June 15 – July 29, 2012

Catch great new theater on its way to the world...

• Challenge your point of view about theater
• Create a community of like-minded artists
• Discover your voice as an actor, director, or writer

Apply Now!

The Powerhouse Theater Training Program challenges you to look at the art of theater in new and meaningful ways. Explore the boundaries of theater by living, breathing, and creating theater with peers and professionals alike. A summer at Powerhouse provides you with an experience that will inform the rest of your life.

The program is the result of a unique collaboration between Vassar College, a prestigious liberal arts institution, and New York Stage and Film, an established professional theater company. Our 2011 season featured the work of Duncan Sheik and Stephen Sater; playwrights Mattie Brickman, Rob Handel, John Patrick Shanley, and Patricia Wettig; directors Jessi D. Hill, Anthony Luciano, Davis McCallum, Brian McManamon, and Tomi Tsunoda; and featured actors Mario Cantone, Santino Fontana, Cristin Milioti, Deirdre O’Connell, Ken Olin, and Felix Solis.

It’s an exhilarating environment. Everyone who is part of the theater community is here to do “the work,” and that is what everyone talks about during meals and late into the night in the residence hall. As one apprentice said, “You can always sleep later.”

Make your summer one to remember by being a part of our 28th season and help bring great new theater to the world.

A Powerhouse Day

Apprentices in the Powerhouse program choose a discipline (acting, directing, or writing) and then work alongside some of the country’s leading and emerging theater practitioners for six weeks, observing and participating in the process through which new works are brought to life.

A Powerhouse day includes morning classes taught by an outstanding faculty, in acting, voice, movement, directing, writing and Soundpainting. Powerhouse afternoons and evenings feature rehearsals for the outdoor theater season, workshops, and calls to assist in the shops. Master Classes for all disciplines are scheduled based upon the availability of visiting artists and professionals who are on campus working on various productions.

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The Vassar Campus

Located in the scenic Hudson Valley, 75 miles north of New York City, in Poughkeepsie, Vassar College is a highly selective, residential, coeducational, liberal arts college. Consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the country, Vassar is renowned for pioneering achievements in education, for its long history of curricular innovation, and for the beauty of its 1000-acre campus. The resources of the college (including the library, computing facilities, fitness center and the art center) are available for use by apprentices. Vassar’s grounds include a nine-hole golf course, 14 tennis courts, a gym, numerous jogging trails, and athletic facilities. Apprentices have their own rooms in Vassar residence halls, and take their meals at the college dining center.

Visit the virtual tour for more information about the campus.

The Season

The apprentice season typically consists of up to three outdoor productions, studio productions, site-specific plays, readings and workshops. The professional season typically includes two main stage productions, second stage and workshop productions, and play-reading festivals.

For the Actor

Classes are held daily and are taught by leading artists in various theater disciplines. The core classes are: Acting, Voice, Text and Movement. These are supplemented with workshops such as audition technique, improvisation, clowning and stage combat.

Actors are sometimes given opportunities to work alongside the professional company as observers and are sometimes chosen as readers of stage directions for the Readings Festival.

For the Director

Directors meet in two sessions, each twice a week, with one session devoted to the reading and analysis of text, and one session devoted to the fundamentals of theatrical composition.  Additional classes in collaboration, performance, improvisation, and 1-on-1 meetings with faculty support these sessions.  Students have the opportunity to apply their skills by directing new scripts written by playwright apprentices, as well as scenes from a published play. 

Directors are also assigned to assist in the rehearsal process for both apprentice and professional company productions.

For the Writer

Writers are encouraged to develop discipline. A light class schedule allows them to devote more of their time to writing. Classes are scheduled two times per week and are supplemented by individual consultations with their instructor. Students have the opportunity to apply their skills by writing new scripts for different projects that are then directed by apprentice directors.

Writers are also assigned to assist in the rehearsal process of the professional company.

Master Classes and Shadowing

Master Classes for all disciplines are scheduled based upon the availability of visiting artists and professionals who are on campus working on various projects. As it is the goal of the Powerhouse Season to develop new work, Writing and Directing apprentices are part of that process as observers and assistants to the professional company in rehearsals of workshops and main stage productions.

The apprentice company presents up to three outdoor productions from the classic repertoire and studio workshops - all under the guidance of professional directors and writers. In addition, wide ranges of new works written and/or directed by members of the apprentice company are presented as readings and workshops.

Crew

Crew hours on the professional productions are required of all apprentices, with participation based on individual schedules, talents, and interests. Crew consists of helping to build and paint sets, hang lights, strikes, etc. Apprentices will also be directly involved in the design and implementation of all elements of their own productions.

