Classes

Faculty 2019

Actors

Classes are held daily and are taught by leading artists in various theater disciplines. The core classes for the actor are acting, voice, text, movement and Soundpainting. These are supplemented with workshops (such as audition technique and Laban), in addition to master classes and discussions with artists in residence.

Actors are cast in one of the outdoor productions plus studio projects and workshops. If time and schedule permits, actors are sometimes given opportunites to work alongside the professional company as observers and/or readers of stage directions for one of the Readings Festivals. 

Directors

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. In these courses, and with additional rehearsals, students will delve into a laboratory exploration of an assigned one act play. Student will present scenes from this play as part of the Powerhouse season. Additional classes in acting, movement, Soundpainting, and a round table discussion of the Powerhouse season support these sessions.

Directors are also assigned observerships of the rehearsal process for both training company and professional company productions. Each director will have the opportunity to work alongside one of the productions in the Powerhouse season, observing their process as they tackle the challenges of bringing a new project to life.  

Playwrights

The playwriting concentration is an intensive program focusing on discovering each playwright's personal artistic process, aesthetic, and voice, while also practically gaining tools for generating new work and revising drafts in and out of a rehearsal process.

Students generate new short plays every week, in addition to in-class exercises, reading and analyzing contemporary plays, and sitting in on rehearsals with the professional company. Additional classes in acting, movement, Soundpainting, and a round table discussion of the Powerhouse season support these sessions. At the end of the summer, the playwrights will present a selection of their work with actors from the company, developed in tandem with members of the directing program.

Playwrights are also assigned observerships of the rehearsal process for both training company and professional company productions. Each playwright will have the opportunity to work alongside one of the productions in the Powerhouse season, observing their process as they tackle the challenges of bringing a new project to life.

Master Classes

Master Classes for all disciplines are scheduled based upon the availability of visiting artists and professionals who are on campus working on various projects. 

Some of the members of the Powerhouse professional company who have shared their time through master classes and/or talkback sessions designed exclusively for training program include:

*former Powerhouse Training Program Participant