CLASSES +

CLASSES etc.

To enroll, unless otherwise noted:
Place check payable to DAOR in DAOR mailbox in Gateway.
Include name, phone/email, class title.

Othello Lectures

Lecturer: Julian Lopez-Morillas
4 Mondays, July 14 to August 4
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Performing Arts Studio, Hillside
Fee: $ 25 for members, $ 45 for non-members

As he did with his lectures on Hamlet earlier this year, Lopez-Morillas will offer a deep dive into Othello, exploring its unique appeal, its brilliant exploration of the human mind in conflict, and its great variety of interpretations over its 400-year history. He will take participants through the play scene by scene, demonstrating how Shakespeare’s language shapes the characters’ actions. He asks that all participants read the play by the first class.

Julian Lopez-Morillas has lived and worked in the Bay Area for over 50 years. He has appeared professionally in all 37 Shakespeare’s plays in theaters throughout the country, and has directed about half of them. He has also taught acting, directing, theater history, and Shakespeare for the University of California/Berkeley, San Jose University, Mills College, Foothill College and Solano College.

Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
For more information, email Stephanie Singer: [email protected].

Respect for Acting

Instructor: John Tranchitella
8 Tuesdays, July 15 to September 2
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Performing Arts Studio, Hillside
Fee: $ 60 for members, $ 80 for non-members
Class is limited to 14 participants

Class Full

The course will be an intensive workshop designed for intermediate to advanced students and will be limited to 14 participants. Uta Hagen’s book will be the text for the course and is available on Amazon for $20. Participants will be required to read Chapters 1-4 before the first class.

The classes will focus on Hagen’s principles, philosophy and techniques and on individual as well as scene work. There will be discussion of concepts, demonstrations and “exercises” to put techniques to practical use and make them the student’s own. Class content will include the concepts of identity, substitution, emotional memory; sense memory, improvisation, reality; performance of monologues and scene work.

An actor, director and teaching artist, Tranchitella’s recent acting credits include: George in the one-man award-winning play, “My Will and My Life” at Rossmore; Tommy in “The Night Alive” at the, Alterna Playhouse; and a streaming solo performance showcase with Crowded Fire Theater in San Francisco. Other theater projects have included “Roe” at the Masquers Theater, “Between the Sheets” with the Left Coast Theater, and “Two” with the Exit Theater. He is a regular recurring cast member in the popular interactive production, “The Dinner Detective”, in San Francisco.

Class is limited to 14 participants.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]
Checks should be made out to DAOR and are due on the first day of class.

For questions about the class, email Stephanie Singer at [email protected].

Movement on Stage

Instructor: Linda Kelp
6 Mondays, May 19 to June 23
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Performing Arts Studio, Hillside
Fee: $ 45 for members, $ 65 for non-members

The course will explore how to move on stage in a natural, justified way. Covered will be the geography of the stage, strong versus weak entrances and positions; avoiding upstaging; conventional notation; the basic principles of why, when, and how to move; reading from the script while walking and talking; and the actor’s and director’s role in blocking.

Tuition for the class is $45 for DAOR members and $65 for nonmembers, which includes the membership fee. Participation is limited to a maximum of 14 students who are interested in acting and directing. This class is not available for auditors

For more information, email Stephanie Singer at [email protected]. To register for the class email Roanne Butier at [email protected].

Play Reading Group

Third Monday each month, 10:00 - 12:00
Gateway MPR #1
Facilitator: Lori Michetti
No fee

The Play Reading group welcomes actors and non-actors. If interested, just show up at a meeting. The atmosphere is relaxed and fun. A new play is read at each meeting. The characters' parts are changed during the meeting so that each person has the opportunity to read aloud. Many of the plays are accessed by a link which requires that participants bring an iPhone, iPad, etc. to the meetings. Enjoyable discussions follow.

The group will read a variety of plays, some comedies, new and contemporary plays, and older plays. Members will have an opportunity to choose a play.

