WCT To Launch New, Locally-Filmed Web Series This Spring

Westchester Collaborative Theater (WCT) is launching an innovative new venture, a locally produced web series. The series will be created in collaboration with WCT playwrights as an extension of its Acting for Camera I classes.

It will be directed by Emmy- award winning videographer Matt Lagle and filmed on location in Ossining in May and June featuring actors who will double as crew members, many of whom will have just completed Acting for Camera I. Scripts for the web series will be developed by WCT playwrights.

Says WCT Executive Director Alan Lutwin, "Collaboration is our middle name - that's what makes this project truly special and wholly supportive of WCT's goals. The web series will be a collaboration between actors and writers and filmed locally, emphasizing our commitment to outreach into the community."

Filming of the web series will follow Acting for Camera I which runs from late February through mid-April and is open for enrollment now (go to http://www.wctheater.org/classes to register). An intensive course taught by Lagle, Acting for Camera I covers multiple aspects of video production and gives actors an opportunity to explore or strengthen their on-camera skills depending on each actor's training and background (on-camera experience is not required).

Actors interested in participating in the web series are strongly recommended to enroll in Acting for Camera I as current and former students of the course (it ran originally in the fall of 2017) will be given top priority in casting. After the first round of casting, auditions will open to current and former students of WCT scene and monologue study and improv classes if the actors can provide footage or a reel. Additional rounds of auditions, if needed, will be open to WCT members with footage or a reel followed by non-WCT members with the same credentials at the discretion of the director.

Topics to be covered in Acting for Camera I include scene rehearsal; initial video recording; viewing of playback, critique and re-recording; on-camera technique for monologues and two-person scenes; spokesperson study; teleprompter technique; and self-taping auditions. All Acting for Camera I actors will receive footage of their classwork. Actors who go on to participate in the web series will receive a copy of the edited reel upon completion of the series.

Acting for Camera I classes meet Tuesdays for eight weeks from Feb. 27 through April 17 from 7:00 - 10:00pm.

Lagle is a member of the Directors Guild of America and has over 30 years of experience in daytime drama, situation comedies, children's programming, and many other formats.

Acting for Camera I opened to an enthusiastic response last fall.

Says motivational speaker Jon Barb, "I thought the creativity that Matt brought to the class, including blocking and how we delivered lines, was just outstanding. If you're into theater and you want to experience film, this is the class for you."

Andrea Aboulafia, who has studied acting for several years and performed in numerous performance workshops, says, "It's like learning a new language. Even if you think you know acting, I certainly didn't know the language of the camera."

Acting for Camera I classes take place in WCT's black box performance space at 23 Water Street in Ossining.

Class size is very limited; early registration is suggested.
To register online,
For additional information, go to the WCT website www.wctheater.org
About Westchester Collaborative Theater
Westchester Collaborative Theater is a multicultural, cooperative theater company located in Ossining, NY, dedicated to developing new work for the stage and bringing live theater to the community. It is comprised of local playwrights, actors, and directors who employ a Lab approach in which new stage works are nurtured through an iterative process of readings, critiques, and rewrites. When work is ready for production, it is presented to the public at its new theater space.
WCT is committed to furthering theater arts in our community. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and a recipient of production grants from ArtsWestchester and New York State Council on the Arts.