Understanding and becoming familiar with emotions is a fundamental part of acting. It is through exersizing these feelings that children grow as actors while developing strong emotional muscles that last a lifetime.

We provide the safe space where all of this can happen. In our space, risks are taken, trust is developed, and leaders are born. The end result is not only a bold, confident and professional actor but a self-reliant, trustworthy, and confident person.

We use a series of theater and improvisational exersizes to address the following:

Voice Movement Improvisation Imagination Exploration Leadership Initiative Ensemble/Teamwork

Group Skills - Trust Building Self-Confidence Building Self-Awareness Compassion & Respect for Others Listening Skills Concentration & Focus

Classes are split between younger and older kids and are taught skills through a variety of methods based on the individual teachers' training and age range of the class.

Kids 11 and Younger

For younger kids, we focus on theater exersizes that encourage the fun side of acting while teaching the fundamentals.

Instructors begin with a physical and vocal warm up and with a sensory awareness activity. A teacher may start out with a listening game that turns into a pantomime activity such as tug of rope (without the rope), that, in turn, grows into a name activity.

The middle of classes are often spent with each individual improvising a story, or collaborating an improvisational story written by the whole group. The resulting playlet is rehearsed in sections and eventually connected into a whole improvised play.

An example of a closing activity would be the Machine game where each member of the group is part of one machine and moves interconnected and dependent on one another to work. Only as a team will the machine work correctly.

Here are some other exersize examples and their focus:

• Mirror Game - Concentration/Focus
• Museum - Movement/Spatial Relation
• Follow the Leader - Movement/Gross Motor Coordination/Warm Up
• Who Started the Motion - Movement/Warm Up
• Drama Tag - Improvisation/Spontaniety
• 3 Sentence Scenes - Verbal & Spontaniety
• Storyline - Group Story Building One Sentence at a Time
• Orchestra - One student leads the class in a pretend concert

Our aim is to create a safe space, where children can grow at their own pace, where speaking in front of a crowd is natural, and where drama is fun. For more information about how we do this, ask your children about some of the activities mentioned. Or talk with your child's teacher. They are always ready to talk about anything that might come up.

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For Kids 12+

The older section of classes provides a more in depth discovery of theater. After age 12, students begin to focus on the specific aspects of each theater technique. For example:

• Voice - A variety of vocal exersizes are used to express character and kids become of aware of and focus on: 
   
  
  • Breathing
  • Articulation
  • Intonation
  • Volume
   
  
• Body and Movement - A prime focus area is the awareness and movement of the body. The ultimate goal here is to practice movement so it becomes natural and organic and the actor can focus their attention on their lines, stage directions and other business of acting. Some examples include: 
   
  
  • Loosening and Relaxing
  • Moving as the Character
  • Empty space awareness and use
  • Levels of space
   
  
• Rhythmn and Pacing - One of the trickiest, but integral aspects of acting, rhythmn and pacing combines both voice and body. Some of the focus areas for this aspect are: 
   
  
  • Hesitation
  • Silences and Pauses
  • Timing
   
  
• Intention - Very advanced students start to work on forming the intention of their characters. Some examples include:
  • Motivation
  • Character Study
  • Urgency/Need
   
   
  
• Risk-Taking & Spontanaeity - Anything can happen on stage, so actors need to be able to think on their feet. This kind of focus also builds self-confidence and leadership skills in real life. Examples include: 
   
  
  • Quick Decisions
  • Relying on Judgement & Ideas to go forward
  • Using Individual Ideas to start scene
  • Risking Creative ideas

These areas are targeted by the use of specific exercizes designed just for the purpose. Some examples of the kinds of exersizes we use are:

• Entance Exersize - Focuses on developing intention and motivation. Students enter a room and show non-verbally what just happened and why they needed to come in. They learn to show urgency and motivation in a non-verbal way. 
   
  
• 3 Sentence Scenes - A fast paced exersize that focuses on spontaneity, risk-taking and self-reliance. Students divide into partners and take turns coming up on stage and spontaneously creating a 3 second scene. Partners rotate quickly so that consultation with your partner is not an option. Kids develop the confidence to rely on their own decisions and judgement to move the scene forward and are encouraged to take the risks needed to keep the game challenging.

These are only a few of the areas we explore and exersizes we use. For a more specific look at what your child does in class, please ask your child's teacher. They are always happy to talk with you about any questions you might have.

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