Theatre Makers courses are designed for a range of artists with interests beyond acting. These classes include theoretical, practical and academic areas of investigation. Whether you are an actor who wants to expand your knowledge of the art, a director who wants to grow and learn new technology, or a writer who is interested in writing for specific voices, our current offerings have what you are looking for and will continue to grow.
How to Apply:
New applicants should first submit an online application at: https://ste-web.scansoftware.com/cafeweb/tapestry?page=online-classes. Once we receive your application we will contact you to schedule your entrance interview appointment.
Fall Courses
PLAYWRITING AT THE INTERSECTION:
RACE, QUEER IDENTITY, AND GENDER
November 10 – December 10th, 2020 (Skips Thanksgiving Week)
Tuesdays, Thursdays | 4 Weeks
9:00 –11:00 PM (EDT) / 6:00 – 8:00 PM (PDT)
Instructor: Abe Zapata Jr.
Tuition: $320
A new short form playwriting workshop exploring the ever changing world of Theater and performance with an emphasis on understanding how those worlds intersect with race, Queer identity, and gender. By the end of the course students will receive a crash course in theory and challenging play writing from minds such as bell hooks, Judith Butler, Lynn Nottage, and Luis Alfaro. The course will end with students presenting their written work in a Zoom Webinar. The workshop is meant to be a place for BIPOC and Queer playwrights to explore their writing, allies are welcome.
Effective Grant Writing For Artists, Writers, and Performer Groups
Instructor: James Scruggs
4 Weeks, 4 Classes
Tuition: $160
Mondays, November 9 – 30, 2020
7:00pm – 9:00pm EST / 4:00pm – 6:00pm PST
This four week course will provide you with tools to create a compelling grant or residency opportunity application. A successful application is a concise, potent narrative about who you are, what is the project you are proposing to do, why are you best suited to do this, why is now the right time, and how do you propose to make this happen. In this workshop you will write succinct, uncomplicated drafts of grant application components to tell the story of your project. You will be guided in the execution of your project description, artist statement, budget and work sample selection. The workshop will conclude with a simulation of what occurs behind the curtain; we will use your submissions to conduct a simulated grant application selection process.
CASTING: A Look from Both Sides of the Table
Instructor: Melissa Maxwell
4 Weeks, 4 Classes
Tuition: $160
Tuesdays, November 10 – December 1, 2020 (skips week of Thanksgiving)
7:00pm – 9:00pm EST
This 4-week workshop is designed to give students a comprehensive, inside glance into the world of casting. Students will be given a sense of the history of casting—what it used to be like and how it has evolved over the years. Students will hear first-hand a director’s viewpoint and approach, what transpires behind the table, and how casting decisions are often ultimately made. Discussion will focus in part on the use of modern technology, and students will be given some tips and pointers on ways to utilize that technology and what they can do to stay competitive.
Director/Designer: Discovering the Visual World of the Play
Instructor: John Gould Rubin
4 Weeks, 4 Classes
November 9 – 30 | Mondays
7:00-9:00pm EST / 4:00-6:00pm PST
Tution: $200
This class will focus on collaboration in the theater. Each week the class will have read a play and there will be a casting director, designer, dramaturge, producer or other collaborator visit. The first portion of the class will be dedicated to John and the collaborator working through their ideas for an imagined production and then the students will discuss their ideas for the production with the visiting collaborator. How to let your ideas be influenced by your collaborators’ ideas is the theme of the class and the focus of these conversations.
Previous Courses
PRODUCING IN THE THEATER
4 Weeks, 4 Classes | Mondays
March 7-28, 2022
7:00–9:00 PM EDT (4:00–6:00 PM PDT)
Tuition: $160
Instructor: John Gould Rubin
Producing in the Theater is an introduction to the principals and common practices of theatrical business. The course is intended to endow theater artists with a better grasp of priorities through a deeper understanding of how business influences art in our world. Also the class hopes to introduce theater practitioners to the possibility and practicality of self producing. The course covers the distinction between commercial and not-for-profit theater, budgets, contracts, the equity tier system and unorthodox collaboration agreements used to codify the business practices in unconventional theatrical collaborations.
THEATER-MAKING IN THE DIGITAL AGE:
THE CONVERGENCE OF TECHNOLOGY AND LIVE-PERFORMANCE
4 Weeks, 4 Classes | Wednesdays
August 5–26, 2020
7:00–9:00 PM EDT (4:00–6:00 PM PDT)
Tuition: $160
Instructor: Matt Dickson
This 4 week 2 hour per week workshop balances technology with creative problem solving. It is perfect for actors, directors, designers, producers and innovative thinkers. This would be a hands-on practicum. Participants would be paired up and assigned something performative. These pieces will be based on the students interests and predilections and might consist of anything from traditional scenes to movement pieces, technology-based design to musical performances. Round table discussion based on this work will range from embracing environmental limitations, the hybrid of theatre and film: how to achieve something on-screen that you can’t do onstage and vice-versa, can it remain inherently theatrical while being presented online?
Please email Johnny Yoder at johnny@stellaadler.com with any questions or expressions of interest.
