All events take place at Hillside Performing Arts Studio (PAS) (Las Trampas), unless otherwise noted
To enroll in classes, unless otherwise noted: Place check payable to DAOR in DAOR mailbox in Gateway. Include your name, phone/email, and class title. Please mark envelope with class title.
CLASSES
Shakespeare:Power and Politics in "As You Like It" August 18 to October 6
This class will meet in person, (please be vaccinated) 8 Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Fee: $50 plus $7 copying fees
All levels welcome. Here is how instructor Erin Merritt, founding member of Woman’s Will, an all-female Theater Collective, describes her class:
“What shall I call thee when thou art a man?” Performing Gender in Shakespeare’s Plays.
Explore Shakespeare’s take on gender roles in his master comedy, "As You Like It."
Through games, text-work, monologues and scene work, we will delve deeply into the myriad ways Shakespeare highlighted and subverted his era’s gender roles, examining how all-male casts playing gendered characters affected what he wrote, and how their interpretations play out in modern performance. Class assignments will be tailored to individual students, so all experience levels are welcome.
Don’t miss this rare and wonderful opportunity to participate in the study of one of the greatest writers of all time, with Shakespearean scholar, Erin Merritt, beloved by her former students.
Please send check, payable to DAOR, to: Roanne Butier, 2516 Ptarmigan #2, Walnut Creek, CA 94595 You may pay at first class meeting.
Questions? email Cynthia Wilson, Academy Coordinator: N2zazm52@yahoo.com or phone, 925-949-8498.
Let’s have a laugh . . . (and isn’t it about time?)
When: Tuesdays, July 6 through August 17. Time: 10 – noon. Where: Performing Arts Studio Cost: $45, plus $7 materials fee per person for seven classes To register: Cynthia Wilson ... N2zazm52@yahoo.com Number of participants: 8-10
Join Jean Wilcox for a seven-session class exploring different types of Comedy — yes, Comedy! In this class we will look at all different types of comedy from slapstick and farce through comedy of manners. Students will not memorize, rather move back and forth between different styles, the better to find your own metier. Consequently there will no showcase. All we ask is that all participants be vaccinated. No masks will be required.
The Art of Directing Theatre with Carey Perloff via Zoom
This is an OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) course, unaffiliated with DAOR When: Tuesdays, 10 to noon, August 10 through September 14 via zoom. Cost of class: $115 plus OLLI annual membership of $50. Click to register:The Art of Directing Theater (campusce.net)
This course will explore the complex and fascinating process of directing a play, focusing on the classical repertoire as a way of revealing the choices a director must make at every step of the process to bring a dramatic text to life on stage. What is the director’s role in relation to actors, designers, writers and other collaborators? Each session of the course will focus on a specific play and period of drama, discussing interpretation, design choices, casting, music, rehearsal imperatives and how to shape audience expectations. “Real world” examples will come from the Instructor’s extensive experience in staging work at theaters large and small across America and Canada. Plays to be studied will be Elektra, The Merchant of Venice, Ghosts, Uncle Vanya, and Waiting for Godot. Ms. Perloff was the artistic director of San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater from 1992 to 2018. World renowned as a director, playwright, and educator, she has won numerous awards and accolades throughout her forty-year career.
Acting Our Lives: Performance Memoir (ongoing)
Instructor Bobbi Ausubel 8 Tuesdays, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. New dates to come Cost: $80 To register, contact Bobbi Ausubel: 650-743-4212 bobbi.gloria.ausubel@gmail.com
Participants do not need drama or writing experience. Newcomers are always welcome to join with fresh ideas and will find support. Rossmoorians rich lives have been long and varied, therefore forgotten and remembered events pop up in opening weeks’ exercises as we share life memories with each other. Participants then write a story from life experience. Ideas and stories are shared with the group. then edited to become dramatic monologues or scenes. One gets support to learn to re-write for drama rather than literature. Finally, participants get coaching to act their scenes, including one private session with the teacher/director.
An optional performance will be presented at a well-attended showcase, when allowed, and is usually recorded for Chanel 28.
The class is taught by the experienced acting coach, Bobbi Ausubel, who has had many years’ experience in theater as a director and playwright.
Come have fun!
Theater History (ongoing)
Instructor: Don Kaplan Thursdays, 1:30 - 3:30 Cost: $50 plus $7 materials fee For more information, contact: Don Kaplan, 287-8252, dsk8252@gmail.com
Plays are read and discussed with material furnished by instructor. Please note there is limited enrollment for this class.
“The knowledge that every day there is something more to learn, something higher to reach for, something new to make for others, makes each day infinitely precious” -- Uta Hagen