Richmond Shakespeare's November Workshop

Dialects
(French and Scots)
with David Sennett
Tuesday, November 11, 7:00-9:30 PM

Offend men. Romance women. Or romance men. Offend women. Nothing says romance more than speaking with a French accent, and nothing puts people off quite like the Scots dialect. Learn both in just one evening! Come prepared to leave with a new relationship or a new bruise.

David Sennett, instructor for this workshop, has offended nearly everyone in nearly every dialect. Ever since high school, he has failed at romance, but he suspects that has more to do with his behavior than his accents.

20 students maximum, high school age and older. Cost: $20. Call 232-4000 to make your reservation today!

All classes and workshops are held at Second Presbyterian Church (5 N. 5th Street). Participants should bring a bottle of water and dress for moderate physical activity.

Richmond Shakespeare's Summer Intensive

"Clown Intensive "
with Matthew Ellis
June 16 - 20, 2008, 6:00-9:30 PM
$250

To accommodate the many parties who have expressed interest in this class but who could not make the daytime hours, we have moved the Clown Intensive into evenings. If you wanted to take this class but could not do it before, now is your chance!

Matthew Ellis, Professor of Movement at the University of Oklahoma and director of this summer's Richmond Shakespeare Festival production of The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged), will teach a five day Clowning Intensive for Richmond Shakespeare's Training Department.

Matt says: “The clown is not just a circus performer or a birthday party attraction. The clown is the part of us that lives in a simpler place. Our inner clown is rife with problems to solve, and he or she solves those problems in a variety of ‘creative’ ways.”

The classes will focus on the discovery of that inner clown through a process developed by world renowned teacher Jacques LeCoq, taught to Matthew by the world famous clown Avner Eisenberg and master teacher Jonathan Becker. “You won’t learn how to ride a unicycle or how to walk in big shoes. This is an acting class that develops strong awareness and a powerful presence on stage. This work will improve all aspects of your performance, not just the slapstick comedy.” The workshop will consist of technique training and sketch development, culminating in a short show for the public on the final day.

The class is open to actors of advanced high school age and up. Participants should, as always, bring a bottle of water, a lunch, and be prepared to move. Some scholarships are available for interested participants with financial needs, and actors who have worked with Richmond Shakespeare in he past year are eligible for discounted tuition.

Email Andrew@richmondshakespeare.com or call him at 804-232-4000 for more information or to make a reservation.

Check out some images from Matthew's previous clown classes at the University of Oklahoma:

Richmond Shakespeare's May Workshop

"Auditioning for Shakespeare"
with Daryl Clark Phillips
Tuesday, May 13, 2008, 7:00-9:30 PM
$20 to participate/ $10 to audit
at Second Presbyterian Church (5 N. 5th Street)

This workshop is designed to help actors develop focused and clearly understandable monologue material from Shakespeare’s plays. Actors are guided through the “how to” of finding a suitable selection from the plays, how to use the whole body of the play to create an environment which supports their delivery, and how to create an appropriate aesthetic distance and focus which can maximize their efforts. They are also guided through simple techniques for physical realization of the environment and tips on how the poetry in the language can aid them in the creative process.

Each participant must have a monologue either completely memorized or be VERY familiar with it with book in hand. High School seniors (seriously committed) and older. Previous experience performing Shakespeare is not important, just a love of the process. Actors should wear comfortable clothing in which they will feel free to get down on the floor, if needed.

Daryl has been a professional Actor, Singer, and Speech and Theatre Arts educator for 30 years. He has a B.A. in Speech, Communication and Theatre from Monmouth University and an M.S. in Speech and Oral Interpretation from Emerson College. The colleges, universities and private schools at which he has taught include: The Ranney School, Ocean County College, Northeastern University, Monmouth University and The University of Richmond. He was an Associate Artist at TheatreVirginia for many years and created the noted, “No Holds Bard” in-class teaching supplement program for TVA, which toured middle and high schools in Virginia for 10 years. Daryl is also a free-lance Theatre Arts and Voice, Articulation and Dialect Coach who has worked with actors and singers all across the country to prepare material for a wide range of audition situations. He currently lives in Richmond and teaches Theatre Arts at Prince George High School. He can be seen this summer in the Richmond Shakespeare Festival's production of Henry IV, Part 2, wherein he will reprise his critically acclaimed performance as Falstaff.

