. 

**WHEN REGISTRATION IS COMPLETE please check all email folders (including spam/promotions) for the confirmation email. 

In order to ensure you receive ALL future communications please add info@wisconsintheaterarts.org as well as patti@wisconsintheaterarts.org to your trusted sender list.**

DRESS CODE:

We just ask that all students wear sneakers to class. Sandals, Crocs, Flip Flops, and the like can become a safety issue during a theater class so please refrain from sending your child to class with these types of shoes.

Students should dress according to the weather. Please make sure that if dresses/skirts are worn that leggings, shorts, bike shorts, etc... are worn underneath. Theater classes do involve movement of all sorts during the various theater activities.

The space we use can get warm (as air conditioning is not available). Fans will be employed for sure. We also have the ability to use the lower level room that tends to stay cooler when the temps outside are warmer. 

Once the temps begin to remain cooler we'll use the upstairs space exclusively as that is where the stage is located. There is heat for this space so warming it up is not a problem whatsoever.

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COSTUME INFORMATION

Students in the Acting Foundation class will be wearing costumes for their final performance. We will require every student to wear a basic base costume that parents must provide. We do our very best to keep it simple and items that you already have or can easily find with spending little to no money.

Any additional costume items will be provided by Wisconsin Theater Arts.

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“There are no small parts, only small actors”

(Konstantin Stanislaviski)

Stanislavski was the “father of modern acting”. He revolutionized the craft of acting. Not just for lead performers, but for the actors with small parts and for background actors and ensemble. Prior to Stanislavski, actors who were cast in small roles or in the ensemble often gave “smaller” performances. This means their acting lacked a sense of purpose. Their characters lacked depth and commitment and it was more like they were spectators versus performers.

Stanislavski found this unacceptable. When he arrived on the scene he expected his actors to truly engage in their roles with “equal commitment” regardless of the role size.

When Stanislavski’s company, the Moscow Art Theater, toured around the world, spectators immediately noticed the change he had made. Audiences now saw ALL the actors, even those with smaller roles or those in the ensemble, move with a sense of purpose and perform their characters with depth and truth. There was a full commitment by every actor on the stage to achieve their character’s objective no matter if they had hundreds of lines, a handful of lines, or none at all.

Here are Wisconsin Theater Arts, we follow this same philosophy. No matter the size of the role, we expect our actors, our performers to be true to their characters and create realistic representations on stage. Every single role in a play or musical has purpose otherwise it wouldn’t be there. We expect every cast member to have full commitment to their performance regardless of the size of the role they’ve been cast in.

(Stanislavski info from: https://actingmagazine.com/2018/07/there-are-no-small-parts-only-small-actors-konstantin-stanislavski/)