About the Grades 6 to 8 Programs
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Developing artists will build upon foundational actor’s tools and explore storytelling through different genres: ensemble acting, musical theatre, and more! With a rich variety of course offerings students can deepen their skills while stretching themselves to try new artistic approaches, developing their own unique voice and style.
If you have questions about whether a program is the right match for your child or if your child needs accommodations to access any of our programming, please reach out to Jeri Hammond, Director of Education, at jerih@bu.edu
Saturday Classes
Acting Technique (Grades 6+)
Acting Technique engages students in honing the essential skills every actor needs to grow as an actor, individually and in ensemble. Through these 4-week sessions, students will dive deep into one specific area of an actor’s craft while continuing to develop their actor’s toolbox (body, voice, mind, and imagination). Students can take one session or all three!
Students can take one session or all three!
Acting for the Camera:Learn how to create a natural, believable performance for film and television through on-camera exercises, monologues, and scenes.
Ensemble Acting: Inspired by ancient Greek chorus, students will employ classic voice and body work, infused with contemporary forms such as spoken word, dance and others to learn how to work as a unified ensemble of actors.
Unpacking the Shakespeare Scene: Learn how to unpack the “given circumstances” of a Shakespearean scene and work collaboratively with a scene partner to convey the heart of a piece. Taught by: Lisa Rowe-Beddoe
Musical Theatre Technique (Grades 6+)
Musical Theatre Technique engages students in honing the essential skills every musical theatre actor needs to grow as a performer, individually and in an ensemble. Through these 4-week sessions, students will dive deep into one genre of musical theatre, while continuing to develop their actor’s toolbox (body, voice, mind, and imagination). Students can take one session or all three! Taught by: Nick Vargas, Jon Goldberg
Makeup Design (Grades 6+)
A dynamic immersion into the world of makeup design. Makeup is an essential final step for any actor, whether they are on stage or in film and television, to complete a character’s look. From old age and fantasy to cuts and bruises, students will learn some of the fundamental techniques of creating characters through makeup design. Families will need to purchase their own supplies for the class.
CLICK HERE to view the suggested supplies for the course.
Taught by: Emily Damron
Design Your Own Comic Book (Grades 6+)
An introduction to the fundamentals of visual storytelling, students will explore the world of comic books and develop skills necessary to tell a dynamic story using the popular art form. From humble origins, comic book universes such as DC and Marvel control the airwaves of TV and movies, dominating every aspect of popular culture. Students will learn essential techniques (comic book layout, character design, figure drawing, perspective) to springboard characters from their imagination to their very own comic. Get ready to design a world that will leap off the page!
Taught by: Lionel Blaise Jr
Playwriting (Grades 6+)
Creating Five Minute Plays. A concise introduction to the playwriting process. Students will explore the most effective way to tell stories through exploration of the basic elements of drama (action, character, conflict, dialogue). Students will build on initial ideas through improvisation, develop short scripts, then produce and perform their original works.
Masterclasses
ACTivate Your Story: A Theatre for Social Justice Masterclass
Theatre performance can be presented and created through many different approaches. Learn how to identify, build, and connect to character through real narratives that can shape your world. Using Forum Theatre and other elements of Theatre for Social Justice, Rehearsal for Life will lead students in grades 5 to 8, over Zoom, through different theatrical forms to discover ways and words that help address challenging circumstances. By finding your intersection of performance and different lived experiences, you can create theatre that is powerful and transformative! Workshop experience will culminate in short, new performances created by participants. Offered in collaboration with Rehearsal for Life Taught by: Elena Velasco
Multi-Week Performance Classes
Our multi-week virtual performance-based programs are perfect for the young theatre artist looking to create characters and bring to life imagined worlds with a final show as the end result. Building on our processed oriented programs, these classes challenge students to continue to sharpen their actors’ tools while working as an ensemble to create a virtual production for friends and families. All programs are first-come first serve and while previous performance experience is not required it is highly encouraged.
Meet Mainstage Instructors Dwayne P. Mitchell & Nathan Urdangen!
Mainstage: Making a Mini-Musical - Gesture Company
A workshop series inspired by the new TikTok musical sensation - Ratatouille the Musical, students will participate in an engaging 6-week process geared toward creating an original virtual piece of musical theatre. Students will work collaboratively to dream, design, and execute an opening number from their own original musical(s). Students will deepen their understanding of how theatre is created, gain experience as writers, directors, designers and producers and the importance of being collaborative storytellers.
Meeting twice a week, the GESTURE Company’s time will be spent equally, learning through hands-on workshops and creating in virtual studio time. Under the guidance of theatre professionals, one session a week will be dedicated to classes that will provide students with the tools to write, stage, and design an original musical opening number. The second class of each week will be time for students to dream and bring their original musical numbers to life.
This is the perfect program for students with previous theatre experience (on stage and off) looking to try something new and exciting! No previous experience with TikTok or other social media platforms is required.
Taught by: Dwayne P. Mitchell, Nathan Urdangen
Semi Private Coaching
Are you looking to take your singing or acting to the next level? In our NEW semi-private coaching, students will work in small groups of 2 to 3 with professional voice and acting coaches to develop their skills and learn to maximize their instruments of body and voice. Spots are limited and are first-come first-serve.
- Students will be paired with a teacher and in small groups based on their grade and previous experience.
- All lessons last an hour.
- 6 – week sessions
- Session I (Week of 1/18 – 2/22)
- Session I (Week of 3/1 – 4/5)
- Session III (Week of 4/26 – 5/17)
- Lessons are scheduled based on the teacher and students availability.
Semi-Private Voice Coaching
Taught by: Todd Gordon
Semi-Private Acting Coaching
Taught by: Danny Bolton, Fran Weinberg
February Vacation Programs
A week of creative role playing, where students use their imaginations and actor’s tools to solve a mystery before the week is up. A mix of both asynchronous and synchronous learning, students will spend the morning on their own in creative exploration – using that day’s clue and pre-recorded video messages to guide them through their adventure. In the afternoon students login and work collaboratively as an ensemble to further develop their theories on “Who Dunnit?” through creative play and acting techniques.
To further inspire the week’s adventure, each student will receive their personal Mystery Box in the mail, containing detailed instructions, key clues, and other important items necessary to a fun and creative week of sleuthing.
Mystery Box Theatre: "The Play's the Thing" (Grades 6 to 8)
About the week:
“The Play's the Thing” The bright lights of Broadway are calling, as a new musical is rehearsing and performing out of town in Boston. At the opening night party the producer’s prized Tony award goes missing and everyone’s a suspect - even you! Join us to clear your name and discover the missing award.
The program has only 20 spots, to best optimize the experience for Zoom. Registration is first-come, first-serve. Registration closes Sunday, February 7 at 5pm to ensure enough delivery time for the Mystery Boxes.
Taught by: Danny Bolton
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