For further information contact Irene Krohn, [email protected]

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Actors

Instructor: Rod McFadden
Session Ended

"Seven Habits of Highly Effective Actors” will consist of 12 students whose focus is acting and three students whose focus is directing, all chosen on a first come, serve basis. Auditors will participate in exercises and class discussions but would not be in scene work. Actors will be paired for work on a seven-eight minute two-person scene. Each director would be assigned two of these scenes to direct.

No memorization is required, though it will be encouraged for short scenes. Actors will be expected to have one out-of-class rehearsal each week. The focus of the work and discussion will be finding truthful responses to the text of the play and breaking old habits which may not be adding effectiveness to an actor’s portrayals.

Tuition for students in the acting class is $50 for DAOR members and $70 for non-members, which includes the DOAR membership fee. The students whose focus is acting and directing will also be charged a $5 printing fee for scripts. The class can also be audited by anyone interested in theater and the craft of acting. Tuition for auditors is $25 for DAOR members and $45 for nonmembers.

Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.

To register for the class contact Roanne Butier at [email protected].

For more information contact Stephanie Singer at [email protected].

Acting Class:
How to Build a Character

Instructor: Cynthia Wilson
Session Ended

The class will consist of hands-on, experiential exercises and practice in the art of becoming someone else with authenticity and believability. Emphasis will be on a modern version of what is known as Method Acting which is opposite of declamatory, theatrical acting. The goal will be performance the audience can believe.

After a quick review of movement for actors, voice projection and improvisation, students will dive in the subjects of sense memory, emotional memory, relaxation, concentration, justification/motivation, imaginative personalization, creating the inner character and creating the outer character.

All levels of experience are welcome

Class limited to 14 participants.

Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.

To register for the class contact Roanne Butier at [email protected].

For more information contact Stephanie Singer at [email protected].

Working with a Director: Comedy Scenes

Lecturer: Julian Lopez-Morillas
Session Ended

The workshop will focus on comic scenes from modern American and British theater. Participants will work with Lopez-Morillas, rehearsing brief scenes over the eight-week period, culminating in a presentation of work for an invited audience of family and friends. Memorization of scene material is recommended but not required. The final date of the eight sessions will be determined later because of scheduling issues.

Lopez-Morillas will draw material from diverse sources, such as Kaufman and Hart, Neil Simon, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Tom Stoppard, Abbott and Costello, the Marx Brothers and the Monty Pythons. Participants will practice honing their scenes with a focus on clarity, pace, rhythm and the grounding of comedy acting in genuine human behavior and character.

Lopez-Morillas is a professional theater actor, director and teacher. He has performed and directed with all the major theaters in the Bay Area and across the country. He has taught acting, directing, theater history and Shakespeare at the University of California/Berkeley and at various colleges in the state.

For questions about the class or interview, email Stephanie Singer at [email protected].
Class Full
Tuition payment check is due and payable on the first day of class.

So You Want to Be a Director

Instructor: Michael McGarty
Session Ended

“So You Want to Be a Director” will introduce students to the fundamentals of directing, and will cover the range of talents and responsibilities taken on by the director. These include concept creation, design, casting and working with actors to produce a satisfying experience for an audience. Participants will study techniques in script analysis, design consistency, blocking/stage pictures, and acting chemistry. No previous experience is required.
Michael McGarty has directed plays in New York/ New England community and professional theaters for 50 years. A recipient of numerous directing awards, he served as the Harvard Community Theater’s artistic director from its inception in 1990 to 2012, directing over 100 plays including four New England premieres of New York composer Jenny Giering’s work: Show, Crossing Brooklyn,Still Life, and Mistress Cycle.

Class is limited to 14. For questions about the class, email Michael: [email protected].
Checks should be made out to DAOR and can be submitted at first class.
Register with Roanne Butier: [email protected]

“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 -