Bay Street Theater Six-Part Method Acting Workshop Begins March 29

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts will present a six-week acting methodology workshop with screen and television star Noëlle Parker starting Tuesday, March 29, at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor.

Classes will be held Tuesdays from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. through May 3, and will be held live and in-person at the Theater. Masks and proof of vaccination are required for entry. Registration is $250 for six sessions, with a drop-in rate of $50 per class, and is open to adults and kids ages 14 and up. For more information, please contact Director of Education and Community Outreach, Allen O'Reilly by calling 631 725 0818 or by email at allen@baystreet.org.

The Art of Making Choices is designed to give everyone from the beginner to the most experienced actors a firm foundation to approach any character. Part process and part performance, the workshop will create an open and creative space for the actor's growth and character exploration.

What is a choice? It is finding the specifics the actor uses to ground their performance, such as: entering scene, imbuing a physical prop with meaning or memory, or allowing a touch, sound or smell to inform onstage behavior. With a focus on mindful awareness, actors can make choices to engage with inner thoughts, feelings, needs, etc. and outer circumstances, such as cast members, environment, and place. When an actor allows their scene partner to affect them it creates a charge and importance to the work that is magnetic and commands the audience's attention.

Each class will begin with a 30-minute focus on the relaxation and warm-up of body and voice. Students will learn the how-to and importance of engaging all five senses in their work. Using scene and monologue work participants will then learn to make choices:

• How to breakdown a script to find the overall objective.
• How to ask and answer the right, specific questions to reveal the action and motivation of each moment.
• How to find active physical gestures and movements to support the actor in revealing a subtext or deeper layers of the character.
• How to personalize the character using their own experiences to create a dynamic and unique performance on stage, on camera or in auditions.

Class will culminate with invited friends and family to showcase our work.

Noëlle Parker began her professional career on stage at The Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York. As one of the youngest actresses to become a member of EST, she went on to appear in their annual Marathon of One Acts for the next five years. She attended the original High School of Performing Arts on 46th street (now known as LaGuardia) where she was formally trained in the methods of Stanislavski, Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagan. Privately, she studied extensively with Susan Batson and Sandra Seacat in New York, and with Dominic DeFazio in Los Angeles. Noëlle has worked with Sean Penn, Blythe Danner, Brian Dennehy, Sam Waterston, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Dermott Mulroney among others. She has appeared in numerous films and television shows. Most notably in the title role of NBC's The Amy Fisher Story, the film At Close Range and as a regular on the series Sisters playing the defiant wayward daughter of Swoosie Kurtz. She was awarded a daytime Emmy for her work in Different Worlds-An Interracial Love Story. Most recently, Noëlle can be seen in the 2020 film They Only Know So Much where she is also an Associate Producer. Having worked and studied for most of her career has given Noelle a unique advantage as a private coach and teacher. She brings her own knowledge and experience to help all stages of actors achieve their goals. She has been living and working in the Sag Harbor community for the last ten years while continuing her acting career and working as a private coach locally and in NYC. She is excited to collaborate with Bay Street Theater and offer this work to the community!

Bay Street Theater is a fully vaccinated company. All attendance is available via touchless ticketing. All guests must show proof of vaccination and will be required to wear a mask upon entry. For full list of COVID-19-related safety procedures and guidelines for in-person events, please visit us online at baystreet.org.

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