Email Andrew@richmondshakespeare.com or call him at 804-232-4000 for more information or to make a reservation.

Times-Dispatch: Andrew Hamm is "Cultivating Richmond Theater"

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Cultivating Richmond theater
An insider is devoted to fostering a vibrant local art scene

Sunday, Apr 13, 2008 - 12:03 AM

By CELIA WREN
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

"There's no shame in wanting to be a big fish in a small pond," observes Richmond Shakespeare's new associate artistic director, Andrew Hamm, "if you recognize that a big fish in a small pond has big responsibilities to care for the pond."

An intense 35-year-old with a shaved head, glasses and an earring, Hamm is sitting in the theater company's quiet office in the Fan, drinking coffee and discussing, among other matters, the importance of nurturing a vibrant local theater scene. It is a subject he feels strongly about: His voice is emotional, almost tremulous, as he deplores the inclination of certain big fish (talented Richmond thespians) to relocate to a larger pond (New York City).

"Smaller-city and small-town art scenes need great artists to stay there: That is what makes art healthy," the Virginia native stresses.

Since he began working with Richmond Shakespeare in 2004 -- his first freelance assignment was to supervise music for a production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" -- Hamm has done his part to cultivate the pond that is Richmond theater.

For 18 months, until his promotion in March to associate artistic director, he served as Richmond Shakespeare's director of training, coordinating career-enrichment classes (such as the upcoming clowning intensive) aimed at local actors. "I felt a responsibility to do what little I can, not only to put on a good show, but to help the other artists in town to put on good shows," he says, explaining his perspective on the job.

He has also directed for the company, most recently mounting "As You Like It," running at the Second Presbyterian Church through April 20. Hamm has followed the five-actor template that's a Richmond Shakespeare hallmark: Between a clothes rack and a flower-draped piano, the performers ricochet from character to character, frantically donning hats, aprons and the like to signal their identity.

"I've been calling it a love letter to the five-actor format," says Hamm. "We're not trying to hide the costume changes or the character changes -- we're absolutely glorifying in them!"

All the same, he'll be expanding the cast, to a dozen or so, for the comedy's run at Agecroft Hall July 3 through July 13.

In addition to directing "As You Like It," Hamm has written the production's incidental music, and he serves as pianist for the montage of 1980s pop songs (Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," etc.) that introduces Act I. "Once alternative and grunge became mainstream, you couldn't have love songs without irony," Hamm said, of the choice of tunes.

"The '80s were really the last time in history where you could have love songs that were really just kooky love songs." (His Virginia Commonwealth University graduate thesis was a theater piece built from Joe Jackson albums.)

As if he didn't have enough to do, Hamm also depicts Hymen in the production, adding that tiny role to a list of previous Richmond Shakespeare acting credits.

"He has a great energy," said James Alexander Bond, the New York-based artist who directed Hamm in "Measure for Measure" and in "Julius Caesar."

"He does his work fast and well, and if something's not going in a direction that feels right, he has no problem letting go and trying new things. He's very specific -- and the more specific a character is, the better it is."

Grant Mudge, the company's artistic director, is equally enthusiastic. "He can work as a teaching artist, he can work as an actor -- his versatility is incredibly valuable to me, " he said. "At any small not-for-profit theater company, if you've got someone who can handle more than one area of emphasis, that's incredibly valuable."

If Mudge sounds a note of pragmatism, Hamm takes an idealistic view of his work. "I view this thing of art-making as mission and vocation," he said.

And for that mission, he thinks, Richmond is an ideal location. "You can perform in front of bigger houses if you wish, in bigger towns," said Hamm. "But I guarantee: You're going to touch people so much more deeply here."

Richmond Shakespeare's April Workshop

"Auditioning for Musical Theatre"
with Scott Wichmann
Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 7:00-9:30 PM
$20 / $10

Richmond Shakespeare is delighted to welcome local star Scott Wichmann to our training faculty for this month's workshop.

