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42nd Street Moon Offers 'Working Actors Workshops' for the New Year

By: Jan. 08, 2010
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Where does all that 42nd Street Moon talent come from? The answers are on stage as San Francisco's only professional musical theatre ensemble launches a growing series of educational programs for the new year, "Working Actors Workshops," spearheaded by "Moon" Ensemble regulars Dyan McBride and Cindy Goldfield.

"Preserving the best of our musical theatre heritage takes highly trained professionals," said Moon founding Artistic Director Greg MacKellan. "It's about teaching and carrying on the skills of that art-form for the next generation."

Moon's "Working Actors Workshops" are a weekly cooperative, drop-in, rotating programs designed to encourage community, collaboration and provide a place for working artists of all levels, to brush-up or learn new skills. It is designed to be a non-competitive, cooperative environment where actors of all skill levels and experience can meet for a mid-week workout and social scene. Classes are held every Wednesday at the company's MoonSpace, 250 Van Ness at Grove Street, usually from 10:30am - 11:30am maybe a little longer depending on the week's topic.

"The goal is to create a strong, prepared force of creative working actors," said Goldfield. "We want to turn out actors ready to audition, with a higher comfort level, for a wider range of projects."

The Workshops are member-lead and center around a rotating curriculum that includes Musical Theatre Dance (both basic vocabulary and more challenging combinations), Basic Tap, Basic Stage Combat, Beginning Juggling, Audition Monologue Brush-up, Musical Theatre Audition Brush-up, Shakespeare Monologue Brush-up, Yoga and Pilates among other offerings.

"Concurrent with the primary goal, we hope that these classes will foster goodwill and community amongst the workforce," said Goldfield. We want to create a space to get feedback on new work and to be with like-minded individuals on a regular basis."

The minimal drop-in cost for the "Working Actors Workshops" is a $5-$10 sliding scale to cover the cost of the space and to pay to the teacher of the day; to encourage people to come share their skills and foster a bigger community. Teachers will be recruited from the pool of participants in most instances, and Special event classes with outside professionals will be included in the schedule as available.

Over the last few years, San Francisco's 42nd Street Moon has earned a reputation and critical acclaim for the high quality of its musical values and approachable character of its work. 42nd Street Moon, based in San Francisco, is one of a handful of companies in the United States whose mission is to present rarely-seen musicals from the classic Broadway era of the 1910s - 1970s. Since 1993, the organization has mounted five productions every year, and serves a loyal constituency who participate with both regular audience attendance and a solid base of contributed income.

42nd Street Moon contributes to the preservation and evolution of American musical theatre by presenting these classic Broadway shows in intimate productions. The shows do not have elaborate sets but are fully costumed and staged. 42nd Street Moon does not present its work through digitally engineered sound systems. The material itself is the star. This format allows the audience to hear the work with remarkable clarity, and to use their imaginations.

Following is the schedule of upcoming classes.
January 13, 10:30am -11:30am
Tap taught by Nicole Helfer
Tap your troubles away with a tap brush-up class for all levels. Wear tap or hard soled shoes. Come prepared to have fun! Nicole will lead the session, incorporating a warm-up, moving across the floor with vocabulary that will be used in the combination.
Nicole Helfer is a graduate of San Francisco State University, where she studied classical voice, musical theatre, acting, ballet, modern dance, and Dunham technique. Nicole has worked with an eclectic collection of performance groups such as the Willows Theatre Company, Sun and Moon Ensemble, Velocity Circus, and the Berkeley Opera. She is also co-founder and choreographer for the Miscreants Cabaret who perform throughout the Bay Area. Currently she teaches dance and theatre classes at Dance Mission Theatre, Steppin Out Studios, Spindrift School of Performing Arts and Kid Stock, Inc.

January 20, 10:30am-Noon
Voice/Breath taught by Lisa Anne Porter
Lisa Anne Porter will lead this session that will focus on the integration of voice and breath through exercises and movement. Come prepared to move and stretch yourself.
Lisa Anne Porter is a designated Linklater voice instructor, an acting, voice, dialect and text professor and a professional actress and director. Lisa has served on the faculties of The American Conservatory Theatre, Syracuse University, UC Davis, San Francisco State University, Shakespeare & Company, The Tepper Center in NYC, Naropa University, California Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and the Academy of Art University. She has coached voice and dialect in over thirty productions nationwide. She has performed with numerous repertory companies and Shakespeare festivals throughout the country including The American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, California Shakespeare Theatre, Shakespeare/Santa Cruz, Shakespeare Festival/LA, Marin Theatre Company, Shakespeare & Company, Syracuse Stage, Sacramento Theatre Company, GeVa Theatre Company, the Magic Theatre, Interact Theatre Company, the Bay Area Playwright's Festival and Boston Theatreworks. Her B.A. is in Theatre and American Studies from Wesleyan University and her M.F.A. from The American Conservatory Theatre.

January 27, 10:30am-Noon
General Audition Brush-Up: Auditor Panel TBA
Have a chance to run your audition in front of colleagues and local directors/producers and get some feedback. Prepare your three-minute slot however you wish. Piano accompaniment will be provided; bring sheet music in your key and marked for the pianist. We will assign slots via lottery at the beginning of class, so come on time!



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