Students enrolled in this production-based class will work as an ensemble to learn, practice, and perform a one act play.
(Due to the slightly shortened length of this spring session the one act duration will be approximately 30-35 minutes in length.)
Play scripts are determined by the number of students enrolled and will be announced prior to the first day of class.
Plays for this class are chosen from a vast library of scripts from various publishing companies AND are appropriate for this age level. We want to ensure that each session of this class has a script that challenges the students enrolled.
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!
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.
Class location: (new class space)
East Troy High School
Room 117 Lecture Hall/Theater
3128 Graydon Avenue * East Troy, WI 53120
Class Time: 6:30-8:30pm
Class Dates: March 4, 11, 18, 25 & April 1 & 8
Final Dress Rehearsal and Performance:
Saturday, April 12th (2pm Dress Rehearsal - 4:30pm Performance)
All students enrolled in this class must be in attendance for the final two class dates as well as the final dress rehearsal and performance day.
Attendance throughout the six weeks of class is essential for the continuity of the rehearsal and performance process. Please make plans accordingly to ensure your child attends every class. (We fully understand that a student may miss class for a prior engagement/appointment as well as illness and/or emergencies.)
Director/Instructor: Patti Punzi
Technical Director/Instructor: Peter Punzi
**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 this email (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'll be using is temperature controlled, but always good to dress in layers to ensure proper comfort level.
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COSTUME INFORMATION
Students in the Acting Production class will be wearing costumes for their final performance. Basic base costume items like shirts, pants, socks, and shoes are the responsibility of the student and parent. We will communicate what will work for the base items based on the type of costume your child will be wearing in the production. We do our very best to keep it simple and items that you already have or can easily find.
All main costume items will be provided by Wisconsin Theater Arts unless a student already has items at home that will work for their costume.
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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/)