It has been said that characters who reach a point of crisis in plays either fight, dance or sing: same impulse, different result. All originate from a breakdown of our ability to communicate in any conventional way. It’s not enough to just sing beautifully at your audition; you need to be able to really inhabit the lyrics from a personal angle. It is less about the flowery sounds we make and more about the underlying motivation to sing in the first place. This is a class about turning “songs” into the “monologues” they already are.

Instructor Scott Wichmann has appeared in approximately 67% of all plays produced in Richmond over the past several years, including acclaimed appearances in I Am My Own Wife, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Scapino, Moonlight and Magnolias, Jails, Hospitals and Hip-Hop, The Taming of the Shrew, and upcoming productions of Guys and Dolls and Richard III. We like Scott.

We are offering a two-tiered enrollment for this workshop: a $20 participant fee, open to a maximum of eight students who will work with Scott and the accompanist directly, and a $10 auditor fee, open to an unlimited number of students who wish to observe the class. Participants should bring sheet music in the correct key to several pieces they are prepared to work on.

The class is open to high school age and up. Participants should, as always, bring a bottle of water and be prepared to move. Email Andrew@richmondshakespeare.com or call him at 804-232-4000 for more information or to make a reservation.

Richmond Shakespeare's Spring Acting Class

"Building Characters"
with Andrew Hamm
Mondays, March 31 - May 5, 7:00-9:30 PM
at Second Presbyterian Church (5 N. 5th Street)
$150

“Don’t let anyone tell you to go from the inside out – or the outside in. It’s a circle.”
–Joseph Chaikin

Modern actor training is largely focused on the “inside-out” approach pioneered by Stanislavski, but that’s not the only way to find a character. Sometimes an “outside-in” technique is needed to add distinctive details, and external choices can even be an actor’s primary means of character development.

This class is designed for experienced actors in search of tools for making character choices. We will focus on several techniques of physical and vocal acting designed to build unique and unforgettable performances without requiring that you re-experience personal tragedies to feel like you’ve done good work. Each class session will be a self-contained unit focusing on a specific topic in physical-vocal acting, including Alba Emoting, character voice and body, qualities of movement, and image-building. You may be surprised along the way at how much the external acting choices affect the internal.

Instructor Andrew Hamm has been building characters for longer than he cares to admit at VCU, Off-Off-Broadway, and now as director of Richmond Shakespeare’s Training Department.

Spaces are limited. Call 232-4000 to make your reservation today!

Richmond Shakespeare's March Workshop

"Professional Development"
with David Sennett
Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 7:00-9:30
Second Presbyterian Church (5 N. 5th Street)
$20

What does an actor need to survive and thrive in the working theatre world? Headshots and resumes, of course, but also numerous monologues, special auditioning and rehearsal skills, marketing plans, and financial strategies are just some of the requirements. How does an actor go about obtaining what he/she needs? And what about unions, agents, managers? Learn some basics about making a living doing the work you love. Actors should bring headshots and resumes for feedback.

Instructor David Sennett is an Equity and SAG actor, teacher, director, and producer who has appeared nationally on stage and screen. He currently teaches Theatre at the Center for the Arts at Henrico High School.

15 students maximum. High school juniors and older. Cost: $20. Spaces are limited. Call 232-4000 to make your reservation today!

This Week: Character Voices Workshop

This Tuesday, September 11, Richmond Shakespeare is holding a workshop in Character Voices taught by yours truly. There is still plenty of room for students! Come out and learn how to talk in funny voices.

7:00-9:30 PM at Second Presbyterian Church (5 N. 5th Street). A mere $20!

Richmond Shakespeare's Training Department Rocks It Out for Year Two!

Note to readers: this announcement is going to sit at the top of the page for a while. Scroll down to check for new posts.

It's here! The schedule for Richmond Shakespeare's Fall 2007 Training offerings! We've made a strong push to bring in big-time talent to teach this year, and we've moved our six-week class to a "dark" night to accomodate working actors' schedules.

Now if we can get some more of the people who said they were interested to actually come to some classes, we'll be good.

