Berkeley Rep Announces Spring Session, Sunday Sampler, Summer Intensive

Spring is here, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre is celebrating with 30 compelling classes for kids, teens, and adults at its School of Theatre. From swordplay to stand-up, mythology to musicals, and clowning to collaboration, there's something for all ages, abilities, and interests. Whether you're a budding artist or a seasoned performer you can survey this year's spring courses at the Sunday Sampler on March 20. Enrollment for the spring session begins in early March - and enrollment is now open for the annual Summer Theatre Intensive for teens!

"We are very excited about the diversity of classes offered at the school this session," declares Rachel Fink, director of the School of Theatre. "In addition to our standard performance curriculum, we have several new courses that explore a wide breadth of topics including the physical demands of performance in Heart Acrobatics: Training an Actor's Body and the art of storytelling in Fact Creates Fiction/Finding the Form. I urge everyone to come to our Sunday Sampler to check out our classes."

The Sunday Sampler on March 20 is free and open to potential students of all ages. Starting at 1:00 PM, participants may sample three different classes during the next two hours. 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 ten-week spring session begins April 4 and features the following fun activities:

Classes for kids (preschool through grade 5) include Catwalk: Fashion and Costume Show, Improvisation, Middle Eastern Mythology, Story Song: Make it a Musical, and The Time Machine.

Classes for middle-schoolers (grades 6 through 9) include a musical theatre performance ensemble exploring Buffy the Vampire Slayer called "Once More with Feeling" and a performance workshop inspired by the hit TV show Glee. Private voice lessons are also available.

Classes for teens (grades 9-12) include Acting Violence (single rapier or small sword), Directing, Improvisation, Master Acting Intensive, and The Play's the Thing. Private voice lessons and one-on-one audition coaching are also available.

Classes for adults include Acting (beginning through advanced), Acting Violence (single rapier or small sword), American Dialects and IPA, Clowning II, Directing Fundamentals for Actors, and Improvisation (beginning, intermediate, and performance lab). Special workshops this session include Dramaturgy with Madeleine Oldham, Heart Acrobatics: Training an Actor's Body with James Wagner, Stand Up with Julia Brothers, and the new workshop Collaborative Creation, Individual Voices with Aaron Henne. Other classes include Playwriting, Say What You Mean: Voice in the Professional World, and Shakespeare's Voice.

And a special storytelling class for seniors with accomplished local actor Robert Ernst called Fact Creates Fiction/Finding the Form.

The Summer Theatre Intensive provides a fun-filled, enriching, affordable camp for teens - right here in Berkeley. Participants work with master teachers to learn basic theatrical techniques such as acting and improvisation, and they learn from Berkeley Rep's artisans about design disciplines such as costumes, lighting, props, and sound. They also select their own specialties with electives in topics such as directing, hip-hop, musical theatre, playwriting, and video. In a process that mirrors the professional method that Berkeley Rep applies to develop new plays, students use the skills they've learned to adapt their own original work. Those shows are performed for an invited audience of family and friends on one of the Theatre's renowned stages.

With different sessions for different ages, the Summer Theatre Intensive offers a rare opportunity for youth to open their imaginations:

The first session, for students entering grades 6-8, takes place on weekdays from June 20 through July 15.

The second session, for teens in grades 9-12, is held July 18 through August 12.

Tuition is $1,150 for session 1 and $1,250 for session 2. A limited number of financial-aid scholarships are available. The only requirements are an open mind, an imagination, and a desire to collaborate, work hard, and, of course, have fun.

Berkeley Rep's School of Theatre provides a wide array of programming for individuals of all ages. In addition to classes for youth and adults, the School offers Target® Story Builders, a drama workshop for elementary-school classrooms; the Student Matinee Series for middle- and high-school students; in-school residencies; teacher training; and a variety of outreach programs that encourage lifelong learning through hands-on, cross-curricular, in-class workshops. The School also hosts the Teen Council, which allows youth to participate in all aspects of the dramatic process: on stage, backstage, and in front of the stage.

For more information on any of these activities, call (510) 647-2972, e-mail school@berkeleyrep.org, or visit berkeleyrep.org/school.

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