Berkeley Repertory Theatre Offers A Chance To Study With Artistic Leaders

Every year, talented artists who are working at Berkeley Repertory Theatre also share their knowledge with students at its School of Theatre. This January, for the first time, all four members of the company's artistic team will teach in the same session. Artistic Director Tony Taccone, Associate Artistic Director Les Waters, Literary Manager Madeleine Oldham, and Casting Director Amy Potozkin are among the distinguished experts who will serve as instructors in 2011. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from the best.

Taccone - who is renowned for directing new plays - will lead a three-day acting intensive for professional performers that focuses on the role of the actor in developing and interpreting new scripts. Oldham will teach a class on the art of adaptation, which has brought works as diverse as The Arabian Nights and Lemony Snicket's The Composer is Dead to Berkeley Rep. Potozkin revives her popular audition workshop, which is specifically designed for actors participating in the annual auditions held in the Roda Theatre by Theatre Bay Area. And, shortly before he opens a new production of The Three Sisters, Waters will visit the Chekhov Performance Lab taught by Deborah Eubanks to give feedback on students' scene work.

"This slate of classes illustrates the twofold mission of our School: to foster lifelong learning in Berkeley Rep's audience and to challenge and strengthen the artistic community," says MaryBeth Cavanaugh, the School's associate director. "Having our entire artistic team involved with the winter session powerfully reinforces that mission. Students always tell us how beneficial it is to work with our in-house artists."

To kick off the winter session, the School of Theatre hosts a Sunday Sampler on January 9. This interactive open house is free and gives prospective students a taste of the classes being offered in the coming year. Beginning at 1:00 PM, participants may sample four different classes. Like all activities at Berkeley Rep's School of Theatre, the Sampler is held next door to the Thrust Stage at 2071 Addison Street in downtown Berkeley.

The full winter session offers something for students of all ages and abilities, from beginners to professionals. All classes meet weekly for two to three hours with instructors who are nationally recognized teaching artists and theatre professionals. The winter session, which begins January 8, features 27 classes for children, teens, and adults:

· Classes for kids (preschool through grade 5) include Catwalk: Fashion and Costume Show, Heroes and Sheroes, Mythological Adventures, and Story Song: Make it a Musical - as well as a performance workshop of works by Shel Silverstein.

· Classes for middle-schoolers (grades 6 through 9) include private voice lessons and a performance workshop based on the TV show Glee.

· Classes for teens (grades 9-12) include Acting Violence: Unarmed, Directing, and a performance lab focused on Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind. Private voice lessons and one-on-one audition coaching are also available.

· Classes for adults include Acting (beginning through advanced), Acting Violence: Unarmed, An Actor Transforms, Adaptation, Alexander Technique and Linklater Voice, Approaching New Work: Acting Intensive for Professional Actors, Audition Prep for the TBA Generals, Character and Status Through the Ages, Chekhov Performance Lab: The Three Sisters, Clowning, Improvisation (beginning and intermediate), Improvisation Performance Lab, Playwriting, Say What You Mean: Voice in the Professional World, and the Somatic Soul of Acting. One-on-one audition coaching is always available as well.

· And this session, for the first time, accomplished local actor Robert Ernst teaches a special storytelling class for seniors: Fact Creates Fiction/Finding the Form.

The Berkeley Rep School of Theatre is committed to working with local schools and community members to reinforce arts education as a community value and an integral part of the cultural fabric. By providing access and opportunities for participation in the arts, Berkeley Rep uses theatre as a means to challenge, thrill, and galvanize what is best in the human spirit. Major support for the School of Theatre's education programs is provided by Bank of America and Target Corporation.

For more information about theatre classes at Berkeley Rep - or affordable outreach programs for local schools - call (510) 647-2972, e-mail school@berkeleyrep.org, or visit berkeleyrep.org/school.

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