Richmond Shakespeare

Training Department

Fall 2007 Schedule

ACTING CLASS

Shakespearean Scene Study
with Director of Training Andrew Hamm
Mondays, October 15 through November 19, 7:00-9:30 PM
This class is designed to come to the student wherever they are, with essential knowledge for beginners as well as a creative place for more experienced actors to stretch out and play in a demanding classroom environment. Always wanted to play Hamlet or Juliet? This is your chance to prove that you can--or to learn how. Shakespearean acting isn't just for Shakespeare enthusiasts; nothing will help your ability to work with modern texts like understanding how to play with the richest and most beautiful dramatic literature ever written. Instructor Andrew Hamm has worked as an actor, director, and teacher in Richmond, Washington D.C., and New York, recently appearing as Feste in Richmond Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and directing Doctor Faustus. Some homework (memorization, etc.) will be required. 12 students maximum. This is an adult class, but some exceptional high school-aged students may be accepted. Cost: $150.



SPECIAL ACTING CLASS

Acting Like a Person
with Jennifer Massey
Tuesdays, October 16, 23, and 30, 7:00-10:00 PM
A scene study class that promotes “imagination” as the key to creation, “Acting Like a Person” is a special three-week offering. Using the principles of “natural law,” each student is encouraged to “do less an actor, so you can do more as a person.” The goal is believability and a truthful experience; the focus is on self-preparation and self-sufficiency. Acting Like a Person explores: How to truly absorb the story, how to prepare on your own, how to get out of your own way, how to assess and improve your own work, and how to incorporate direction and bring it to life. Instructor Jennifer Massey is a member of SAG, AFTRA and Actor’s Equity, and has appeared on film and television, as well as all over Richmond’s stages, most recently in the Firehouse Theatre's acclaimed production of The Secret of Madame Bonnard's Bath. 7:00-10:00 PM, 8 students maximum. This is an adult class, designed for professional-level actors. Cost: $125.



WORKSHOPS

Character Voices
with Director of Training Andrew Hamm
Tuesday, September 11, 7:00-9:30 PM
Changing your voice for extreme characters, animation, voice-over and radio is not only marketable, it’s a heck of a lot of fun at parties. This workshop will focus on the four dimensions of voice (pitch, tempo, resonance, and phonemes) you can alter to create a “character voice,” as well as techniques to inspire, develop, and catalog voices. Instructor Andrew Hamm has made extreme characters and multiple-character roles a specialty, ranging from Mercutio to Cassius to Lady Capulet. he has also been the voice of Spider-Man, several puppets, and the narrator of HGTV's RV 2007. 20 students maximum. High school age and up! Cost: $20.



Dialects
with David Sennett
Tuesday, November 6 (THIS IS A CHANGE), 7:00-9:30 PM
You don’t have to have a great ear or know the International Phonetic Alphabet to learn dialects. Learn how to speak like a twit. Impress your date's mother, bore your friends, prepare to joust with the Greeks at Harvard. Next, learn how to irritate a twit. Offend your date's mother, tell off your friends, prepare to rumble wit da boyz. In two hours, master the basics of the Standard British AND the Brooklyn dialects, and have some fun while you're doing it. Instructor David Sennett is an Equity and SAG actor, teacher, director, and producer who has appeared nationally on stage and screen. 15 students maximum. High school juniors and older. Cost: $20



Contemporary Violence
with Drew Vidal
Tuesday, December 11, 7:00-9:30 PM
This class will offer both beginning and experienced actors an opportunity to learn hands-on how contemporary violence is created onstage. As the focus will be on contemporary theatre, participants will be working unarmed and untrained. In addition to learning techniques for performing stage violence safely, participants will take away a unique approach to choreographing their own stage fights. Instructor Drew Vidal has worked extensively as an actor and fight choreographer in Chicago, Richmond, and Washington D.C. Drew choreographed the combant for the Richmond Shakespeare festival's acclaimed Henry IV, Part 1 last summer. His work can been seen in D.C. all season long at the Shakespeare Theatre's productions of The Taming of the Shrew, Tamburlaine, and Edward II. 15 students maximum. Participants should be attired in clothes that do not restrain or hide movement, with soft-soled shoes not worn outside. Any jewelry should be left at home, and contacts worn or glasses fastened. High school age and up! Cost: $20.



Drop me a line at andrew@richmondshakespeare.com with any questions.