TACT ACADEMY Announces Their Fall Programs

Following up on its successful inauguration this summer, the TACT ACADEMY is pleased to announce its class offerings for Fall 2010. Focusing on Middle and High School Students, the Academy is offering two new programs, one for fifth to ninth grade students and one for tenth to twelfth grade students. Working with members of our critically acclaimed Off-Broadway theatre company and actor/educatorJenny Bennett, these multi-week programs will focus on unlocking the secrets of the script and using the discoveries found to create a character and a performance that comes alive on the stage.

Be sure to check out our special Early Registration discount offer.
BREAKING THE CODE
6 Week program for students in 5th to 9th grades.

The only elements needed to create great theatre are a plank, a passion, and an idea to convey. In our modern theatre culture those ideas typically come from the script of a play and it is the actor's job to mine that text to discover the life and soul of the characters.

The TACT Academy's focus is the training of young actors in a variety of methods and modalities all of which center on creating theatre from the text and the actors' ability to bring it to life - a core principal of the TACT aesthetic. Using exercises, theatre games, improvisation, and special rehearsal techniques designed to increase vocal and physical expression and confidence, participants will emerge from this program armed with a reliable action plan for understanding and communicating any text, theatrical or otherwise.

This special program will focus on Václav Havel's play THE MEMORANDUM, which TACT is presenting on its Mainstage this fall. Working with Instructor Jenny Bennett and professional actors from the company, students will use this fascinating play about language and communication as a template to explore the basics of creating a character, following an action and exploring an event. The program will culminate in a performance for friends and family.

DATES: There will be TWO sections of this program.
NOTE: Both sections will meet together on Saturdays.

SECTON 1:
TUESDAY afternoons from 4:00pm to 6:00pm AND on SATURDAY mornings from 10:30am to 12:30pm.

Tuesdays: October 26, November 2, 9, 16, 30 and December 7
Saturdays: October 30, November 6, 13, 20 and December 4, 11
(no classes November 23rd or 27th)

SECTION 2:
THURSDAY afternoons from 4:00pm to 6:00pm AND on SATURDAY mornings from 10:30am to 12:30pm.

Thursday: October 28, November 4, 11, 18, and December 2. 9 Saturdays: October 30, November 6, 13, 20 and December 4, 11
(no classes November 25th or 27th)

The cost is $475.
PERSONAL IMPRESSION
4 Week program for students in 10th to 12th grades.

Plays aren't real life. When you go to the theatre to see, for example, Romeo & Juliet, you *know* that the actors survive the performance, even if their characters die. And yet we love to go to the theatre, because the best performances - those theatre experiences you leave feeling like you've been on an intense vacation, like you've been on that balcony longing for love, or your heart's been pounding as you silently beg Romeo not to drink that poison because you know Juliet is only sleeping - the best performances create a living, risky, present world. How? One word and one moment at a time.

Whether preparing a monologue, a speech, or a presentation for an audition or college application, working by oneself to create a character in a theatrical moment is a unique challenge. This four-week workshop trains high school students in techniques for making an indelible and dramatic personal impression. Bring in your monologue, discover a new one, or create your own: you'll discover new ways to "work out" the material, bringing you closer to the character, The Situation and the moment.

The program will culminate in a performance for friends and family.

Instructor: Jenny Bennett and professional actors from TACT.
DATES: Saturdays from 1:30pm to 3:30pm

October 30, November 6, 13 and 20th

The cost is $250.

SPECIAL EBLAST OFFER TO SAVE!
Early registration saves 20%.

Applications recieved and accepted by October 1st will save 20% on the course tuition. Click on the APPLY NOW link above or click HERE.

With this special email offer the tuition for BREAKING THE CODE is just $380 - you save $95!
And the tuition for PERSONAL IMPRESSION is $200 - you save $50!
MEET JENNY BENNETT
TACT Academy's Instructor

JENNY BENNETT, a fourth-generation actor and Theatre educator, recently returned from seven years in Taiwan. There she founded Mindful Phoenix Arts, an NGO company with full seasons of plays, workshops and an exciting Theatre curriculum for young and less-young members of the English-interested community. As a Lecturer at Shu-Te University, she ran the annual two-semester Theatre Project, training language learning for EFL students. In addition to many workshops for various high schools, she's been an Artist Educator for First Stage Theater Academy in Milwaukee, Metro Theater of St. Louis, and the Delaware Governor's School for Drama. Jenny has a BA from the University of Virginia and an MFA from the PTTP at the University of Delaware.