As members of the company, apprentices have access to all of the new work that is going up during the season. Being a part of the process of shaping a new play and seeing the result is what makes artists return to Vassar each summer, and it’s also what makes the apprentice experience valuable for fledgling writers, directors, and actors.

ACTING

COMPOSITION for the Director

MOVEMENT

SOUNDPAINTING*

TEXT Analysis for the Director

TEXT for the Actor

VOICE

*WHAT IS SOUNDPAINTING? It’s a sign language of over 1,000 gestures used for live composition.  Created by composer Walter Thompson, Soundpainting has become an important part of the training at Powerhouse where all disciplines are exposed to the language. It can be an essential tool for actors to “build muscle” in both improvisation and traditional performance.

Nastaran Ahmadi
Drew Cortese
Michael Early
Christa Kimlicko-Jones
Casey Kurtti
Mark Lindberg
Anthony Luciano
Brian McManamon
Emily Mendelsohn
Jared Mezzochi
Tom Pacio 
Shona Tucker
Jennifer Tullock
Tomi Tsunoda
Scott Wojcik

How to Apply for the Powerhouse Theater Training Program

• Complete the online application (Note: the application will be processed through Acteva.com)
  
• Applications are considered from college-aged students and high school students (rising seniors & seniors)
• Application Deadline: March 23, 2012

To apply, please submit the following:

1. Completed online application  
   
2. Application fee of $85.00 (submitted with the online application)
3. Two (2) thoughtful letters of recommendation from someone who knows you well. This can be a professor or teacher, director, collaborator - someone who can attest to your ability and skills as an artist and in working as part of a company, managing multiple priorities. These may be emailed to powerhouse@vassar.edu with the subject line filled in as follows: "Reference for Powerhouse Applicant [your name here]."   

 Actors are asked to submit (via US Mail or express service) a DVD-R disc with a video of you performing two (2) contrasting monologues (preferably one “classical”, i.e. Shakespeare and age appropriate). Your DVD must be readable on a Macintosh computer or on a standard American DVD player. We also request that you clearly print your name on the DVD surface with a permanent marker. Please be certain to record your audition in DVD-R format. If you are having difficulty recording your audition, please notify our office, as your file will not be eligible for review by the Admissions Committee until your audition has been received. For an audition appointment or more detailed information on preparing your DVD audition, please email powerhouse@vassar.edu or call 845.437.5902 if there are questions regarding this component.

Submit the DVD-R to:
Powerhouse Theater @ Vassar College
Box 225
124 Raymond Avenue
Poughkeepsie, NY 12604

Directors are asked to submit a one-page analysis detailing their vision of how they would direct one of the following plays: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (by William Shakespeare), or The Seagull (by Anton Chekhov), or Ruined (by Lynn Nottage). This may be submitted with the online application or emailed to powerhouse@vassar.edu with the subject line filled in as follows: “Directing Analysis for Powerhouse Applicant [your name here].”

Writers are asked to submit one (1) writing sample, no more than 10 pages. This may be submitted with the online application or emailed to powerhouse@vassar.edu with the subject line filled in as follows: “Writing Sample for Powerhouse Applicant [your name here].”

Application Deadline: March 23, 2012

Interested students are encouraged to apply early. Upon submission of ALL application materials, admission decisions are made as quickly as possible. Financial aid funds are limited; therefore, students applying for aid should apply early. A total of 40 applicants may be accepted.

The Cost

Fee including Room and Board (daily breakfast and dinner) is $5,000
*The fee also includes free access to Powerhouse professional productions.

Financial Aid

The Powerhouse program is severely limited in its ability to meet applicants’ demonstrated financial needs. To apply for limited financial assistance, send a statement of your need and a detailed description of your personal and your family’s current financial situation. A statement of need from your academic institution with tuition fees must be forwarded by March 1, 2012.

Meet the Producing Director

Ed Cheetham, producing director of Powerhouse Theater, will be traveling throughout the United States. If he's visiting your area and you'd like to arrange an in-person interview, please email powerhouse@vassar.edu.

New York, (Callicoon), January 6-8

Connecticut, (Greenwich), January 18

Boston, (Boston / Andover), January 22

New York , (New York City), January 25

Missouri, (St. Louis), January 28-29

Massachusetts, (Boston / Concord), January 30

Florida, (Miami), January 31-February 1

Washington, (Seattle), February 2-3

California, (Los Angeles), February 3-5

Massachusetts, (Boston / Newton), February 6

New York, (Poughkeepsie), February 9

New Hampshire, February 10

New York, (Poughkeepsie), February 11

New York, (New York), February 12

Pennsylvania, (Philadelphia), February 13

Connecticut, (Wallingford), February 19

Massachusetts, (Boston), February 19

New York, (Poughkeepsie), February 20-21

Massachusetts, (Boston / Natick  at NETC), March 16-19